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Central Illinois Hotels Suffer in Silence

Hawkeye Hotels

With the coronavirus sweeping across the country, the hospitality industry in central Illinois faces its biggest challenge since 9/11. Starting with last month's cancellation of the Illinois High School Association boys basketball tournament, an event that's meant Downtown business for Peoria for the past 25 years, area hotels have seen reservations evaporate. Without guests, hotels have been forced to lay off staff. J.D. Dalfonso, executive director of the Peoria Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, said his agency, usually involved with booking events and coordinating tourism, has turned to helping coordinate community safety during the outbreak while promoting local business affected by the government-ordered shutdown such as restaurants and retail outlets. "We're keeping an eye on what Chicago's been doing," he said, referring to efforts to stop the spread of the virus. "We've been lucky to have only one hotel close in the area--the Par-A-Dice Hotel in East Peoria--but with the stay-at-home order extended through the month of April, we would anticipate some other hotels--with no cash coming in the door--closing temporarily," said Dalfonso. While working with and county officials, Dalfonso said his office conducts Friday-afternoon conference calls with area hotel managers to share information. Peoria's two largest hotels are both familiar with tough times. The Pere Marquette, built in 1927, is Peoria's oldest hotel. After extensive renovation in 2013, the refurbished facility, despite backing from the city, ran into financial difficulty. After contentious squabbling between developer Gary Matthews and his creditors, the property emerged from bankruptcy court in 2018 with a new owner. Jeff McLinden, director of the Marriott Pere Marquette Hotel and the adjacent Courtyard by Marriott, guided hotel staff through those tough times when the fate of the hotel was in question. McLinden also recalled the impact on the hospitality industry after the terrorist attack in 2001. "After 9/11, there was a dramatic change in hotel reservations when no one wanted to fly. This is more far-reaching," he said of a present situation that prohibits public gatherings. As reservations have dried up, McLinden has consolidated operations at the two hotels in the Pere with a stripped-down staff. While picking up additional hours and duties at reduced pay, he's anticipating that the outbreak could have a lasting impact. "When we look back on the pandemic of 2020, we'll see changes coming out of this," said McLinden. A block from the Pere Marquette, the Four Points by Sheraton has also experienced change. With 323 rooms, the Four Points, Downtown's largest hotel, started as the "ultra-modern" Voyager Inn in 1959. Over the years, the hotel has carried different names, being expanded and reborn as the Continental Regency in the 1980s and bearing the flags of national chains such as the Ramada and Holiday Inn before its present affiliation. The facility closed in October 2013 when Starwood Hotels & Resorts planned major renovations. Starwood sold the Peoria hotel in 2014 to Alena Hospitality, a Florida operator with five hotels. Before renovations could be completed, Alena's owner was arrested on federal loan-fraud charges that led to court-ordered liquidation of Alena's properties. In 2015, Four Points was purchased by Iowa-based Hawkeye Hotels. Renovations started anew and--after being closed for six-and-a-half-years--the hotel finally reopened in January. Only to run into the coronavirus.

Hawkeye management had no comment on hotel operations other than to say Four Points remained open. John Brinkman, the former general manager who hosted a tour of the facility at its reopening, was no longer with the firm.

Copyright 2021 WCBU. To see more, visit WCBU.

Steve Tarter retired from the Peoria Journal Star in 2019 after spending 20 years at the paper as both reporter and business editor.