Grand Plaza Hotel in St. Pete Beach lays off 239 workers
April 2, 2020 - Grand Plaza Hotel has become the second St. Pete Beach hotel with a mass layoff. The hotel laid off 239 workers as of March 20, it said in a WARN notice to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, citing "the unforeseeable, dramatic downturn in business and occupancy caused by the coronavirus natural disaster." The hotel said it expects the layoffs to be temporary. Both Grand Plaza Hotel and its neighbor, Beachcomber Beach Resort, which laid off 117 workers, are part of Benchmark Resorts & Hotels.