After losing her apartment and car to Hurricane Helene floodwaters, Kayla Aimesbury walked more than four miles the next morning to The Flat Iron Hotel in Asheville where she works as director of rooms.
“This is a special place,” Aimesbury says. “Even after I lost all those things, I just wanted to see my co-workers. I love my teammates so much.”
Friday, Nov. 22, was the first night back for the 71-room hotel since the storm. The building, constructed in 1926, was not structurally damaged by the Sept. 27 storm, but like a lot of downtown Asheville, it did not have potable water until early last week.
“We’re all so excited and grateful,” Aimesbury says. “A lot of the guests we’ve spoken to are ready to give back to the community and come back to Asheville.”
One concern about the re-opening of Asheville after the storm was whether establishments would have available workers. Many of the workers at the Flat Iron returned to their jobs after its hotel management group, Charleston, South Carolina-based Indigo Road Hospitality Group, made arrangements for its employees displaced by Helene, Aimesbury says.
Indigo Road arranged for Flat Iron’s workers to have jobs at one of its five other hotels in Georgia, South Carolina and Highlands, North Carolina, plus arranged for them to either have a place to stay on the property or by renting them an Airbnb. Aimesbury took advantage of the “kind” offer briefly in Georgia, she says.
Indigo Road founder and managing partner Steve Palmer says the company values its employees. “After the storm, our immediate thought was is everyone safe,” he says, “and our second thought was how can we care for everyone.”
About 80% of the Flat Iron’s 70 employees took advantage of Indigo Road’s offer to work and stay in another city, Palmer says. Making those arrangements cost the company about $70,000. “We do what we do because of our values and because it’s the right thing to do,” he says.
Indigo Road also donated proceeds for certain meals at its other restaurants to help employees get back on their feet, says Palmer. Many employees either lost their vehicles or had trouble paying their bills after the storm.
Businesses reliant on tourism and hospitality in Buncombe County are projected to post Helene-related revenue losses up to 70% in the final quarter of 2024, according to Tourism Development Authority CEO Vic Isley.
“That means about $585 million for our local economy,” Isley told WFAE. “And that means less revenue for our local businesses, wages for our residents and ultimately tax revenues for our government partners.”
Buncombe County has about 95 hotels and most are now open, according to Explore Asheville. Notable exceptions include Home2 Suites in Biltmore Village, the Grand Bohemian Hotel and The Radical.
Palmer says Helene tore through western North Carolina at the busiest time of the year. The Flatiron Preservation Group, headed by developer Philip Woollcott, purchased the building in 2019 and opened it in May after around $44 million in renovations. The hotel is reminiscent of the 22-story Flatiron building, originally the Fuller Building, in New York City.
Palmer says it feels good to have the Flat Iron open again. “In the hospitality industry, taking care of other people is in our nature. It feels like we’re getting back to that.”