WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — The following transcript has been edited for clarity.
Local 5: Health care workers in Iowa are on the front lines of the fight against coronavirus. They have been exposed to the disease and might endanger their families when they return home from a shift.
But some hotels are stepping up.
This is a huge need for health care workers. How is your hotel chain providing a safe space for these health care workers at the time they really need it?
Julia Borchardt, Hampton Inn and Suites (West Des Moines): The Hilton Corporation and American Express are teaming up together to provide over a million hotel rooms for the front line workers battling the COVID-19 crisis.
The Hampton Inn and Suites in West Des Moines on Mills Civic Parkway is supporting this program and along with our [management company]. We are providing complimentary rooms for these heroes. We hope that they'll use them as a place of rest, maybe recharge, help keep their loved ones at home safe and secure during this pandemic.
Local 5: This is really a fantastic thing that you all are doing and much, appreciated by so many.
Give us a feel for how many health care workers you have taking the advantage of this at your property.
Borchardt: Well, we have rooms available for medical professionals right now. They are currently available. We only have one that is currently in-house and we look for more. We encourage others to come join us and experience some of our "Hampton-ality".
Local 5: Obviously you have some open rooms because hospitality has been hit hard during the coronavirus pandemic.
In general, how severely it has impacted the business?
Borchardt: Yes, it's been a great impact to the business. Normally, about this time of year, we would run about a 79 or 80% occupancy. Right now, we've got about 20% going.
So we have rooms available and if we have fron-tline professionals that can use them, we'd be glad to house them.
Local 5: What is the gratitude like on their face when they realize they're just like, 'Just come on in and stay here. We're gonna do this for you'?
Borchardt: It's a warm, heartfelt feeling for us. There's not much that we can do and, you know, what can we do to help battle the crisis?
And if in some small way we can provide some relief for them, that's our goal.
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