Only 15 breakfasts a day in a hotel built for hundreds
En Santa Rosa, el Hotel Mercure ha reducido su operación a su mínima expresión, despidiendo a más de la mitad de su personal y cerrando el restaurante y el spa ante una ocupación que apenas alcanza los 15 huéspedes diarios. Lo que ocurre en este hotel no es un accidente aislado, sino el reflejo de una contracción más profunda del turismo en la región pampeana, golpeada por la crisis económica nacional. Cuando los viajeros dejan de moverse, quienes sostenían ese movimiento quedan varados.
- De 25 empleados, solo quedan 12: el resto fue despedido, aceptó retiros voluntarios o fue trasladado al Casino Club con peores condiciones laborales.
- El hotel opera apenas 27 de sus 86 habitaciones, con una ocupación diaria de alrededor de 15 personas, un volumen que hace inviable mantener servicios como el restaurante o el spa.
- Las indemnizaciones ofrecidas a los trabajadores representan solo el 80% de lo legalmente adeudado, pagaderas en dos cuotas, lo que agrava el impacto humano de la crisis.
- El turismo de paso —el flujo constante de viajeros que sostenía al hotel— ha desaparecido, y los eventos sociales que llenaban sus salones, como bodas y quinceañeras, también se han esfumado.
- La contracción no se limita al Mercure: el Casino Club, su operación hermana, lleva un año reduciendo su plantilla, señalando una estrategia de achicamiento sostenido en toda la empresa.
El Hotel Mercure de Santa Rosa ya no es lo que era. Su restaurante cerró, el spa dejó de funcionar, y la mayor parte de sus 86 habitaciones permanece vacía. En un día cualquiera, apenas 15 personas duermen en el edificio. La dirección decidió mantener operativas solo 27 habitaciones y reducir la plantilla de 25 a 12 trabajadores.
Graciela Ortiz, secretaria general del sindicato de trabajadores de turismo y hotelería de La Pampa, fue quien puso en palabras lo que los números ya decían. Siete empleados del área gastronómica fueron trasladados al Casino Club, la otra empresa del grupo. Los demás perdieron su trabajo o aceptaron retiros voluntarios con indemnizaciones pagadas en dos cuotas y al 80% de lo que la ley establece. El gerente general también renunció.
El cierre del restaurante fue la señal más visible del derrumbe. Con solo 15 desayunos diarios para servir, mantenerlo abierto no tenía sentido económico. Ahora es el personal del bar quien se encarga de las comidas. Las celebraciones que antes llenaban los salones —bodas, quinceañeras, eventos corporativos— prácticamente han desaparecido.
Detrás de todo esto está la crisis económica nacional, que ha golpeado con fuerza al sector turístico. El turismo de paso, ese flujo de viajeros que se detenían una noche en Santa Rosa antes de seguir camino, se ha secado. Y el Casino Club no escapa a la misma lógica: lleva un año reduciendo personal. Lo que comenzó como una emergencia en un hotel se ha convertido en una estrategia de achicamiento que atraviesa toda la empresa, dejando a los trabajadores con menos empleo, menor salario y una incertidumbre difícil de sostener.
The Mercure Hotel in Santa Rosa is contracting. What was once a full-service operation—restaurant, spa, event space—is now running on fumes. The hotel's leadership made the decision to close both the restaurant and spa, shut down most of its 86 rooms, and cut its workforce by more than half. On any given day, roughly 15 people sleep in the building. The company is keeping only 27 rooms available.
When Graciela Ortiz, the general secretary of the La Pampa branch of Argentina's tourism and hospitality workers' union, spoke to reporters about what happened, the numbers told a stark story. The hotel had employed about 25 people. Now it has 12. The rest were either terminated, accepted voluntary severance packages, or transferred elsewhere. Seven workers from the food service department were moved to the hotel's other business venture, the Casino Club. The remaining ten either lost their jobs or took the company's offer to leave. The severance terms were not generous: the company offered to pay indemnities in two installments at 80 percent of what workers were legally owed.
The hotel's general manager resigned. The kinds of events that once filled rooms—weddings, quinceañera celebrations—have stopped. A few corporate functions still happen, but the social calendar that sustained the hospitality staff has essentially vanished. The restaurant closure was perhaps the most visible sign of the crisis. Ortiz explained that the hotel was now serving only about 15 breakfasts a day. That volume could not justify keeping a restaurant open. Instead, those meals, along with lunches and dinners, are now handled by the bar staff.
Behind these operational decisions lies a broader economic collapse. Argentina's tourism sector has been hammered by the national crisis. Travelers are not moving through Santa Rosa the way they once did. Pass-through tourism—the business of people stopping for a night on their way somewhere else—has dried up. The hotel, which depends on that steady flow of transient guests, has no choice but to shrink.
The Casino Club, the hotel's sister operation, is experiencing similar pressures. For the past year, management has been steadily reducing its payroll. The contraction at the Mercure is not an isolated incident but part of a larger retrenchment across the company's portfolio. What began as a crisis in one property has become a strategy of consolidation and cost-cutting across both venues. For the workers affected, the outcome is the same: fewer jobs, lower pay, and the uncertainty of what comes next in a region where tourism once provided stable employment.
Citas Notables
There were layoffs, voluntary retirements, and transfers— Graciela Ortiz, union general secretary
Only 15 breakfasts are served per day, which is why the restaurant closed and meals are now handled by the bar— Graciela Ortiz
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why would a hotel keep operating at all if it's only housing 15 people a night across 86 rooms?
Because closing entirely means losing the business license, the brand affiliation, and any chance of recovery. Staying open, even at a loss, keeps the option alive. It's a holding pattern.
And the workers who were transferred to the casino—are they better off or worse off?
Worse. The casino likely pays less and offers fewer benefits. It's a lateral move that feels like a demotion, even if the company frames it as a transfer.
The severance at 80 percent—is that legal?
That's the question the union would ask. It's below what Argentine labor law typically requires, but the company is betting workers are desperate enough to accept it rather than fight.
What does a 15-breakfast-a-day operation even look like?
Skeleton crew. One or two people in the kitchen, maybe one server. It's not a restaurant anymore; it's a courtesy service for the handful of guests who stayed the night.
Is there any sign this will reverse?
Not in the reporting. The casino is also cutting staff. This looks like a permanent contraction, not a temporary adjustment.