Sad Song for Employees of Disney’s Swan & Dolphin
1,100 Workers Laid Off At The Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort
Have you ever been laid off? Well, in case you haven’t – it sucks. Big time.
You sit there. With a little time to clean out your space. Maybe it’s a lot of time. Anyway, you have nothing to do. Well, not in a good way. Nothing to do in a bad way.
So, today — in that dim light — I am thinking of the nice folks at the Disney Swan & Dolphin; one of my favorite spots on Earth, mind you, and how 1100 of them just lost their jobs.
I mean, I am thinking of the smiling faces at the front desk, at The Fountain, at Picabu. Great, great people. Many of them gone.
Historic, Swift, and Devastating
Gabrielle Russon had the story in the Orlando Sentinel:
With the professional athletes gone, Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort is laying off about 1,100 employees because of low occupancy and canceled events in another hit to the tourism industry because of the coronavirus pandemic…
The Marriott hotel between Epcot and Hollywood Studios called the economic impact “historic, swift and devastating” as it alerted the state as a requirement under federal law for mass layoffs.
The entire Swan portion of the hotel had been home to MLS teams who were staying there in the “bubble” in July and August as they played in a tournament at ESPN Wide World of Sports.
Just 1,100 of 249,400
WMFE.org’s Danielle Prieur posted:
The hospitality industry in Central Florida has been hard hit by the pandemic, losing 249,400 jobs over the past year…
In a letter sent to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, the company says the layoffs are permanent as low hotel occupancy and canceled events are expected to continue into 2021.
“Since the coronavirus/COVID crisis began, the hospitality industry has faced many unprecedented challenges that could not have been foreseen,” the letter read.
This Year [SMH]
Honestly, when I heard about the Swan & Dolphin all of this home. Squarely. I’ve stayed at the Dolphin, plenty. And as a father of three (and a working journalist), I am back and forth to the “buffeteria.”
At all hours. They were always there. ALWAYS.
Those folks log long days, serve good food, and are, well, sweethearts. And no doubt some of them are out of a job.
This year, man. This year – sucks.