MONROEVILLE, Pa. — The Double Tree Hotel next to the Monroeville Convention Center officially closed its doors.
>> Double Tree Hotel next to Monroeville Convention Center closing its doors
The hotel abruptly announced it would close Tuesday. It was shut down by Wednesday at 10 a.m.
The sobering news may be sinking in. But there’s still unfinished business for Double Tree customers and community members.
Channel 11 has heard from people with events planned for this year at the hotel and local business owners concerned about the impact.
People with planned events left scrambling
Linda Brown paid a deposit for her annual non-profit fundraiser in May at the hotel. Brown tells us this is an event they’ve held at the hotel for five years.
Wednesday morning, Brown and other concerned patrons went to the hotel before it closed.
“I came out to see if it’s possible to see one of the managers,” Brown said. “Or someone, just to see if we can get our deposit back.”
We spoke to bride Aj Denne. She grew up in Monroeville but now lives in Florida. She and her fiancee paid a $1,300 deposit for their wedding reception at the Double Tree in November.
“They just called me and basically the manager told me the Green Tree Double Tree is allowing anyone being affected by the Monroeville Double Tree to come over if they have the space open,” Denne said.
Denne said the manager told her to contact the owner about her deposit.
“I gave him a ring and sent him a pretty unpleasant email demanding my refund,” Denne said. “I booked a plane ticket to come to my menu tasting in AprilSo now I’m down the cost of a plane ticket also.”
Local business owners concerned about future impacts
Tammy Bertera owns Nick Marie’s Esta Esta Restaurant on William Penn Highway, along with her husband. It has been around since 1955.
“We’re the last standing original family business in Monroeville, been here the longest and it’s very sad,” Bertera said. “We do a lot of business from there, the coin show, all those shows bring a lot of business to us. And then yesterday we heard that the hotel was closing so I ran down to the hotel to see if I could get some employees, ‘cause you can’t get employees anymore.”
She fears that the dominoes are just beginning to fall.
“You drive down Monroeville, and you see all the buildings that are closed. It’s a very scary time right now,” Bertera said.
Several people told Channel 11 off-camera they are concerned about the future of the Monroeville Mall as well.
“I walk in there every day, and I look around and there’s no stores in there. My favorite store in there is the leggings store, and the guy just told me they’re closing,” Bertera said.
What happens now?
A former employee said off-camera that people could reach out directly to the owner to try to get their deposits refunded. His contact information is posted on the signs on the hotel doors.
The name provided is Yaacov Amar. The email address listed is yaacov@ch-ny.com. The phone number is 917-755-5531. The address is First Choice Investments, LLC 444 Madison Ave Suite 1805 New York, NY 10022.
Channel 11 reached out to Amar numerous times and has not heard back. His voicemail is currently full.
We also reached out to the Double Tree in Green Tree, which is independently owned, and spoke with General Manager Scott Parsons. He said the hotel has received dozens of calls already from people who had events scheduled at the Double Tree in Monroeville.
Parsons said his sales team is working with people to relocate their events to the Green Tree location where there is availability. He is not requiring guests to submit an additional deposit. He said anyone interested should call the hotel’s main line at 412-922-8400 and ask for the sales department.
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