More cleaning, less room service? Hilton Head hotels differ on coronavirus precautions
Some hotels and resorts on Hilton Head Island are stepping up cleaning and disinfection in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Others have paused room service or reduced the frequency of room cleaning. At least two resorts have closed altogether.
The varying responses show how unprecedented an event like coronavirus is on an island that’s accustomed to huge influxes of tourists, hurricane threats and mandatory evacuations.
Beaufort County has a handful of cases of coronavirus, and although schools and dine-in restaurants are closed on Hilton Head Island, town officials have stopped short of telling tourists not to visit.
Tourism, one of the top two economic drivers in Beaufort County (along with the military), brings an estimated $1.48 billion to the local economy each year.
Here’s how several major resorts on the island are responding to coronavirus:
CLOSED: Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort
The Disney Resort is one of dozens of Disney properties and theme parks nationwide that closed Friday and will remain closed for the rest of the month.
The staff of the hotel will continue to be paid during the shutdown, according to a news release from Disney. The release offered no details about how its employees would be compensated.
Notably, the resort closed for several days in September 2018 and September 2017 while the island felt the effects of Hurricane Florence and Tropical Storm Irma, respectively.
CLOSED: Spinnaker Resorts
Spinnaker Resorts, which operates 11 locations in three states cancelled all reservations through at least April 2. The company owns Bluewater, Waterside, Southwind, Egret Point, Carolina Club and Cottages, as well as the S.R. Hotel on Hilton Head.
Rental guests reservations will be refunded, according to a notice posted on Spinnaker’s website updated on March 19.
OPEN: Marriott Hilton Head Resort and Spa
At the Marriott Hilton Head Resort and Spa in Palmetto Dunes, a letter delivered to all guests informed them the hotel suspended room service and limited room cleaning to every other day.
A statewide ban on dining inside restaurants and bars has limited the resort’s restaurants to takeout orders only.
The resort’s parent company, Marriott International, announced on Tuesday it would begin furloughing tens of thousands of hotel employees worldwide.
The precautions appear to contradict the guidance to close dining rooms and continue cleaning high-touch surfaces.
On Thursday afternoon, Melissa Rodriguez was sitting beneath an umbrella with her teenage children nearby at the Marriott’s pool.
They drove from Florida on Tuesday to celebrate her 40th birthday. Coronavirus did not really figure into her decision to travel, she said.
“I questioned” canceling the trip, she told The Island Packet, “but once I saw the hotel wasn’t closed, we decided to continue.”
OPEN: Sonesta Resort
At the Sonesta Resort in Shipyard, guests and employees have found more hand sanitizing stations.
The resort reported on its website that it is also increasing “the frequency and rigor of existing cleaning and sanitizing procedures, such as laundry cleaning protocols for linen and towels,” according to its website.
Sonesta will also disinfect common surfaces at the hotels, including elevators, front desks, public restrooms and entrance doors more frequently, the website says.
OPEN WITH SOME CLOSURES: Sea Pines Resort
The Sea Pines Resort has temporarily closed the dining rooms at all of its restaurants and made several changes to its food and beverage service, its website says.
Fraser’s Tavern, Coast Oceanfront Dining, The Quarterdeck in Harbour Town, and Links American Grill in Sea Pines are all closed.
Harbourside and Surfside Market at the Sea Pines Beach Club are open for pickup only. Harbour Town Bakery & Café will begin serving limited grab-and-go breakfast items, such as coffee, freshly baked pastries and sandwiches in the morning and a limited to-go lunch menu starting Friday, the website says.
Room service will continue to be available at the Inn & Club at Harbour Town.
All events scheduled for the months of March and April in Sea Pines have been canceled, but some vendors in Sea Pines remain open:
- Vagabond Cruises - Still operating (843) 363-9026
- H2O Sports - Still operating (843) 671-4386
- Charter Fishing - Still operating (843) 363-8335
- Harbour Town Pool - Open from sunrise to sunset. The water is currently being heated.
Lawton Stables is closed until March 27, Pirates of Hilton Head is closed and the Sea Pines Trolley will not run in April, according to the website.
All Sea Pines Resort golf courses, including clubhouses, pro shops, and The Golf Learning Center, remain open.
OPEN: Omni Oceanfront Resort
The Omni Resort has updated its website with its cancellation policies and cleaning information.
For reservations through April 30, the resort is waiving all cancellation fees.
The site says it’s taking the following cleaning precautions:
- Cleaning and disinfecting hard surfaces and frequently touched items in guest rooms and throughout the public spaces
- Providing hand sanitizer stations at front desks, on meeting room levels and in restaurants.
- Equipping associates with disposable wipes to clean commonly used surfaces like elevator buttons.
OPEN: Westin Hilton Head Island Resort and Spa
The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort and Spa also updated its site with its cancellation and cleaning policies.
- Guest Rooms: Hotels use cleaning and disinfecting protocols to clean rooms after guests depart and before the next guest arrives, with particular attention paid to high-touch items.
- Public Spaces: Hotels have increased the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting in public spaces, with a focus on the counter at the front desk, elevators and elevator buttons, door handles, public bathrooms and even room keys.
- Back of House: In the spaces where associates work “behind the scenes,” hotels are increasing the frequency of cleaning and focusing on high-touch areas like associate entrances, locker rooms, laundry rooms and staff offices.
However, Westin hotels are owned by Marriott, and the website’s information differs from the information sheet distributed to guests at the Marriott Hilton Head Resort and Spa — which announced the closing of room service and less frequent laundering.
Should I still vacation on Hilton Head Island?
Hilton Head Island Mayor John McCann announced Friday he would close all public beaches starting March 21. The closure will last for 60 days, he said.
Asked whether tourists should still come for their vacations, McCann said he would “absolutely” tell them to come to the island and take advantage of biking trails and the island’s natural beauty apart from the beach.
Town leaders said they wanted to publicize the beach closure before the weekend and before a new wave of travelers made their way to South Carolina.
While it’s a deeply personal decision to choose whether to travel, many have taken to Facebook groups and even The Island Packet to ask whether they should cancel upcoming trips to Hilton Head.
Here are some facts that may help you make your decision:
- Island restaurants and bars have been forced to close dining rooms as of Tuesday afternoon. SERG restaurants are offering discounts for pickup orders.
- Public beaches and parking lots are closed starting March 21.
- Law enforcement and emergency services are active and responding to calls.
- One major hotel has closed as of Friday afternoon: Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort
- Store shelves are bare in many cases. Many shoppers have reported no eggs, bread, paper products and other staples at Beaufort County stores.
- RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing, originally set for April 13-19, has been canceled.
What should employees do?
The future is looking grim for many hotels and their employees.
Around 44% of hotel employees in every state are projected to lose their jobs in coming weeks, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
South Carolina has a total of 129,364 hotel-supported jobs. This means an estimated 52,795 employees are facing potential job loss, the association wrote in a media briefing.
In Beaufort County, some restaurants have announced plans to lay off employees, while others have found ways to pay workers temporarily. The major hotels, however, have been mostly silent on their plans.
The Marriott hotel on Hilton Head did not respond to several calls and two visits to the hotel.
Are you a hotel employee facing layoffs or new working conditions due to coronavirus? Let us know by emailing us at kkokal@islandpacket.com
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette Newspapers are tracking layoffs throughout the county. A map with our reporting will be available soon on www.islandpacket.com.
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 2:12 PM.
