Ritz-Carlton to close 5-diamond Las Vegas hotel

[katty]

more:
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/reuters/MTFH39692_2010-02-09_21-21-37_N09114487.htm

* 348-room hotel hurt by weak demand, Vegas backlash

* Hotel owners to close luxury property on May 2


By Deepa Seetharaman

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co will close its five-diamond property in Las Vegas this May, after the hotel struggled with a slide in demand and revenue.

"It's nothing the hotel did. It's a simple lack of business and a decline in the tourism industry," said Ritz-Carlton spokeswoman Vivian Deuschl.

The owners of the 348-room property, Village Hospitality LLC, an arm of Deutsche Bank, will stop funding the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas day-to-day operations on May 2.

[AndyA]

1. That's too bad. I hope the employees can find new jobs!

At least they'll have a while to find something else.

I went to a restaurant for lunch one day with a friend. We used to meet for lunch a couple of times a month, and this was one of the places we enjoyed eating at. This time, though, when we walked in there was something different about the place. A lot of the pictures on the walls were gone.

Some of the plants, too, but many were still there. We were seated and the server told us there were a few things on the menu that weren't available that day. So, we ordered and while waiting a girl that had waited on us from time to time stopped by to say hello. (We asked for her, but she didn't have any tables available anywhere close to her area.) She said the management and owners had abandoned the place, taking what they could under cover of darkness the night before.

So, the employees decided to keep the place open as long as they could on their own. A few suppliers wouldn't deliver any more, but others still did, and they made sure to keep them paid. They made it for almost a year, then the lease was up and instead of moving they decided to just close the business.

It was one of my favorite places to eat, because I admired how the employees banded together and made it work. Funny, the food and service improved after the owners and management left. Hmmm...

I'm sure the owners had to have been shocked when they went by weeks or months later and saw the place was still open! :rofl:

[villager]

2. Good story, AndyA. Too bad the employees decided not to keep it open...

wonder if their rents were jacked up by the "free enterprise" types when the lease was up?

[enlightenment]

3. It was more than that.

Miscommunication being somewhere at the top of the list, I think. This hit the papers Monday and I noticed it while trying to find a video link for Governor Asshat's SOTS address (I'm teaching a Nevada History class, so perfect timing). I mentioned it to the class and one of my student's told me that she had just that day submitted a contract for cleaning services to the Lakes. The guy she dealt with told her he'd let her know, but he was getting ready to go on holiday for a couple of weeks. Either he was shining her on or he didn't know they were going to close. He did tell her that occupancy was averaging around 40% - not enough to cover costs, I would think.

[AndyA]

4. I don't know.

But I can tell you that the people working there were enjoying themselves, and made enough money to keep the place open and catch up on back pay that was due everyone. The last couple of days the place was open, everything was free as their way of thanking the customers for their support (and less to throw out).

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. Wow. That is an amazing story. I have never heard of such a thing before. :^)