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About a dozen events that had been contracted at Branson Convention Center during March will now be held at Chateau on the Lake.
About a dozen events that had been contracted at Branson Convention Center during March will now be held at Chateau on the Lake.

Chateau on the Lake hiring early to meet convention needs

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Last edited 1:51 p.m., March 12, 2012

To accommodate guests for events relocated by the temporary closing of the Branson Convention Center, Chateau on the Lake is bringing on about 60 seasonal workers earlier than planned.

Stephen Marshall, vice president and general manager for Chateau on the Lake, said it's not unusual for the hotel and convention center to bring on temporary employees, but the need for extra help this early in the year was necessitated by the closing of the Branson Convention Center and the attached Hilton Hotel due to damage caused by the Feb. 29 tornado. Chateau on the Lake was undamaged during the storms.

"Our season has started early," said Stephen Marshall, vice president and general manager for Chateau on the Lake, noting the hotel typically makes seasonal hires gradually through April, with a majority coming on in May. "We're doing the very best to accommodate all concerned."

He said about a dozen events that had been contracted at Branson Convention Center during March will now be held at Chateau on the Lake. The extra business is expected to bring in about 4,000 attendees for Chateau on the Lake, but Marshall said the hotel's intentions were to benefit the city rather than profit.

"We were not going to try and take advantage of the situation," he said, noting Chateau on the Lake would be honoring the Branson Convention Center's contracts, including keeping the same rates. "In a small community such as this, we took the position that whatever was negotiated with the Hilton by way of these groups, we would honor them. By the mere fact that there was a disaster, the contracts would have been nullified."

Chateau on the Lake's 43,500-square-foot convention center can accommodate about 3,500 to 4,000 people. Chateau on the Lake currently is hosting about 500 people for the three-day Missouri Staff Development Council Show-me Professional Development Conference, which ends tomorrow.

Marshall said the hotel is mainly planning for a boom this month, and additional events after March depend on the speed of repairs at the Branson Convention Center and Hilton Hotel. According to research by Springfield Business Journal reporter Brian Brown, the convention center is expected to reopen by mid-April, and the hotel should be back in operation by late June.
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