Wyndham O'Hare in Rosemont next hotel to close

The suburban hotel industry took another major hit Tuesday as the Wyndham O'Hare Hotel in Rosemont prepares to close by Jan. 1.

The quick shutdown surprised the Unite Here Local 450 union, which received written notice that its 107 workers will be out of a job due to a lack of financing, said Bill Biggerstaff, secretary/treasurer for the union that represents workers at the Rosemont hotel and two others that have or will close in Arlington Heights and Oak Brook.

"Talk about a kick in the stomach," Biggerstaff said. "We had about 250 members out of work in just a blink of an eye."

The property is independently owned and operated under a franchise agreement with Wyndham Hotels and Resorts in Parsippany, N.J., said Wyndham spokeswoman Evy Apostolatos.

"We are in the process of evaluating this situation now and how it will affect our customers," Apostolatos said via e-mail. "The comfort and convenience of our customers is our primary concern and we are diligently working through the details at this time in order to accommodate our guests and limit any inconvenience they may experience."

The Wyndham O'Hare's general manager did not immediately return a phone call.

The 466-room Wyndham O'Hare, at 6810 N. Mannheim, is the second major suburban hotel to announce its closing this week and the third since October. Officials at the Sheraton Chicago Northwest in Arlington Heights said this week it would close by Dec. 28. The Wyndham Drake Hotel in Oak Brook closed last October due to a lack of a buyer.

The hotel and hospitality industry is suffering nationwide due to the recession holding back leisure travelers as well as chipping into corporate and association bottom lines, said Daniel Erkkila, past president of the Travel and Tourism Research Association and a travel researcher and professor at the University of Minnesota.

"The business traveler has been hit hard and a lot of corporations and public entities that use hotels for their meetings are pulling back and looking for cheaper options," said Erkkila.

Top tier cities nationwide, which depend on conventions and meetings, are seeing a drop in business because of the cutbacks. Chicago recently lost some convention business as well.

Still, more hotel closures are expected as a lack of financing, skittish buyers and fewer leisure and business travelers affect their bottom lines, added Biggerstaff.

"The rumors are flying all over," Biggerstaff said about other possible hotel closures.

Unite Here, a union that represents hotel room attendants and food-and-beverage workers, will see about 107 workers lose their jobs at Wyndham in Rosemont.

The union claims the hotel did not follow federal regulations requiring a 60-day layoff notice, and only provided about two weeks. The union has filed an information request with the hotel regarding the layoff notice and the reasons behind it, Biggerstaff said.

The Wyndham closure "came out of the blue," Biggerstaff said, while the Sheraton in Arlington Heights wasn't a surprise since it had been financially troubled for a while.

Despite the closures, Wyndham still plans for a 300- to 350-room Wyndham Grand hotel on Higgins Road next to the Stonegate Conference Center in Hoffman Estates.

The Hoffman Estates village board in November approved extending an expiring tax increment financing district to 2017 so the village could offer incentives to build the estimated $100 million hotel. Village officials said the land's owners have secured the Wyndham brand naming rights for the site. The hotel could bring 200 jobs to the village. There's no timetable when the project would start or guarantee the hotel will be constructed.

Still, the Wyndham's closing in Rosemont is another blow to an already distressed market, said Marc J. Gordon, president and CEO of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association in Chicago.

"The Rosemont area is severely depressed and some hotels have mortgage structures that are under siege," said Gordon. "Some likely will be bought out or others might go through foreclosure or just close. A lot of hotels are facing severe problems right now."

•Daily Herald Staff Writer Ashok Selvam contributed to this report.