Leofoo Tourism Group (六福旅遊集團) yesterday said that it would close its 48-year-old Leofoo Hotel (六福客棧) in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山) on May 31 to pave the way for a regeneration project and curb losses caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
The group said it previously planned to close the facility at the end of this year, but decided to move up the schedule to cope with a sharp decline in business.
Hotels and restaurants have been hit hard by the outbreak, which has kept people at home to avoid infection.
Photo: Wang Yi-hung, Taipei Times
The hotel’s Chinese Golden Phoenix Restaurant (金鳳廳) would close on March 31 and the guestrooms would follow on May 31, the group said.
The group — which also owns the Courtyard by Marriott Taipei (六福萬怡) in Taipei’s Nangang District (南港) as well as Leofoo Resort (六福莊), Leofoo Village Theme Park (六福村) and other recreational facilities — last year gained the Taipei City Government’s approval to regenerate Leofoo Hotel.
The closure would not affect guests who have purchased hotel or restaurant vouchers, the group said, adding that they can receive full refunds or use the vouchers at affiliated facilities.
The group said it would help its employees find work at affiliated facilities or other hotels and restaurants, adding that it would disclose layoff details next month.
It is the second hotel the Hsinchu-based conglomerate closed in three years, after Westin Taipei in December 2018.
However, Leofoo Tourism Group said it would stay in the industry with a focus on the maintenance and cleaning of high-end properties, using the know-how it has gathered over the past 50 years.
Leofoo Hotel sits on a 380 ping (1,256m2) lot and is qualified for favorable development terms to encourage the regeneration of old and dangerous buildings.
The regeneration project might have a floor area ratio of 620 percent, allowing the construction of a 20-story building valued at up to NT$7 billion (US$232.33 million), REPro Knight Frank researcher Andy Huang (黃舒衛) has said.
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