Another major area hotel is laying off, furloughing or reducing the hours of its employees as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the tourism and hospitality industries.
On Monday, the Sheraton Overland Park Hotel notified the Kansas Commerce Department and Overland Park Mayor Carl Gerlach that it had instituted temporary furloughs, layoffs and reductions in hours for 151 employees.
The hotel said it had begun the actions on March 21 and initially expected them to last less than six months.
But it said the repeated extension of government shelter-in-place orders restricting large gatherings and travel in general “have caused a sudden, severe and worsening downturn in the hospitality industry that now makes it reasonably foreseeable that these temporary actions may extend beyond six months.”
With 412 rooms and suites, the Sheraton Overland Park is the fourth largest hotel in the metropolitan area, according to the Kansas City Business Journal.
The hotel was built at a cost of $68 million and opened in 2002. It’s connected to the Overland Park Convention Center at 6000 College Blvd.
The Sheraton is the latest among a spate of hotels in the Kansas City area to temporarily lay off, furlough or cut hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other area hotels and the number of affected employees include:
· Crossroads Hotel at 21st and Central streets in Kansas City, 151 employees
· Adams Mark Hotel at 9103 E. 39th St. in Kansas City, 138 employees
· Marriott Kansas City Country Club Plaza Hotel at 44th and Main streets in Kansas City, 114 employees
· Kansas City Embassy Suites at 7640 NW Tiffany Springs Parkway in Kansas City, 92 employees
· 21c Museum Hotel at 219 W. 9th St. in Kansas City, 18 employees
· Ameristar Casino Hotel at 3200 North Ameristar Drive in Kansas City, 578 employees
· Hilton Kansas City Airport Hotel at 8801 NW 112th St. in Kansas City, 86 employees
