ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Trucks lined outside Tower three at Caribe Royale Orlando Thursday as crews with Mustard Seed of Central Florida collected donated furniture.
The hotel, which reopened in July, is currently undergoing a $125 million renovation to all its rooms.
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“It was planned pre-pandemic, however when the pandemic hit, the work was accelerated,” Caribe Royale Orlando Managing Director Amaury Piedra said.
Items donated today include mattresses, dressers, box springs and will go toward helping Mustard Seed of Central Florida, the only area clothing and furniture bank, which helps people starting over furnish up to an entire home.
“They’re going to donate 20 rooms worth of furniture,” Alexi Altizer with Mustard Seed of Central Florida said. “This is the first area hotel since March that’s been able to donate furniture to us.”
The donation comes as area tourism continues to try to recover during the pandemic. A spokesperson told News 6 the hotel is currently operating at about 50% capacity.
“It’s no secret that tourism is down,” Piedra said. “Unfortunately, we needed to reduce our workforce. Those things are never taken lightly. We did the most we could for them from a financial perspective and insurance perspective. We just hope to be recalling some of our folks as soon as possible.”
Altizer expects the demand for their services to increase going forward.
“We foresee in the future with this pandemic and the influx of evictions that are going to happen, more people are going to need our services,” she said.
To donate to Mustard Seed of Central Florida, click or tap here.