SW Houston News

Two of the almost thousands of associates furloughed from their jobs at a nationwide hospitality chain because of COVID-19 - one of whom says he is in quarantine - are unsure of the future as company officials call upon government to intervene.

One of those furloughed was out of the country when the layoffs began to roll down.

"I didn't see my father for two years, in this time he had two heart surgeries," Adrian Alvarez, chief engineer at Houston Houston Marriott Sugar Land, said in a statement SW Houston News. "I was waiting my green card so I can leave the country and back, also looking for have one year working and get vacation. I bought my tickets in August the 4th last year."

Remington Hotels Director of Sales Andrew Mirsky.

Alvarez ended up returning three days early - spending an additional $1,600 to do it - because he was afraid he would be unable to return if he waited.

"Now I'm in quarantine," he said.

Veronica Salazar, now furloughed Houston Marriott Sugar Land catering manager, said she is concerned about her mortgage and other bills and is wondering about whether to keep her insurance.

"This situation will be detrimental to many of our coworkers and there is no other way to keep afloat other than unemployment," she said. "But then you have to turn around and pay for your share of your insurance.  Do I cancel it? What happens if I get sick?"

Decreasing occupancies "and no upward trend in sight" are behind the thousands of coronavirus-driven layoffs at hotel across the nation managed by Remington Hotels, the company's Director Of Finance Greg Greenwood said in a statement to SW Houston News.

"Many of these associates live pay check to pay check and them being without employment will not only affect them personally, but also their families' well-being," Greenwood said. "With the growing concern to stay healthy and have essential supplies to live, how will a person who lives pay check to pay check be able to sustain? There needs to be some comforting or good news somewhere in all of this, but it is getting harder and harder to find it."

Remington Hotels, founded in 1968, is a hotel management company that also provides providing property management services. Its hospitality wing manages 86 hotels in 26 states across 17 brands.

COVID-19 is presenting Remington Hotels and other employers across the world with unprecedented challenge.

"Remington Hotels is struggling in the face of the coronavirus," Remington Hotels President and CEO Sloan Dean III said in a statement.

The chain has been hit hard by COVID-19, which has sunk its business to "beyond depression levels" and Remington Hotels anticipates losses this year in the hundreds of millions, Dean said.

Remington Hotels expects hotels that it manages to run at 90% lower occupancy levels in April 2020, compared to the same month last year, Dean said.

"Most all of our 6800 associates are furloughed," he said, adding that the entire situation is a "disaster."

Many sacrifices will have to be made before COVID-19 runs its course, Remington Hotels Director of Sales Andrew Mirsky said.

Mirskey said his sacrifices seem to be starting with "incredibly increased hours" as he, like others not furloughed, take up the slack left by those who did lose their jobs.  

"Managing 10 different markets and not short of multiple hotels," he said. "I am so grateful for the job that I have, but the mental anguish of having to say a long temporary good bye to my work family outweighs all of that."

Meanwhile, Mirskey said he has two teenagers who should be in school but who now are stuck at home.

"I definitely do not wish any of this on my counterparts," he said. "This is going to be a very stressful time and I hope that we can all endure and start fresh in a few months."

Mirskey said he also fears for his help but not from COVID-19. Instead, Mirskey said he's concerned about "the stress levels that will come along with this added responsibility and lack of time away from the office."

He also called upon government to intervene, saying "we need some intervention monetarily."