About Coronavirus 2020
Washingtonian is keeping you up to date on the coronavirus around DC.
The Hay-Adams, a luxury DC hotel and historic landmark, will temporarily close due to the growing coronavirus health crisis. The White House-adjacent property, once the home site of Abraham Lincoln’s personal secretary, has served as a hotel since 1928. A re-opening date is yet to be determined, but representatives for the hotel say it will be no earlier than May 1.
The hotel industry has been particularly hard hit by Covid-19 as travel decreases, conferences and events are canceled, and borders closed. Marriott has furloughed thousands employees, while occupancy rates around Washington have hit record lows. President Trump‘s DC hotel currently has a 5 percent occupancy, per the New York Times, and 95 percent of the staff is “not working.”
The Hay-Adams isn’t the only DC property to halt operations. Neighboring luxury property The Jefferson temporarily closed this week and hopes to reopen in early May. Over in Maryland, the MGM National Harbor Resort and Casino suspended operations as well.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
