Buffalo, NY (WBEN) The Hotel Henry Urban Resort Conference Center on the Richardson Olmsted Campus, is ending business operations amid the COVID pandemic effective February 27, say hotel operators. They add , Richardson Center Development Corporation (RCDC) and Sublessee, Hotel Henry, have agreed to terminate the initial 10-year lease term in advance of the expiration of the agreement.
"We have been committed to bringing new life to these historic buildings.", said Diana Principe, Hotel Henry Executive, "The impact that Hotel Henry has had on the region, what we have created together with the community in just three short years, is quite remarkable."
"Building and running a hotel business within a vast repurposed historic structure is both an advantage and a challenge, presenting difficulties and costs that other hotels simply don't incur", said Dennis Murphy, Hotel Henry Company Member. "As Hotel Henry entered 2020, the business was on track to a second year of healthy profit. The global pandemic completely changed that. There is no doubt Hotel Henry was fiscally battered in 2020 with 75% of projected revenue lost to COVID's impact, but we continued to evolve our business model to pivot toward every opportunity to persevere into 2021 and to honor the hotel's commitments. Hotel Henry is a casualty of a pandemic that unfortunately has put us and many United States hotels out of business."
"This unexpected turn is a loss for our coworkers, neighbors, collaborating organizations, and small business vendors who championed and relied on Hotel Henry." continued Principe, "It is our hope that the spirit and vitality of what Hotel Henry has become for our community, the foundation Hotel Henry has created for the campus, continues forward."
"Hotel Henry has been great to work with and transparent with us about the challenges they have been facing", said Mark Mortenson, President, Richardson Center Corporation. "As their landlord, we can appreciate the unprecedented challenge the pandemic has had on their business and the travel and lodging sector in general. As the steward of the Richardson Olmsted Campus, our priority is to identify an ongoing use for this asset in conjunction with our ongoing reuse efforts for the remaining buildings on the campus."
