TULSA, Okla. — One hotel serves as home away from home for frequent travelers who visit Green Country to work.
The difference in this trip is they cannot go back home to visit family because of the outbreak. So, the Residence Inn by Marriott Tulsa Midtown is their sanctuary.
Less than half of the rooms are occupied. Normally, eight or nine out of 10 rooms are rented.
“Now that there’s the virus, we lost a lot of groups and companies that stopped traveling,” said Francisco Vazquez, the hotel’s general manager.
Vazquez says staff’s hours are cut. He hopes they can stay afloat before anyone is laid off.
Helping business are the people who travel in for work like Austin Hausman, a master machinist from Houston.
“Can’t do anything other than go to work, come to the hotel, go to work, come to the hotel,” Hausman said.
His and others’ Tulsa stays last weeks at a time. They are usually broken up with weekend home visits, but those are not safe anymore.
“I'm kind of upset. I’m really sad I don’t get to see my parents for like a really long time," said Jamie Minard, an aerospace intern from Chicago. "You cannot be too careful. There are perfectly healthy people who are getting sick.”
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