KOJO NNAMDIBefore we go today, hotels in the Washington region and across the country have been hit hard by the economic fallout from stay-at-home orders that have kept most travelers away during the pandemic. But despite all of the hardships, the staff at the Doubletree Hotel in Crystal City wanted to send messages of love and support to the community, and they found a very creative way to do it, by spelling it out in lights glowing from the windows of vacant rooms in the hotel's north tower. Joining us now is Charles Hill. He's the general manager of the Doubletree Hotel in Crystal City. Charles, thank you for joining us.

CHARLES HILLGood afternoon, Kojo. Thanks so much for having me on.

NNAMDICharles, for people who have not yet seen it, what are the messages that you and your staff are creating by turning on the lights and opening the drapes in the empty rooms at the hotel?

HILLOf course. Yeah, we started this idea with the idea of outlining a heart. So, we took a picture, and we figured out how we were going to make it work. My director of property operations, Ken Kruger, executed this. And, at first, it was just the outline of a heart, and then we took it a step further and we filled it in. So, it was bright shining for everybody to see.

HILLWe currently have the message hope, H-O-P-E, that's spelled out in our north tower. And if you're passing by on 395 going in or out of the city, you're bound to see it.

NNAMDIOr on the 14th Street Bridge. You can see the messages on our website, kojoshow.org. You can see the pictures that are being displayed at the Doubletree Hotel, kojoshow.org. Charles Hill, why did you decide to do this?

HILLThe team here at the Doubletree Crystal City, we wanted to send a message. We know that these are unique times for all of us, and so we work in hospitality. Our goal is to take care of people. And while that is constrained a little bit based on what's going on, this is our way to impact more people. So, displaying a message so that everybody could see who is passing by.

HILLAnd, I'll tell you, it's not just people in cars. I had a police officer who works at the Pentagon, he was getting off of his night shift and he saw it when we first started. And he found me on LinkedIn and he sent me a note. And he dabbles in professional photography. He sent me his pictures, and he also just wanted to say thanks. It was something that provided a smile and a good way for him to end his shift.

NNAMDIHow long did it take to figure out how to create those patterns? Who's the artist there, and how did you do it?

HILL(laugh) My director of property operations and I, we put them together. He certainly is the one who's better at executing and making them happen, a perfectionist to make sure that they all come out looking right. But we've taken pictures, and we kind of map it out. He'll go and tie back the drapes and turn the lights on. I'll go down and take a look, have a little communication. But I have to say, he's done a really fantastic job. And I look forward to continuing this trend. We still have a little bit of time in front of us and I think some more messages to share.

NNAMDIWell, these messages of encouragement are not the only way that the hotel is helping out. Hilton, which owns and operates Doubletree, is also providing rooms for first responders. Tell us about that.

HILLYeah. So, in mid-April, Hilton decided to partner with American Express in trying to figure out how we could be impactful. And people are not traveling the way that they used to. However, we have hotel rooms. And knowing that some of those frontline medical professionals, they need a place to stay. Sometimes it's because they've been working long shifts and they need to rest. Sometimes it's because they want to isolate from their family.

HILLSo, they decided to donate rooms -- a million rooms, all in -- across the United States. And we're lucky enough to participate. I'll tell you, about a week-and-a-half ago, we had our first medical professional check in. And I made a point to go and say hi and say thank you as they were checking in. We were glad to be able to participate and welcome them to our hotel.

NNAMDIOther hotels in Arlington have followed your lead and created hearts on their buildings. Do you have plans for new messages? What should we be on the lookout for?

HILLWe do. We do. While I wish that we could say that, tomorrow, things are going to go back to normal, we're not there yet. And so we're going to take advantage of using our north tower as long as we can. We do have some new messages. I'm going to ask that everybody waits. I'll tell you, I get phone calls at the front desk. People will call us to see what's going to be displayed tonight. And so, we will switch it up, but we'll wait and let everybody see what the messages are.

NNAMDIHolding the new messages close to his vest, but look out for them. Charles Hill is the general manager of the Doubletree Hotel in Crystal City. Charles, thank you so much for joining us.

HILLThank you again for having me on, Kojo.

NNAMDIOur segment on how to be a better customer at local restaurants was produced by Kayla Hewitt. And our conversation about Fairfax Public Schools' troubles with long-distance learning was produced by Kurt Gardinier. Coming up tomorrow, how are Maryland's correctional facilities dealing with the coronavirus? Plus, U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo joins us for National Poetry Month. That all starts tomorrow, at noon. Until then, thank you for listening and stay safe. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.