hotel shuts down after extreme water damage

COLUMBUS — The local Holiday Inn Express will not be housing visitors any time soon after experiencing catastrophic flooding on Feb. 5 that will require extensive repairs to the interior and the sprinkler system.

The hotel located at 4321 Interstate 10 suffered the flooding when contractors entering the top floor for roof repair stepped on a pipe connected to the hotel’s sprinkler system. The pipe broke on contact, releasing gallons of water throughout the rooms and hallways of each floor in the hotel.

Constable Richard LaCourse explained that the type of pipe used to deliver the water is similar to PVC pipe, meaning that contact like a step could potentially be enough to break the connection.

“If you step on it, you have a good possibility of breaking it,” LaCourse said. 

The contractors reportedly entered the building in response to roof damage done by intense winds on Friday, Feb. 2. The pipe broke due to a misstep after attempting to access the roof from the third floor. The resulting water flooded hallways, rooms and even the elevator shaft, causing severe water damage especially to the carpeting.

There are many repairs projected to be completed before Holiday Inn can return to operation. Along with the initial roof repair the hotel sought, it will now need a long process of drying out before they begin replacing materials destroyed by water damage. The repairs will follow a discussion between the insurance agencies of both the contractors and the hotel. Due to the lengthy nature of each process, the repairs are expected to take a while as there is no predicted schedule of completion.

“I don’t see it opening in the very near future,” LaCourse said, “It is quite substantial damage to the hotel.”

While the Holiday Inn repairs and recovers from the damage, all hotel operations at the location will be on temporary standby. Further reporting will be released as future details come out regarding the projected return of hotel operations.