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Residents face eviction from hotels during COVID-19

People who have been living in hotels are facing eviction after many are without jobs because of the coronavirus. Organizations are aiming to help.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — News 19 has been getting a lot of phone calls and messages from families in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

That includes families who have been living in hotels. They are now fearful that they will be put out, after not being able to pay weekly fees.

One woman who reached out to News 19, says she's been living at the InTown Suites in Columbia and was told if she couldn't pay her weekly rate, she and her family would have to leave.

"Some of us are house keepers and the rest of us are working in the restaurant industry and we haven't been working in the last week or so, which is taking away from our income," she says. "So, how can we pay for a hotel if we are out of work? If we had somewhere else to go we wouldn't be at their hotel. We're on pins and needles right now."

We reached out to InTown Suites and received this response:

We are exploring all options to support our guests during these unprecedented times while seeking to ensure we can continue effectively running our establishments, provide outstanding service to all in-house guests and pay our staff, who are taking extraordinary measures to ensure our properties are kept safe and clean.

Now local non profit organizations are aiming to help.

The United Way is asking that anyone in need of assistance at this time, call 211, to begin the process of getting help.

They are also asking for people to donate to their COVID-19 Fund, which "helps residents meet basic needs including food, shelter, rent/utility assistance, and hotel vouchers due to lost wages related to COVID-19."

The link to the donation site can be found here.

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