Aussie-owned Cadillac Hotel on Los Angeles’ famous Venice Boardwalk is a beacon of hope
With no paying guests due to COVID-19, an Aussie hotel owner raised in western Sydney has turned the iconic Cadillac Hotel on LA’s famed Venice Boardwalk over to the less fortunate.
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In prime position on the famed Venice Boardwalk is the pale pink Cadillac Hotel – an art-deco grand old dame that you’d think had seen it all given its location in the middle of Los Angeles’ most eclectic beachside enclave.
And it had — until COVID-19 struck not only its Aussie owner Sris Sinnathamby, but also threatened to decimate the homeless population that infamously live in crowded shanty towns under the jetties and freeway ramps around LA.
Mr Sinnathamby, who’s been running the Cadillac since 2001, fell ill with suspected coronavirus in early March.
After suffering two weeks of flu-like symptoms he emerged to find his once-bustling hotel empty of guests as California enforced a stay-at-home order that shuttered the sprawling metropolis’ hospitality industry.
“I went from a full hotel to zero. I have a 20-strong staff and they all have kids, and these people were all dependent on me to put food on the table,” he said.
“I was stressed because, you know, how do I take care of them? Obviously there’s unemployment (benefits) but it’s not great if you have a family.”
Instead of closing down, Mr Sinnathamby, 59, who was born in Sri Lanka and raised in Western Sydney, pivoted his business, and applied with Los Angeles County – which is grappling with a 50,000 homeless count – to turn his prime real estate hotel into a shelter program for homeless people most at risk from contracting the deadly virus.
Under the state’s Project Roomkey program, businesses receive up to 75 per cent reimbursement for providing this support.
“There are a lot of homeless people in Venice, and none of this social distancing is going to work. A lot of them have health issues,” Mr Sinnathamby said.
“We are right in the epicentre of homelessness in Los Angeles, after Skid Row. I thought: ‘these people definitely need help, and my staff needs to work, so it’s a win-win situation’.”
Under the program, the hotel is at 100 per cent occupancy with homeless people over 65 who have existing health conditions, such as respiratory illnesses and heart issues making them more vulnerable to COVID-19.
They are now his beloved clients, who enjoy rooms to themselves, cable television, and surfaces he proudly describes as “so clean you could eat off them”.
They are treated as if they were paying guests on holiday, with three meals a day provided.
“The people here are just amazing,” he said.
“They’re so nice. You really feel good about helping them. I thought I knew so much about people who don’t have homes, but you learn so much from talking to these people. Some of us have become fast friends.”
Guest Kat Doherty, 61, who was transferred from the infamous Skid Row, said her new digs overlooking the ocean is her “nirvana”.
“A case worker found me and she brought me here because I was at higher risk for the Corona. In Skid Row they’ve had deaths and a lot of cases, it’s kind of the hot spot right now for it because it’s so congested. There was a lot of fighting and a lot of violence. I felt very unsafe. But it’s wonderful here, it’s a beautiful spot, it’s a beautiful hotel, the staff is wonderful.”
Anyone in the building must wear a mask, make use of the many hand sanitiser stations, and a medic working for the county is on standby to take the temperature of anyone who enters.
If they are ill, people are transported to a medical facility.
Thanks to the financial help from the County, Mr Sinnathamby’s employees have kept their jobs at full pay.
“My staff are very happy. They don’t have to take a cut,” he said.
“A lot of hotels had issues where their staff didn’t want to come back to work. I gave mine the option to volunteer to work and every single one accepted the offer,” he said.
“We have not had a case of coronavirus at the hotel. We have a first responded at the front here who sends anyone coming in with flu-like symptoms to a COVID-19 facility.
‘BLESSED TO BE HERE’
“I’ve been here for 10 days, it’s very clean,” said Michael Cassel, 59.
“For people who are in a transition state, it’s been very accommodating, to say the least, I even have a dog. I had a house by the beach, but went through legal issues, then I had surgery on my spine and hip. And I got rheumatoid arthritis, so it’s gonna help me to have a place to rest.”
Quenton Williams, 54, said: “I’m a cripple because I was jammed between two pick-up trucks two years ago. I’m blessed to even be walking. And then I inherited congestive heart failure from my momma’s side of the family, and I have hypertension. Before the Cadillac, I was living out there on the street, in Santa Monica on the beach until they closed it. Then I went to the park, and after that anywhere I could find. I am blessed to be here.”
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Mr Sinnathamby, a Trinity Grammar graduate who “landed in LA after travelling the world” in 1990 and bought the Cadillac in 2001, is already putting plans in place for when the health crisis eases — but he won’t be turfing his new-found friends back on the streets.
“I’ve been talking with the homeless authorities and they are very keen to extend this program. LA is slowly coming back — slower than most — but we can’t put them back out there because they are too high-risk,” he explained.
“You can’t say: ‘Oh we saved you for four or five months, now you’re at the mercy of COVID-19. We would undo all the good work we’ve done. Now we have the opportunity for case workers to speak with these people one-on-one and work out permanent housing for them. We started this in April, it’s supposed to end in October, but we want to extend it.”
Only then will he close his hotel’s iconic pink doors, work on some long-planned remodelling, including a rooftop bar overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and welcome back tourists – especially those from his home country – by the Northern Hemisphere’s summer of 2021.
Originally published as Aussie-owned Cadillac Hotel on Los Angeles’ famous Venice Boardwalk is a beacon of hope