Holiday Inn Rochester Downtown Temporarily Closing through April 30
Rochester, NY—March 21, 2020—Paul Kremp, General Manager of the Holiday Inn Rochester Downtown located at 70 State Street, Rochester, NY is closing temporarily through April 30.
All business from May 1 and beyond has not been impacted and the hotel is booking all business including events May 1 and after as usual.
Due to mandates on not holding any gatherings over 10 people and social distancing recommendations, all events scheduled through April 30 had already been cancelled.
Kremp said, “This is the most difficult decision I have made in my career - particularly because of the impact it will have on our employees and their families. We have built a wonderful team of employees who love to take care of our guests, which made this decision even more difficult. I have been in hospitality for over 40 years and have never experienced anything like this before. The safety and health of our guests and employees are our number one concern and we look forward to getting back to some semblance of normal in the near future.”
“In March and April, the hotel received thousands of dollars of cancellations impacting hotel rooms and catering events. We have made the decision to temporarily close until May 1, 2020 in order to better serve our guests into the future. We have informed VisitRochester of our ability to re-open for healthcare or other medical agencies needing bed space or other emergency needs if requested."
Almost all staff at the 217-room hotel have been laid off. Team members are being encouraged to apply for unemployment insurance during this difficult time.
All building systems are being maintained around the clock in order to quickly ramp up for needed alternative use or re-opening on short notice.
S taff will be responding to all guest correspondence. The best way to reach the hotel with any questions is via email at hotel@hirocny.com .
Kremp said the hotel had added staff and had been taking extra measures including enhanced cleaning and sanitation to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. No guests are currently in the hotel. And there were no known cases of the coronavirus among staff or guests.
He also noted that occupancy throughout the hotel industry has been declining due to increased travel restrictions and rising health concerns. The Holiday Inn’s hotel restaurant closed earlier this week in accordance with health department recommendations to eliminate dining in.
Any updates will be posted on the hotel’s web site and Facebook page - facebook.com/HolidayInnRochesterDowntown/
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The Holiday Inn Rochester Downtown operates as a small independent privately held company. The Holiday Inn Rochester Downtown is a franchised hotel under the IHG Brand of hotels.