On March 13, Utah’s Park City Lodging temporarily ceased operations as Covid-19 spurred a wave of shutdowns across the country. The vacation rental company quickly saw an exodus of guests and found themselves with none of their usual late ski season business.
“We completely had to restructure our staff because we have so many in the winter season,” said Heleena Sideris, international sales, marketing, and concierge for Park City Lodging. “There were no guests in the houses, so there was just nothing to do.”
They diverted their time to deep cleaning all of their properties, reassessing all of their policies and procedures, and collecting ski goggles to donate to local medical staff short on personal protective equipment.
Still, Heleena thought there must be something more they could do. She began seeing stories about local domestic violence shelters being at capacity and wondered what that meant for those stuck in those unhealthy home environments.
“I was just out hiking with my dog and I was feeling just overwhelmed. There was a lot of fear, anxiety, and distress for the state of the world,” Heleena said. “I was looking out and it just totally occurred to me it was just an obvious choice.” So, she reached out to a local organization, Peace House, to offer Park City Lodging’s now-empty homes to them for free.
A Safe Haven
Peace House helps victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Utah by providing safe housing and other services. Covid-19 has caused a global spike in the instances of such violence as stay-at-home orders have forced victims to isolate themselves in abusive home environments. At the same time, shelters that would normally be able to support these victims are struggling to keep up with the demand for safe housing while also maintaining safety practices to prevent the spread of coronavirus in communal living spaces.
Peace House’s Community Campus was no exception, so Heleena stepped in with vacation rental homes where victims could find safe, secure, and isolated refuge. So far, they have hosted two Peace House residents, both kept safe with multiple levels of security, including building codes, property codes, and anonymity. Most work is done directly through the Peace House with Park City Lodging following their lead.
“The Peace House team is very grateful for our partnership with Park City Lodging,” said Peace House executive director Kendra Wyckoff. “The additional support for safe housing has been an incredible resource providing life-saving safety for those fleeing an abusive relationship. Our advocates have felt more confident knowing that we have additional resources available for victims and their children when our shelter has been at capacity.”
Park City Lodging has also extended this initiative to the city and local hospital system for first responders, healthcare workers, and patients who might also be seeking housing during the pandemic. They are currently hosting an ICU Covid-19 specialist and arranging housing with the health department for Covid-19 patients who must quarantine away from at-risk family members at home.
New Needs, Same Heart
Though these particular housing needs are unique to the Covid-19 pandemic or exacerbated by it, the vacation rental company has long opened its doors to those in need. Two years ago, Rhonda Sideris, Park City Lodging’s founder and president (and Heleena’s mother), began working with the homeowners in their program to offer their properties to breast cancer survivors for healing retreats through the Image Reborn Foundation.
Image Reborn provides these retreats for six to eight women at a time for a weekend in luxury properties with all meals, services and accommodations covered.
“These homes serve as a weekend refuge for women to share and connect through their shared trauma stemming from cancer and the way it has exacerbated their relationships, financial security, self-esteem, and a barrage of other emotional and physical complications,” said Allyson Morrison, program director for Image Reborn.
Many of the homeowners who have hosted retreats at their vacation rentals have become regular Image Reborn donors. Park City Lodging has also opened its office and meeting spaces to Image Reborn for various events and gatherings.
“They truly are stewards of our community doing amazing work to utilize existing spaces to better the lives of others,” Allyson said.
Adapting for the Future
The Image Reborn in-person retreats and events are currently on hiatus during Covid-19, but Park City Lodging will be ready to host them and all other guests again when the pandemic subsides.
As restrictions are easing in Utah, they are preparing to get back to regular operations. Being shut down has allowed for them to reassess how they do things and rebuild from the ground up.
“We’re trying to find a middle ground between ensuring that our guests that are owners are safe above all else, while still running a viable business,” said Heleena. “It’s just made us rethink the way we do absolutely everything. It’s been really interesting.”
They have updated their cleaning protocols with new Covid-19 specific requirements, including implementing a vacancy period 24 hours after guests check out before a housekeeping team goes in, and outfitting every property with entirely new bedding.
As the business slowly opens back up and the usual vacationing guests return, Park City Lodging will continue to work with Peace House to provide ongoing safe havens for the community’s domestic abuse victims.
“The end goal here is that we remain a resource for the Peace House, someone that they can turn to if they ever do get into a situation like this again,” said Heleena. “We stand with them and we stand behind them, however they need us.”
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