coronavirus

Texas Military Department, USACE to Convert Dallas Convention Center into COVID-19 Healthcare Facility

by Taylor Williams March 30, 2020

DALLAS — The State of Texas, the Texas Military Department (TMD) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have identified the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas as a makeshift healthcare facility to treat patients suffering from COVID-19, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Sunday. The convention center, located downtown, will be the first site to be equipped with additional healthcare equipment and facilities. Local ABC affiliate WFAA reports that 250 beds will be set up with the capacity to expand to 1,400 beds if needed. In his statement, Abbott also stated that the number of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients in Texas has doubled over the past week, and announced a mandatory 14-day quarantine for anyone traveling into Texas from any part of Louisiana. According to its website, the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center features 1 million square feet of exhibit space, three ballrooms, 88 meeting rooms, a 1,750-seat theater and a 9,816-seat arena.

March 30, 2020

Hospitality New York Northeast

Four Seasons New York Offers All 368 Rooms Free to Medical Workers Treating Coronavirus

by Alex Patton March 30, 2020

NEW YORK CITY — The Four Seasons Hotel New York in Manhattan has made all of its 368 rooms available free of charge to medical workers including doctors, nurses and other personnel treating patients in the epicenter of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, according to a statement by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The hotel industry has suffered a severe decline in demand due to “stay at home” orders and travel restrictions nationwide, according to recent data from CBRE. The Los Angeles-based real estate giant estimates that revenue per available room RevPAR, a key financial metric for the industry, will decline 37 percent in 2020, with a contraction of more than 60 percent in the second quarter. Prior to the spread of COVID-19 into the United States, CBRE had forecasted a 0.1 percent decline in RevPAR on a national basis in 2020. Several hotels in New York City and other major markets are temporary utilizing their vacant rooms to lodge medical personnel and some non-critical patients.

March 30, 2020

Industrial Michigan Midwest

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to Produce Face Masks for Coronavirus Relief

by Kristin Harlow March 30, 2020

AUBURN HILLS, MICH. — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is in the process of converting some of its North American plants to produce face masks that will be donated to first responders and healthcare workers. The first machinery has been delivered and installed. Donation of the face masks will come in the following weeks. FCA operates 36 production plants in North America, according to its website. FCA is also working in partnership with nonprofit organizations that are providing food to children until schools return to session. Starting immediately, FCA will help provide more than 1 million meals to school-age children in the communities around its principal manufacturing plants in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. The program will then be extended nationwide and to Canada and Mexico. FCA plants across the U.S. and Canada, as well as headquarters operations in Auburn Hills and construction projects, will remain closed until April 14, dependent upon various states’ stay-in-place orders and the readiness of each facility to return to normal production. Mopar Parts distribution centers, which have been deemed essential to keeping first responders and commercial vehicles on the road, will continue to operate with paid volunteers.

March 30, 2020

Healthcare New York Northeast

Report: Elmhurst Hospital in Queens Dedicates All 545 Beds to COVID-19 Treatment

by Alex Patton March 27, 2020

NEW YORK CITY — The Elmhurst Hospital in Queens has dedicated all of its 545 beds to treatment of COVID-19 patients, according to a report by The New York Times. The building owner, NYC Health + Hospitals, has begun transferring patients who are not suffering from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus to other medical facilities. Other efforts to increase the number of hospital beds in the city include FEMA’s ongoing conversion of Javits Convention Center into a field hospital and a 1,000-bed federal hospital ship scheduled to arrive in mid-April. As of March 27, The Wall Street Journal has tracked 39,140 cases of coronavirus in New York — nearly half the number of all cases in the country — and 461 confirmed deaths.

March 27, 2020

New York Northeast Retail

FEMA, U.S. Army to Convert Javits Convention Center in Manhattan Into 2,000-Bed Field Hospital to Treat Coronavirus Patients

by Alex Patton March 26, 2020

NEW YORK CITY — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers (USACE) have begun a rapid conversion of the 1.8-million-square-foot Javits Convention Center in Manhattan into a 2,000-bed field hospital to treat coronavirus patients, according to a statement from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. FEMA is constructing four 250-bed temporary hospitals in the main showroom of the center, each approximately 40,000 square feet in size. A staff of 320 FEMA workers will be assigned to the facility. The USACE is constructing an additional 1,000-bed facility on the site. The makeshift hospital is slated for completion within a week. As of March 26, The Wall Street Journal tracked 33,033 cases of coronavirus in New York — nearly half the number of all cases in the country — and 366 confirmed deaths.

March 26, 2020

Massachusetts Northeast Retail

Stop & Shop to Donate $1M to Support Regional Food Bank Partners in Fulfilling Coronavirus Needs in Northeast

by Alex Patton March 26, 2020

QUINCY, MASS. — Stop & Shop, a metro Boston-based regional grocer, will donate $1 million to support its food bank partners across the Northeast in their efforts to fulfill community needs amid the coronavirus outbreak. Proceeds will fund workers who may not be compensated during temporary work closures, as well as to support children without access to free meals at school and existing clients who currently face food insecurity. The donation will be divided among the grocer’s 13 partners, including Greater Boston Food Bank, Rhode Island Community Food Bank and Food Bank for NYC. Stop & Shop operates 415 stores across the Northeast, all of which have remained operational with reduced hours and other restrictions.

