Hotel kicks out guests, including NHL team, after filing bankruptcy in California
An iconic California hotel closed abruptly Friday after filing bankruptcy, evicting dozens of guests including a visiting National Hockey League team.
The 805-room Fairmont Hotel in San Jose relocated fewer than 50 guests to other local hotels and paid for their lodging, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Relocated guests included the Las Vegas Golden Knights hockey team, in town for a two-game stand against the San Jose Sharks, SFGate reported. The team had just finished a pre-game meal before being told to pack up.
“I think that’s a first for probably everybody on our team,” defenseman Nick Holden told The Las Vegas Sun. The team found new lodgings after defeating the Sharks in overtime that night.
“It was a surreal experience,” coach Pete DeBoer said, according to the publication.
Guest Kevin Simmonds had stepped out for three hours to work on a new book, but when he returned he was told he had to leave the hotel, The Mercury News reported.
“I asked why and she said, ‘I can’t tell you’,” Simmonds told the publication. “I said, ‘What do you mean you can’t tell me? This is insanity’.”
The company that owns the Fairmont Hotel filed for Chapter 11 reorganization on Friday, KNTV reported. The hotel hopes to reopen in 60 to 90 days.
“We know that by taking this difficult step, we will come back a more vibrant hotel to the benefit of everyone in San Jose, including the vitality of the city’s downtown, nearby businesses, and Silicon Valley conventions in a post-COVID-19 world,” Sam Singer, the hotel’s representative, told the station.
All hospitality workers, including managers, lost their jobs when the hotel closed, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. Only security guards and engineers remain on the payroll.
The 20-story, two-tower hotel, which opened in the 1980s, has a rooftop pool, several restaurants and bars, a lounge, a fitness center and meeting rooms.
The hotel’s website remains online but room bookings show no availability.
Hotel owners say it lost $18 million in 2020 and is projected to lose $20 million in 2021, The Mercury News reported.
The hotel may reopen as a vaccination center, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.
