The Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore in Santa Barbara has canceled all bookings and events until 2022, according to several employees interviewed this week by Noozhawk.
Employees say they are now talking to a lawyer with the intent to file a class action lawsuit against the company. They say they deserve severance pay under the terms of their employment agreements.
No one at the hotel returned Noozhawk calls this week. An operator who answered the phone said it sent the messages to the address.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic forced the hotel to close a year ago, most other hotels have reopened and there are currently no restrictions against the reopening of the hotel industry.
The Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore, located at 1260 Channel Drive and owned by hotelier Ty Warner, has a reputation as a five-star beachfront hotel.
Employees said at a conference call in March they were told the hotel was closed “until further notice” and that reservations and events were frozen until 2022. The news came as a shocking surprise because at the November they were told the hotel would reopen on May 1st.
Then, just four days ago, the company announced in a social media post that the resort manager was leaving The Biltmore after 13 years.
“If the CEO leaves, it doesn’t look too positive,” one employee said.
It was one of the few communications of the company.
Noozhawk does not identify employees because they fear pay. They are also looking for other jobs and do not want to be perceived as causing problems.
Employees, however, described a bleak situation. Some of the 450 workers who previously made six figures have held jobs for Whole Foods or driving for Uber. Others have lost their homes.
People pass in front of the closed Coral Casino Club at Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore in Santa Barbara. According to reports, the station has canceled all bookings and events until 2022. (Photo by Joshua Molina / Noozhawk)
Workers have been technically razed, meaning they have not been fired. They may receive unemployment benefits, but for many it is a mere fraction of what they are used to earning.
They said their employment contract contains an “impact” clause, which means they are entitled to severance pay, depending on the years of employment, if the hotel closes without employee fault. They haven’t been fired, though.
Some employees have worked at the complex for several decades and are between 50 and 60 years old.
“The most tragic thing is people nearing retirement who can’t find work at their age,” one employee said.
“A lot of people suffer without their jobs and the community has had more impacts without the partnership with The Biltmore,” said Das Williams, Santa Barbara County’s first district supervisor. “We hope they are reconsidered and opened up.”
Mental health also takes its toll.
“It’s the biggest difficulty because people are connected to their workplace,” Williams said. “He’s who you are as a person. He feels like he’s failing. It’s completely defeatist to be taken away.”
In August, hundreds of employees who had lost their jobs marched along Coast Village Road to The Biltmore in protest of the way they had been treated. While many of the employees have collected unemployment checks, some employees are not citizens, so they cannot collect unemployment checks. While working, employees have no health insurance or luxury hotel benefits.
The employee said it is likely to be the time to “close the door” given the chances of the hotel reopening soon.
Employees said workers feel sad.
“You have this beautiful property, probably the most beautiful in Santa Barbara, and it has just been thrown away,” one employee said. “It doesn’t seem to make sense. No one really knows what’s really going on and what’s going to happen.”
Although Jeff Frapwell, the county’s executive deputy director, said the county doesn’t track a hotel’s property bed tax for specific properties, in March the county said it was about 2.8 million. of lower dollars in estimated transitional employment taxes, largely due to restrictions The Biltmore.
– Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be contacted . (You need JavaScript enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews i @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.