The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel closed indefinitely yesterday because of structural damage from the Oct. 15 earthquakes, hotel operator Prince Resorts Hawaii announced.

Most of the hotel's approximately 420 employees will be laid off early next year, after the holidays.

The Mauna Kea already had closed more than 140 of its 310 rooms after the earthquakes as a precaution while structural assessments were being done. But an engineering consultant's report submitted yesterday identified new structural damage in sections of the roof, which was categorized as a significant safety hazard that should be addressed as soon as possible, the hotel said.

The hotel will undergo repairs, which Prince Resorts Hawaii President Donn Takahashi said are initially expected to take "many months."

"There is nothing more important to us than the safety of our guests and employees, and after reviewing our consultant's report, we immediately decided to close the hotel," Takahashi said in a statement. "The hazard is not necessarily imminent, but does pose an unacceptable risk, especially in light of the ongoing seismic activity of the past few weeks.

"This is an 'act of God' situation that we have no control over. Nonetheless, we regret the hardship it is causing our employees and the inconvenience to our guests."

The Mauna Kea Golf Course and clubhouse will remain open. The hotel will not accept any new reservations, and guests who have been occupying about 70 rooms will be moved to the nearby Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel by today.

Takahashi said Prince Resorts is consulting with federal, state and county agencies as well as the ILWU Local 142 — which represents Mauna Kea workers — to help employees and their families.

"We hope to place some employees at our Hapuna Beach Hotel and will work closely with other hotels to find employment for our displaced workers," he said.

ILWU Local 142 president Fred Galdones said the closure was "devastating news for us" and that the union will "do everything it can to help (workers) be placed into other jobs."

"It couldn't have come at a worse time for these employees," Galdones said. "But yet we understand what the company had to do. First and foremost, the safety of the employees and also their clients is very important. ... Donn Takahashi has been very sympathetic. ... He feels for the employees."

Galdones also expressed appreciation for the hotel's decision to postpone layoffs until next year.

The layoffs come at a time when the state has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation and Big Island hotels are looking for workers to fill vacancies. The Fairmont Orchid on the Kohala Coast, for example, has resorted to bringing in some employees' relatives from the Philippines as temporary workers. Galdones said other Kohala Coast hotels with ILWU worker representation also have had trouble filling vacancies.

"Coupling all of that and also the unemployment rate being low, it seems there are good possibilities of placing them in these other jobs," he said. "We're concerned, but we're hopeful that we will be able to place them in these other hotels."

He said the union also plans to work with the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to help workers who may need training for other positions in hotels or other businesses.

State tourism liaison Marsha Wienert said closing the hotel was a prudent decision.

"We hate to see it happen, but we understand the circumstances, and safety has to be the first consideration in any decision," she said. "Hopefully, the damages will be fixed and they'll be able to resume operations in a timely manner."

Wienert said the Mauna Kea is the only hotel that sustained structural damage from the earthquakes. Immediate damage was visible on the hotel's top floor, and some lanais collapsed in the property's Beachfront wing.

The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel was developed by Laurance S. Rockefeller and opened in 1965. Prince Resorts' parent company, Seibu Inc. of Japan, owns the Prince hotels.

Guests with future bookings at the Mauna Kea are being contacted, and "every effort is being made to find them alternate hotel accommodations," the hotel said.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.