April in Sea Pines Resort usually means RBC Heritage. In 2020, it means furloughs
In what is usually one of the first busy months of the year for tourism on Hilton Head Island, one of the island’s largest employers has announced severe furloughs.
The Sea Pines Resort has furloughed “a majority” of its employees during the coronavirus outbreak, resort president Steve Birdwell confirmed Friday.
The resort, which employs nearly 700 people, did not release how many employees would be affected by the furloughs. Birdwell said the furloughs span the entire resort workforce and do not target a specific sector, such as food and beverage or landscape services.
Furloughed employees will be paid through April 11 and then forced to take unpaid time off until at least May, according to the resort.
“The furloughs were effective April 1 and the resort could open as soon as early May (which would be approximately one month) but it all depends upon the evolving COVID-19 situation,” Birdwell said in a statement to The Island Packet.
Sea Pines Resort’s move comes as the resort reduces most of its operations. It follows the cancellation of RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing PGA Tour event, a golf tournament originally scheduled for April 13-19 at Harbour Town Golf Links, which has since been closed.
Employees affected by the furlough will still be able to use their health insurance through Sea Pines, and Birdwell said Thursday that employees can also use their accrued paid time off hours to bridge the furlough.
A job to come back to?
The announcement appeared to suggest furloughed employees will go back to work once parts of the resort reopen.
“We look forward to the day we can welcome all of our team members back to work and return our resort to full operation,” Birdwell said.
Sea Pines Resort’s reduced operations come as other resorts on Hilton Head Island and nearby have announced complete closures. Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort, Spinnaker Resort, Montage Palmetto Bluff and Omni Hilton Head Oceanfront Resort have all closed. Some will not reopen until May.
On Monday, Town Manager Steve Riley said he’d received dire information from Sea Pines Resort’s rental side.
He said that of the 400 rentals managed by the resort, only 147, or 37%, were occupied.
Of those, only 41 were short-term rentals or vacationers. The remaining 106 were occupied by the owner of the rental property.
Kiawah Island Golf Resort, owned by the same company as Sea Pines Resort, reported this week it has laid off 1,090 employees. Those layoffs go into effect April 4.
Are you a Sea Pines or Kiawah Island employee impacted by furloughs or layoffs? Contact kkokal@islandpacket.com to share your story.
