THUNDER BAY — In a sign that the local economy is starting to recover, two Thunder Bay hotels that were temporarily closed when the COVID-19 pandemic was declared have reopened their doors.
The 149-room Delta Marriott , on Sleeping Giant Parkway, stopped accepting guests at the beginning of April as travel across Canada suffered a steep decline.
At the time, the operators of the waterfront hotel said they expected to resume taking reservations on June 29.
Corinne Oatman-Howell is the Delta Marriott's general manager.
"The team is very excited to be opening today. It's a big day for us," she said in an interview Monday.
Oatman-Howell said her staff has been educated about a new cleaning protocol that's been implemented throughout the hotel chain.
"Just making sure that we are going to be protecting our guests, and that they have confidence that we understand COVID-19 is still out there and that people want to know the precautions are in place to make them feel comfortable," she said.
For now, only a few floors of the eight-storey hotel are open, but more will be put in use as demand increases.
No date has been announced yet for the reopening of the restaurant in the building.
The Days Inn on Sibley Drive, which closed around the same time as the Delta Marriott, reopened two weeks ago.
