Embassy backpedals — employees will be fired

By Kathryn Reed

Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel, aka Embassy Suites South Lake Tahoe, has changed its tune. Instead of keeping all 220 employees, there will be about a 5 percent reduction in staff.

On March 1 all employees were told how the 400-room hotel was dropping its affiliation with Hilton and instead the owners would fly solo, change the name and keep everyone employed.

Ten Embassy Suites employees will lose their job in two weeks. Photo/LTN file

A week later that message changed — at least about their employment status.

General Manager John Steinbach told Lake Tahoe News four managers and six line workers will be out of work starting April 1. That’s when Hilton is out of the equation.

But an employee who will be retained told Lake Tahoe News the number being fired is higher than that. “Some have been with the hotel for 15-plus years,” the person said.

The reason for the ousting of the 10 workers, according to Steinbach: “Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel is initiating a few different procedures – attributable to specific service needs, more operational independence and streamlined reporting.”

Employees will receive a severance, but to what amount is not known. Hilton, according to Steinbach, is helping find the displaced workers jobs. But that would require moving out of Lake Tahoe.