Hilton Reservations Worldwide plans to close its Streator call center in March as it transitions its local operation into home-based employment for its reservation agents.

The 170 people employed at the Westgate Plaza location each have been offered a financial incentive of $225 to assist in setting up home-based work centers where they can handle reservations for Hilton. The work-at-home program, called Hilton@Home, also provides computer equipment and offers the same rate of pay and benefits that employees currently receive.

"As technology advances and the nature of the workplace evolves, Hilton Reservations and Customer Care's Hilton@Home program will allow the company to maintain its strong workforce presence in the Streator area in a manner which offers numerous advantages to both Hilton and its reservation agents," the company said in a press release.

Thirty-five of the Streator center's employees already have transitioned to working under the Hilton@Home program, said Robert Allegrini, director of communications for Hilton Hotels Corporation's central division. He did not know how many of the call center's 170 employees will choose to work from home.

"The employees have till the 25th of January to get back to us with their decision," Allegrini said. "We hope most will opt for Hilton@Home."

More than 600 Hilton reservation agents work from home at locations across the country, he said. The Hilton@Home program already is implemented in the Dallas, Tampa, Fla., and Hazleton, Pa., areas.

Hilton began the Hilton@Home program in 2002 and plans to eventually have 40 to 50 percent of its reservations staff working through it, Allegrini said.

The Streator operation will become completely home-based beginning Monday, March 31. It provides inbound reservations for all hotels within the Hilton chain.

While the Hilton Reservations call center's closure means another empty store in Streator, there is a silver lining to be found, said Mike Neuenkirchen, executive director of the Streator Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

"It's unfortunate because there were a lot of people that worked together there and were an economic force in our community," Neuenkirchen said. "The positive in this is there aren't going to be mass layoffs. It just reflects a change in technology where something like this can be managed remotely rather than needing an actual hub for people to work out of."

Because most of the reservation agent positions probably will continue to be filled by local people, the transition from call center to home-based businesses shouldn't have too much of an effect on the city's tax receipts, he said.

"The paychecks should remain in Streator unless there's a push for more remote hires outside the city," Neuenkirchen said.

The Hilton call center opened in April 2002 in a Westgate Plaza anchor building vacated by Stage in early 2001. Westgate Plaza manager Jeff Williams declined to comment on the call center's closure.

A small parking lot opened behind the call center last summer to accommodate the large number of Hilton workers. The unpaved lot is where several houses were demolished as part of the Illinois Department of Transportation's rerouting of Route 18.