Times have been tough what with COVID-19 raging across the globe, affecting not just everyone's health, but the economy too. Even celebrity-owned establishments are not spared, with many of them being forced to take an indefinite break out of concern for the safety of their staff and customers, as well as plummeting sales.

Those working in the tourism industry have certainly been hit hard. Earlier this month, it was reported that employees of S Hotel, which is owned by Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu’s husband Wang Xiaofei, were asked to take unpaid leave until the end of March as a way for the company to cut down on their expenses.

The four-star boutique hotel has been plagued with reports of poor business long before the outbreak, although Barbie and Xiaofei have always denied this. The latter even threatened to sue Taiwanese news outlet Mirror Media, which broke the story about his supposed money problems, but it looks like he has a bigger bone to pick with them (which we will get to in a bit).

While S Hotel claims that they have broken even and are even making a small monthly profit, word from insiders is that Xiaofei has been actively searching for investors but is having a difficult time convincing anyone to come on board.

What’s more, whispers from within the entertainment and hospitality industries about an impending “major announcement” in June have led to speculations that Xiaofei plans to sell S Hotel to get back his NT$50mil (about S$2.3mil) deposit.

Barbie has also been said to be doing her part to try and save her namesake hotel (she’s also known as “Big S”). Recently, Mirror Media — yes, them again — reported that a unit on the 19th floor of a luxury condo that belongs to the actress was listed for sale at NT$276mil (about S$12.7mil). According to Mirror Media, Barbie is selling the apartment to raise funds to help ease her husband’s financial burdens.

The 43-year-old has also been asking around to see if anyone is interested in buying another of her luxury homes. According to sources, this piece of real estate can reportedly fetch her some NT$200mil (about S$9.2mil).

Needless to say, Xiaofei was not pleased with the news, and issued a strongly worded statement against Mirror Media on Weibo on todday (Feb 26).

Responding to a post about him denying all these allegations, he wrote, “In March or April every year, Mirror Media must publish a rumour about me. They apologised after I hired a lawyer last year, but this year, it looks like they couldn’t control themselves and made up rumours a month early. This time, I won’t be nice, and will be sending them a letter from my lawyer soon.”

As it turns out, that “major announcement” coming in June is actually about S Hotel inking a deal with a one-Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant and the opening of a new bar. However, because of COVID-19, they may only be able to proceed in August.

Photos: Barbie Hsu/Facebook, Wang Xiaofei/Weibo, Mirror Media, TPG