Makati Shangri-La to temporarily close doors starting February 1

The Philippine hotel industry is indeed among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving no accommodation establishment unaffected– not even five-star hotel Makati Shangri-La.

In a statement, the Shangri-La Group announced that it will be parting ways with a number of colleagues and will be temporarily closing Makati Shangri-La, Manila from 1 February 2021 onwards, as part of its reorganization efforts.

“Despite our best efforts, the prolonged recovery timeline has resulted in increasing financial pressure on the company here in the Philippines,” the company said.

“Owing to continued low business levels and having considered all viable options over weeks of consideration and deliberation, we unfortunately must now make the extremely difficult decision to reorganize our workforce and operations in the Philippines as we continue to navigate an uncertain business environment,” it added.

Shangri-La emphasized that to mitigate the financial impact brought about by the pandemic, multiple cost management initiatives have been implemented including salary reductions at management level, implementing shorter work weeks, hiring freeze and cuts in non-essential spending.

It added that in the past ten months, it has provided assistance for its rank and file to help them through these challenging times.

The Shangri-La group said every effort is being made to support all affected colleagues through this transition, including providing a fair compensation package that is higher than local statutory guidelines and extending healthcare coverage and grocery support until December 31, 2021 to provide affected employees and their families peace of mind during these uncertain times.

Shangri-La Group Vice President-Operations (Philippines) John Rice also informed the Philippine Hotel Owners Association (PHOA) of the news in a letter addressed to president Arthur Lopez.

“We continue to closely monitor global developments and look forward to reopening the property at a later date when business conditions have improved. In the meantime, our team on the ground are making the necessary arrangement,” Rice said.  

“We are proud to have been a pioneer and a leading member of the community here in Manila and have consistently supported the growing hospitality industry and the community,” he added.