Mercer Times

A regional director and human resources director for a nationwide hospitality chain, which manages the Westin Princeton, wanted to know how the property's furloughed employees are doing.

She got quite an earfull.

"So many had stories of hardship," Andrea Calpini said in a statement to Mercer Times. 

Westin Princeton

Calpini is the regional director of for Remington Hotels. The hotel management company had to lay off thousands of associates last week because of the COVID-19 pandemic including Liston Flemming.

Flemming, who describes himself as a "concerned veteran" and until recently was a banquet houseperson at the Westin Princeton Hotel at Forrestall Village, near Princeton, New Jersey, was recently furlioughed. 

Until his furlough, Flemming had worked at the Westin location for 25 years, according to his statement provided by Remington Hotels.

Flemming is a retired U.S. Army veteran and his family lives "down South," the statement said. Flemming can't afford health insurance but he has had access to medical services through the Veteran's Administration hospital in Washington. 

He can't do that now.

"Since being furloughed at my job, I am not able to get to DC due to the cost of travel," Flemming said. "I have Diabetes and need to get my medication. New Jersey unemployment is backed up and can take up to 6 weeks to get."

Unemployment, when he does get it, will pay only a portion of his lost wages, not enough to cover Flemming's rend, medical bills and other expenses.

"The hardest part is not knowing when this will end or what support we will get," Flemming said. "I am very loyal to the Westin Princeton but understand during this time, there isn't much they can do."

Flemming called on government "to step in and provide us with some immediate relief."

Most of Westin Princeton's room attendants, laundry attendants, housepersons and other associates were furloughed and many who managed to keep their jobs are working severely reduced hours.

Westin Princeton Housekeeping Director Krystyl Fletcher said she didn't know where to begin.

"It has affected all of them, in different ways," Fletcher said. "These are associates who live paycheck to paycheck. Many don't know how they will make ends meet.  

Fletcher shared stories from some of her staff.

- Marie Laguerre, a 28-year Westin Princeton employee on Social Security, which means she can't collect unemployment benefits. Laguerre has high blood pressure and cannot afford her medication.

- Dominga Oxlan, who has four kids at home. "She told me her baby needed food," Fletcher said. "So she needs to come back to work ASAP.  

- Pat Tyson, a 31-year Westin Princeton employee now "worried about not being able to keep her lights on," Fletcher said. "She lives in a house with her sister and her cell phone just got shut off last week because her hours were cut."  

- "Joinia," who was crying as she showed Fletcher photos of her daughter, "saying she needed to work to feed her," Fletcher said.

- "Joanne," who is pregnant and and had been saving for a doctor's visit but "she doesn't have insurance and cannot afford to go," Fletcher said.

- Toya Nury, who had been saving for a car and a place to stay. "She sleeps on a friend's couch," Fletcher said.

"So many stories," Fletcher continued. "It's hard breaking."  

The stories of the Westin Princeton employees are only a few of the thousands upon thousands impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the travel and hotel industry.

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

Dean's appointment as president and CEO of Remington Hotels was announced in December.

Remington, 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.

The suffering of Remington Hotels' employees is a small portion of the larger story about how COVID-19 threatens the world's economy. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned earlier this week that COVID-19 could drive unemployment in the U.S. to 20 percent, levels not seen since the Great Depression.

The travel and hospitality industry is asking for about $150 billion in relief.

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

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

"Most all of our 6,800 associates are furloughed," he said, adding that the entire situation is a "disaster."

Priorities for the entire industry were presented to President Donald Trump on Tuesday, March 17 by the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

Those priorities are emergency assistance for employees, a workforce stabilization fund from the U.S. Treasury Department, preservation of business liquidity that would include $100 billion for employee retention and rehiring, and tax relief.

"For many Americans in our sector, this health crisis will be compounded by economic hardship in the coming weeks and months," Dean said. "Congress must act now!! Time is essential as unemployment claims in hospitality will be in the millions."