ARCHIVED - Sheraton hotel in Hacienda del Álamo denies having laid off staff

The company reports having maintained its full staff since the hotel re-opened

It was reported on Monday that in the face of a downturn in tourism in the Costa Cálida following the effects along the coast of three major storms and the acceleration in the deterioration of the marine environment of the Mar Menor the 4-star Sheraton hotel in the Hacienda del Álamo golf resort had released approximately a third of its workforce are to be released, but the PR agency representing the establishment and its management company ADH hotels have contacted Murcia Today to affirm that this is not the case.

Murcia Plaza had claimed that lower visitor numbers than expected had led to the chain making approximately 20 of its 60 employees redundant over the last year at the 154-room hotel, which is located in a top-quality resort with a widely praised golf course designed by Dave Thomas – the longest in southern Spain - open-air pools and a host of other sports facilities. In addition, the report stated that the employees released ranged from the head chef to reception staff, reflecting the need to downsize in the face of falling income.

However, the agency representing the hotel reports that this information is “not true”, and that the Sheraton “not only maintains its full staff but the average occupancy rate has grown in 2019” (after the hotel reopened in late 2018). “There have been changes in the staff aimed to guarantee the standards of quality of Sheraton, which is completely normal in a business, and the jobs have been filled with the adequate professionals”.

Data produced by the Spanish government’s central statistics unit show that in 2019 the average occupancy rate of hotel rooms in the Region of Murcia was only 49.9 per cent, ten points lower than in Spain as a whole, with prices coming in at 64 euros per night as opposed to 91 euros nationwide. These figures obviously make profitability hard to achieve, and while it is a relief to learn that the Sheraton is apparently not experiencing difficulties many feel that further disappointments within the sector are inevitable: only last week it was announced that the prestigious Arco de San Juan hotel in the city of Murcia is closing its doors.

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