Hilton Hawaiian Village to temporarily close amid coronavirus pandemic

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - One of the state’s largest hotels announced late Friday that it was temporarily closing because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Representatives for the Hilton Hawaiian Village tell Hawaii News Now that the property will shut down on Monday for an indefinite period of time. Guests who are currently at the hotel are in the process of being notified of the closure.

“As we navigate through uncharted waters as a result of the novel corona virus (COVID-19), we have made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend operations at Hilton Hawaiian Village,” a spokesperson said. “While we have had to temporarily suspend our operations, we are committed to fully restoring operations at our resort and look forward to welcoming guests and team members back as travel restrictions are lifted and business rebounds.”

Officials for Local 5, the union which represents many Waikiki hotel workers, say there are roughly 1,700 unionized employees at the resort ― more than at any other hotel which employs union members.

The union was notified about the closure on Friday afternoon. It was not immediately clear whether the employees had been laid off or would be compensated during the closure.

“The impact will be massive for our industry, but our Union will continue supporting our laid-off workers — with their unemployment application and connecting them to other available resources. UNITE HERE Local 5 will continue bargaining with our employers to ensure that laid-off workers will keep their healthcare benefits. We will keep you updated,” Local 5 said in a statement.

This story will be updated