VALENTINE’S Day will never be the same again for lovers, as Victoria Court, the motel chain that built the empire of the late tycoon Archie King, will be closing a number of its branches.
Management of the hotel chain is shared by King’s daughter Angie Mead King, and son Atticus King. According to the company website, there are 10 Victoria Court properties — in Balintawak, Cuneta, Gil Puyat, Hillcrest (Pasig), Las Piñas, Malabon, Malate, North Edsa, Panorama (Pasig), and San Fernando in Pampanga. Mead King handles the Cuneta, Gil Puyat and Malate branches.
In a video message to company employees that is making the rounds of the hotel industry, Mead King said, “Over the next few weeks, I don’t think that hotel and motel operations will be able to produce the same results as it used to. It is time that we face the facts and be honest, and try to prepare for what’s coming.”
She added, the company “will be preparing your retirement and retrenchment packages, so that you will have some funds to survive over the next few months. Please don’t think that we have to this decision lightly. It was with great difficulty. I want to let you know that we value all your hard work and loyalty, that you. Have given during my management. And I really wish there was another way to go about this.” She described the decision to shutter her hotels as “life-changing.”
It is the second iconic hotel brand that has announced a closure due to Covid-19. Just recently, Marco Polo Davao said it would shutter its doors by June, and will give separation and retirement benefits to its employees. (See, “Marco Polo Davao closure spooks tourism industry,” in the BusinessMirror, May 11, 2020.)
For his part, Atticus clarified in a separate video posted on Facebook that he is keeping his branches open but will “retrench and try to keep the lights on.” He explained, “for clarity, we share the brand Victoria Court but we have completely different management groups. Given that, the solutions to the ongoing situation are completely different and unrelated.”
But he said, “we are looking forward to things reverting back to normal,” adding that branches may reopen again.
Victoria Court is among several low-budget hotel chains that have accommodated medical frontliners and business process outsourcing employees during the enhanced community quarantine implemented to contain the spread of Covid-19. The chain has also accommodated returning overseas Filipino workers and maritime crew who are required to go on a 14-day quarantine and tests for the novel coronavirus.
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