and Kingdom's stakes. Under Katara's ownership, the condominium units garnered high asking prices: for instance, a four-bedroom unit was listed for $45 million in early 2020. Around the same time, the Plaza's condominium board sought to make repairs to the facade. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, and a corresponding downturn in tourism globally, the Plaza's hotel rooms were temporarily closed in March 2020 for an indefinite period, and several hundred employees were laid off. The Plaza Hotel officially reopened in May 2021; public spaces such as the Palm Court were rearranged to allow for social distancing. Residents and guests Residents When the Plaza Hotel opened in 1907, the first guest to sign its register was Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt. The hotel also housed other wealthy residents, such as George Jay Gould, as well as Oliver Harriman Jr. and his wife Grace Carley Harriman. John Gates, the hotel's co-developer, had a 16-room apartment on floor 3. Harry Frank Guggenheim lived in the hotel's State Apartment, while Russian princess Vilma Lwoff-Parlaghy, a prominent portrait painter in the early 20th century, lived in a suite on floor 3 with her lion. The hotel's appeal to the wealthy came from the fact that, in the early 20th century, apartments at the Plaza were generally cheaper than in more upscale apartment buildings, and that it faced Central Park, which at the time was well patronized by the wealthy. Later in the 20th century, the Plaza Hotel served as home to "wealthy widows", such as performer Kay Thompson, who wrote the Eloise children's book series about a young girl who lived at the hotel. During the Great Depression, the "wealthy widows" were considered "a tourist attraction in their own right", with their rents keeping the hotel solvent. The hotel's other residents included playwright Ferenc Molnár. After many units were converted to condominium units in 2008, the Plaza Hotel became even more coveted by the wealthy. However, only about a third of these buyers were full-time residents, with the remainder using their Plaza condominiums as pieds-a-terre. The residents included executives such as New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, JetBlue CEO David Barger, Bear Stearns CEO James Cayne, Viacom CEO Thomas E. Dooley, Sony Music Entertainment CEO Doug Morris, and Idols franchise producer Simon Fuller. Other notable residents included musician Moby, developer Christian Candy, and fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger. Guests The guest rooms have also