Myrtle Beach hotel company unsure when 112 workers will return from COVID-19 furloughs
More than 100 Hilton Grand Vacations employees in Myrtle Beach could remain out of work for longer than six months.
The company, known as Ocean Enclave, 1600 N. Ocean Blvd., recently notified the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce that its operations have ceased “for the most part” due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The 112 employees were initially furloughed in April, but the company believed those employees would be able to return to work shortly, according to a letter Lisa Dupuree, senior director of team member relations.
While the company still expects these furloughs to be temporary, it is unsure when that will occur. The absences could extend beyond six months, Dupuree wrote.
“As you know, this is a terrible time in the hospitality industry,” she wrote. “The speed and vast reach of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the state’s continued extension of its initial closure orders and phased reopening, makes it clear that the impacts on the hospitality industry in South Carolina will be for an extended period of time and drastically impact the Company’s business.”
Hotel occupancy rates in the Myrtle Beach area generally rebounded following the forced closures more quickly than expected, but as case numbers have risen and the region has received negative national press attention, those rates are beginning to decline, and hoteliers are seeing more cancellations.
More than half of the impacted employees are listed with sales executive in their job title, while other positions including bartenders, cooks and housekeepers also were furloughed.
A Hilton Grand Vacations spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 12:15 PM.
