Downtown Milwaukee’s iconic Pfister Hotel shut its doors Tuesday in response to the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and its devastating impact on the hospitality industry.
The hotel, located at 424 E. Wisconsin Ave., announced the temporary closure via its website, explaining the decision was made to help flatten the curve on the virus’ spread. Its cafe, lobby bar and top floor bar Blu have all been closed since mid-March.
Reservations through April 30 have been automatically canceled and fully refunded. The hotel plans to “further assess the status” of reservations for May 1 and later, according to its website.
A hotel employee told BizTimes Milwaukee over the phone that May 1 is when The Pfister plans to reopen.
“Our leadership team is meeting daily to monitor the situation, and we pledge to continue addressing this important matter with the utmost care, which will include staying in communication with our guests as we have updates to share,” according to the announcement.
Marcus Hotels & Resorts has now temporarily closed all three of its downtown Milwaukee hotels due to COVID-19. It closed the 219-room Saint Kate Arts Hotel and the 729-room Hilton Milwaukee City Center last month, along with the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa in Lake Geneva and two other out-of-state hotel properties.
Like The Pfister, many downtown hotels initially tried to remain open with skeleton crews and low occupancy, but most have since closed.
As of Wednesday morning, VISIT Milwaukee’s website lists 16 Milwaukee-area hotels that have temporarily suspended operations.
Get more news and insights in the March 30 issue of BizTimes Milwaukee:
