Reopening of Hilton Chicago serves as latest sign of pandemic dwindling
CHICAGO - The Hilton Chicago reopened Thursday after it was closed for 15 months during the pandemic.
The inside of the Michigan Avenue hotel hasn’t been seen by the public since March 2020. Employees spent months preparing to welcome guests and say that each will be treated like royalty.
There are new safety protocols and a renewed spirit in the hotel. Roughly 200 employees returned.
Eventually, 1,000 will be back at work when the hotel reaches full operations.
They put on finishing touches, adjusted the historic clock in the lobby, replaced thousands of bottles of shampoo and soap, changed 34,000 batteries in the 1,544 rooms and vacuumed 4 miles of carpeting.
Until the pandemic, the Hilton Chicago had never closed its doors since it opened in 1927. The employees signed a note to each guest, marking the significance of June 10, 2021.