Coachella Today

A furloughed Renaissance Palm Springs associate, one of thousands laid off last week by the company that manages the property because of the COVID-19 pandemic, likened what the world is experiencing to 9-11 - only worse.

"This is something that is worse than the 9-11 terrorist attacks," an associate said in a statement provided to Coachella Today by Remington Hotels, which manages Renaissance Palm Springs. "We in the hospitality industry are struggling to make ends meet."

The Renaissance Palm Springs associate is looking at the situation with eyes wide open.

"The current health emergency has affected many people who work paycheck to paycheck as well as more than one job to pay monthly bills," the associate said. "I am one of those people.  Both my spouse and I have two jobs to keep up with our mortgage payment, food for our family of four and to pay our bills.  It is expensive to live in California.  In my position, I have to depend upon tips from our guests but now, with travel at a standstill, I am not sure how we will be able to make enough money to pay our bills. I am most concerned how to pay my mortgage."

The associate called upon government to intervene.

"The federal government needs to give some type of incentive to banks, credit companies and other financial institutions to allow us to add a month or two onto our loans, interest free, so that people do not lose their home," the associate said. "I am not looking for a handout, just a cushion till things are back to normal."

The associate isn't the only one looking to government to intervene in the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The travel and hospitality industry is asking for about $150 billion in relief.

The suffering of the travel and hospitality industry is only part 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.

"Remington Hotels is struggling in the face of the coronavirus," Remington Hotels President and CEO Sloan Dean III said in his own statement to Coachella Today.

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.

Like the rest of the travel and hospitality 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."