March 26, 2020

Company News District of Columbia Hospitality Southeast

AHLA Launches ‘Hotels for Hope’ to Assist First Responders During COVID-19 Outbreak

by Alex Tostado March 26, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) has launched “Hotels for Hope,” a new initiative that aims to connect participating hotels with the health community struggling to find housing and support as the COVID-19 public health crisis grows. Washington, D.C.-based AHLA has identified more than 6,500 properties nationwide that are can work with the U.S. Department of Health, Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Army CORPS of Engineers to provide access to hotel properties to support the health community and our nation’s first responders and local emergency management and public health agencies. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the hotel industry is seeing vacancy rates soar across the United States, with some markets, including Boston, Seattle and Austin, reporting more than 80 percent vacancy. Markets including Chicago are reporting single-digit occupancy rates. More than 4 million hotel jobs could be lost in the coming weeks, according to AHLA. In mid-March, the U.S. Travel Association and AHLA requested $150 billion from the federal government for economic relief as the travel sector is especially affected by the coronavirus. AHLA is working to establish a national database with the HHS so that local, state and federal officials will be able to …

March 26, 2020

Features Hospitality

CBRE Predicts 60 Percent Drop in Hotel RevPAR in Second Quarter Due to Pandemic

by Jeff Shaw March 26, 2020

LOS ANGELES — As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to develop, CBRE Hotels Research has released a revised Viewpoint Hotel 2020 Outlook. The firm now expects gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the United States to slow to 0.4 percent in 2020, down from its previous estimate of 1.9 percent. CBRE expects a sharp drop in economic activity in the second quarter, stabilization as early as third-quarter 2020 and a recovery underway by the fourth quarter. “Governments throughout the world are implementing monetary and fiscal stimulus to try to prevent a more long-term global recession,” says Jamie Lane, senior managing economist with CBRE. “Our current expectations are that this stimulus, as well as pent-up demand, will lead to a substantial rebound in economic activity in 2021.” Decline in lodging demand The lodging sector’s two main challenges are a contraction in overall economic activity and the need for social distancing that encourages staying at home in small groups and not traveling. As seen in other countries, these monetary and social restrictions will cause a severe decline in the lodging demand in the United States. CBRE’s updated forecast shows a 37 percent decline in revenue per available room (RevPAR) for the …

March 26, 2020

Texas

President Trump Issues Major Disaster Declaration for Texas in Response to COVID-19

by Taylor Williams March 26, 2020

AUSTIN, TEXAS — President Donald Trump has issued a major disaster declaration for Texas in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The order enables the state and local governments to receive federal funding to support medical and safety efforts. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made the announcement on Twitter yesterday afternoon after sending the Trump administration a formal request on Monday, March 23. At the time the letter was submitted, Abbott identified 352 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Texas and noted that the state has already spent more than $50 million in response to the crisis. Abbott also noted that the Texas Department of State Health Services had declared a COVID-19 a “public health disaster,” the first time such a label had been issued in Texas in more than 100 years. Numbers vary as to the current number of cases, as the state has launched a new system for reporting COVID-19. But data released by Johns Hopkins University on the morning of Thursday, March 26 puts the number of confirmed cases at roughly 1,300.

March 26, 2020

Features Multifamily Student Housing Video Webinar

COVID-19 Webinar Recap: Student Housing Owners, Operators Talk Best Practices, Industry Impact

by Jeff Shaw March 26, 2020

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is having a widespread impact on the off-campus student housing industry. Many off-campus owners and operators are grappling with a growing number of universities canceling in-person classes, and in some instances, ordering students to vacate their campuses and residence halls altogether. On Wednesday, March 25, Student Housing Business (SHB) held a complimentary webinar on the impact of COVID-19 on the off-campus student housing industry. The webinar had nearly 2,000 attendees. During the panel discussion, six owners and operators weighed in on best practices and operations advice for employees at both the corporate- and property-level, as well as the potential impact of the pandemic on turn — the student housing industry’s intense summer period when units are cleaned, refurbished and rehabbed — and leasing for fall 2020. Randy Shearin, editor of SHB, led the discussion. Speakers included Casey Petersen, COO of Peak Campus; Chris Richards, executive director of real estate operations at Greystar; Adam Byrley, COO of The Preiss Co.; Grant Collard, CEO of Redstone Residential; Alex O’Brien, COO of Cardinal Group; and Miles Orth, EVP and COO of Campus Apartments. Click here to listen to the full webinar: COVID-19 and the Impact on Student Housing Residents, Employees, Operations, …

March 26, 2020

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