5 hotels, 2 restaurants in Columbus temporarily close amid coronavirus pandemic
Five restaurants and two restaurants in Columbus are temporarily closing amid the coronavirus pandemic known as COVID-19.
Valley Hospitality announced Friday the following properties are closed until further notice:
- Columbus Marriott
- SpringHill Suites Columbus
- Courtyard Columbus
- Hampton Inn North Columbus
- DoubleTree by Hilton Columbus
- Both of its Houlihan’s restaurant locations.
“Valley Hospitality has a long-standing tradition of providing outstanding hospitality service to our region,” the news release says. “As we continue to monitor the potential effects of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) as it relates to our Team Members and guests, we are committed to continuing to provide exceptional lodging options in the Columbus, Georgia region.”
The company’s other hotels remain open:
- Hampton Inn – Fort Benning (706) 660-5550
- Fairfield Inn & Suites – I-185 & Manchester Expressway (706) 317-3600
- TownePlace Suites – I-185 & Manchester Expressway (706) 322-3001
- Hampton Inn LaGrange – 1-85 & US Highway 27 LaGrange (706) 845-1115.
“We are grateful to our loyal guests that continue to support our locally owned hotels, and be assured, the award-winning hotels will reopen quickly,” the news release says. “Valley Hospitality will work with every guest with advanced reservations at the affected hotels to relocate them to another one of our hotels. We are committed to continuing to provide outstanding service at our open locations.”
This news came the day after the first COVID-19 case in Columbus was announced.
Peter Bowden president and CEO of VisitColumbusGA, said the temporary closing of those five hotels with 506 rooms leaves 52 hotels with 4,507 rooms available in Columbus.
Approximately 2.3 million visitors spent around $365 million during fiscal year 2019 in Columbus, Bowden said.
But in the past 10 days, he said, the local tourism industry lost “40-some-odd pieces of business,” such as conferences, reunions and graduations, due to cancellations. That amounts to an estimated loss of $4 million in potential revenue for the city and businesses, he said.
“Nothing like this has ever happened,” he said. “… The pandemic cause and effect is moving so fast, it’s hard to keep up.”
On the bright side, Bowden said, this closure will give Valley Hospitality time to do deep-cleaning, repairs and renovations that couldn’t be completed with guests in those properties.
Even more optimistic, he noted his staff already has paused its traditional advertising to save resources and develop an awareness campaign that will launch when the pandemic has decreased enough for authorities to end restrictions.
“When the worst is behind us and people are starting to travel again,” he said, “we will have a plan, and we will be one of the first communities to jump out of the gate to come on strong so that, with all this pent-up lack of ability to move around, we’ll be there for them and help the city to restart the economic engine that unfortunately is being crippled by what’s happening, not just in Columbus but throughout the country.”
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 2:46 PM.
