Owners work to maintain employees at damaged properties

Hotel & Motel Management, Dec 13, 2004 by Dennis Blank

NATIONAL REPORT -- Benevolent Florida hotel owners, whose vulnerable coastal buildings were ripped and shredded by hurricanes this summer, are stepping up to the plate when it comes to the care of employees.

Owners are doing everything from getting employees new jobs to assigning new tasks in a massive cleanup effort that ranges from demolition work to laundering linens.

There are new bonds, hoteliers say, between management and employees as they join together to rebuild properties.

"This is the most positive team-building experience," said Stacy Martin, g.m. at the Hilton Daytona Beach (Fla.). "We are all so close now. We have such a family type atmosphere. These people would do anything for anybody. It is absolutely phenomenal."

The original staff of 200 was whittled down to 70 employees.

Front desk employees are painting walls, while kitchen workers are separating furniture for liquidation and housekeepers are cleaning the kitchen at the hotel, which had more than $10 million in damages from the violent storms after high winds ripped off roofs. The hotel plans to reopen by Jan. 1 under a new flag, Shores Resort and Spa.

For independent hotel owner Gary Brown, it is a struggle to hang on to the 45 employees at his Sun Viking Lodge in Daytona Beach, Fla.

"When you have somebody that is able bodied and willing, we will use them," Brown said. "We had to cut some hours, but we are trying to maintain a regular schedule."

As construction crews work to repair 41 rooms in his 91-unit hotel and restaurant, he anticipated a Dec. 1 opening. Many of the employees have been asked to take on new jobs, such as landscaping, painting and repairing or replacing awnings and umbrellas.

Even with a longer wait for reopening, some hotels made efforts to place workers in other properties. In the case of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in West Palm Beach, Fla., some employees have found new jobs in other Florida and Georgia hotels run by parent company Lodgian. With the opening not expected until after February 2005, the Crowne has found new roles for its staff of 100.

"We are trying to make as many opportunities as possible," said Margaret Leone, g.m. "It is a great concern for us, especially since we have long-term associates. We want to do everything we can to give them assistance."

Marc Pujalet, president of Noble House Hotels, which had hurricane damage to three of its five hotels in Florida, said it will be at least two more months before his insurance companies decide about the compensation.

"Naturally, we want it to be as big as possible, and the insurance companies want to pay as little as possible," he said. "We also want it to cover any employees who are not able to be employed right away."

Names of employees who were interested in construction jobs were given to contractors repairing the $5 million worth of damage to the property.

The Crowne and dozens of other properties throughout Florida provided free housing for their employees and families during and after the hurricanes.

Dave McCaslin, president of Merritt Hospitality in Norwalk, Conn., said employees at three different properties, which were not damaged, were given rooms.

"We can do something that other businesses can't do," McCaslin said. "We put up several employees for their safety. We had people volunteer to do a lot of things. We even had the wife of a general manager baking cookies."

Keeping most employees on board--even though the hotels are shut down for several months--was an important decision made by hotel executives.

"Our staff has been with us for a long time with one of the lowest turnover rates so we felt it was the right thing to do," said Crissy Poorman, a marketing executive at the 270-room Ritz-Carlton in Palm Beach, Fla.

The Ritz suffered water damage and is replacing five tons of decorative stucco on a large tower on the property but planned to open by Thanksgiving. Like other properties, the hotel is using its 400 employees to work in other areas.

Disney's Vero Beach (Fla.) Resort, which was partially damaged, was able to give some employees free housing for about five days during and after the hurricanes. Some of the 250 workers were reassigned to other jobs in Orlando.

The real issue facing many owners is how much of the employee wages their insurance policies will cover during the down time, said Robert Boykin, c.e.o. of Cleveland-based Boykin Management, which is doing major rebuilding of its 119-room Hilton and a 210-room Quality Suites, both in Melbourne Beach, Fla.

"We are negotiating with our insurer to craft strategies," Boykin said, "But already I can see our insurance is going to be a lot higher next year. The heart of this issue is the quality of insurance and what latitude you will have on the employment issue."

For a six-month rebuilding process, all of the management and engineering staff has been retained, and other employees have been deployed into other jobs such as cleaning and security, Boykin said.

Many other hotel owners, including some who spoke off the record, said the cost of doing business when they reopen next year will be higher because of larger insurance premiums.