Two resorts in Southwest Florida laid off hundreds of employees because both Gulf properties in Collier and Lee counties temporarily closed after being severely damaged by Hurricane Ian a month ago.
The Ritz-Carlton Beach Resort off Vanderbilt Beach in North Naples and the South Seas Island Resort on the northern tip of Captiva Island laid off a total of 829 workers while repairs are underway at the local properties. The Ritz temporarily cut 591 jobs while South Seas paused 238 positions, according to paperwork the resorts independently filed with state officials.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires companies with 100 or more full-time workers to file an advance notice with the state and appropriate local governments when they plan to lay off 50 or more employees at a single site, so state and local assistance can be promptly provided to the affected workers.
The Oct. 13 letter from the Ritz-Carlton was signed by Maribeth McElligott, the resort’s market director for human resources, and sent to the coordinator of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s Rapid Response Program, the agency responsible for preventing or minimizing the impacts of layoffs on workers, businesses and communities. The letter also was sent to the mayor of Naples although the beachside resort is not in the city but rather in unincorporated Collier County, north of the city limits.
“We were unable to provide advance notice of the layoff as we could not anticipate the extent of damage from these natural disasters,” McElligott writes.
The prestigious resort at 280 Vanderbilt Beach Road is expected to be closed until at least March. “Experts and consultants continue to evaluate the extent of the natural disaster damage and have not yet determined we will reopen the hotel for business,” the letter states. “While we are targeting the first part of 2023, the reopening could be extended with the rebuilding of the power grid, infrastructure and supply chain delays. Based on these uncertainties, the temporary layoff may last up to six months or longer.”
The majority of employees affected at the Ritz resort worked as housekeepers, cooks, bartenders, retail clerks and laundry attendants, records show.
Before being damaged by the hurricane, the 37-year-old resort had planned to unveil a $50 million renovation project at the end of this year that includes the addition of a 14-story tower with more than 90 new suites, plus a new restaurant, club lounge and other amenities.
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South Seas sent an Oct. 17 letter to the State Rapid Response Program coordinator in Tallahassee that was signed by Marsha Michael, corporate director of human resources for the resort and the Timbers Co., stating that the hurricane devastation resulted in “the cessation of report operations for the foreseeable future.” Last year, the Timbers Co., Wheelock Street Capital and the Ronto Group combined forces for the more than $50 million purchase of the iconic 330-acre property that launched in 1946.
The majority of South Seas’ employees laid off between Oct. 10 and 23 worked in food and beverage or housekeeping/laundry, the resort reports. Other affected positions at the resort included employees in the front office, retail, recreation, security, maintenance and sales.
Other area resorts such as Lani Kai Island Resort on Fort Myers Beach and La Playa Beach & Golf Resort in North Naples also are temporarily offline because of severe damage from the Sept. 28 hurricane but the smaller hospitality companies employ less than 100 people so are not required to file a WARN letter. Additional temporary layoffs are in effect but specific data for employees affected is not available.
