Hundreds forced to re-book hotels after Springfield Wyndham closure

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS — The Wyndham has been deemed unsafe for occupancy following vandalism on the property.

It caused significant damage to water pipes and the elevator system. Sangamon County Crime Stoppers have recently raised the reward for tips that lead to an arrest to $4,000.

But the closure of the hotel has possibly left Springfield in a tight spot.

The Executive Director from the Springfield's Visitor Center, Scott Dahl, told me they have worked with about a dozen organizations, meeting planners and groups affected by the Wyndham closure.

The visitor’s center worked directly with these dozen organizations because their travel plans were sourced through their office.

Dahl said his organization is confident no conferences or meetings will be moved out of Springfield.

“Fortunately, we have 4,000 hotel rooms in Springfield, and we have almost 400,000 square feet of meeting space,” Dahl said. “So, there’s alternatives there, and we’re working with those groups to remotely move their meetings to these other locations and provide transportation when needed."

Dahl added the Wyndham closure has not had a negative impact on the city of Springfield just yet. He says his organization has planned for 90 to 120 days in advance to help organizations in need.

The Illinois Association of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America has a conference in two days at the Springfield BOS Center.

Since the Wyndham is temporarily closed, nearly 450 of the association’s attendees must find new accommodations.

Marta Lockwood with the ILFCCLA, told me they rented out 200 hotel rooms and all of the conference spaces at the Wyndham Hotel.

The association had to partner with the visitor center to secure rooms at six different hotels across the city.

Instead of attendees walking from the Wyndham Hotel to the BOS Center, Lockwood said their association now has to provide shuttle service from each hotel. Additional shuttle service is required for attendees who are competing in competitions at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Lockwood said she won’t have the exact number of how much extra money the association has to spend until the end of the week.

But that’s not the end of their worries.

Schools a part of the association have already issued check payments to the Wyndham in advance.

The payments were in transition to be sent to the hotel, but Lockwood said staff from the Wyndham said the payments have not been received yet.

The schools are trying to have the payments cancelled from being sent to the Wyndham and re-rerouted to the hotels they will now be staying at.

Since most meetings and conferences are sourced through the visitor’s center, Dahl said they feel obligated to offer assistance.

“We’re going to work with them,” Dahl said. “Situations like the Wyndham come up, and we’ll work with the group, and meeting planners to be sure their experience is top notch in Springfield.”

To help other events impacted by the closure, Dahl added the city is working to provide alternative dates or locations to make sure every conference is accommodated.

“We’ve been working with the Spring Hotel Lodging Association, all of our tourism partners, and so far, we’ve been able to place the meetings and the groups within Springfield,” Dahl said.

To get an idea of how long the Wyndham Hotel will be closed, I went on their website to try to book a room in December and it said no rooms are available at this time.

I reached out to Wyndham's general manager for a comment, but did not receive a response at this time.