December 23, 2022, was a quiet day at the Buffalo Marriott.

“We were only supposed to be at like, you know, our normal 20%,” said front office manager Meghan Marotta.

As the snow started falling and the wind started picking up, Marotta realized this was anything but business as usual.

“When you turned around and saw nothing outside, and the whiteouts and then also watching the news saying that there's going to be a travel ban...That's probably the turning point of when we thought, 'Oh, okay, maybe it'll be worse than what we expected'” she recalled.

“Dangerous, crazy, and cold. Very cold,” said Panorama on Seven server Jesus Oscar Rivera Correa.

It was something unlike anything he ever experienced before.

“It was actually my first time seeing snow, and then I just arrived in this snow snowstorm of the century coming in...didn't expect it at all,” he recalled.

Correa's dad just started a new job here. The family moved from Puerto Rico.

“My dad called me up like, 'Hey, I got a job for you. We're so short-staffed. Help me in the restaurant,'” he said.

A first day turned into more of a first week.

“We were working around, I would say, 16 hours a day for the entirety of the storm," Correa remarked. "We were very tired. All of us had eye bags down to here.”

With cars stuck in snowbanks, a neighboring apartment complex without power, and so many others seeking shelter, the Marriott staff embodied a beacon of safety for people and pets alike.

“Anybody was welcome at that time," said Marotta, discussing their lifting of the no-pets policy. "I think we were like at 80-something percent [capacity], if I remember correctly.”

The full devastation outside was yet to be revealed. For the time being, people were just happy to be warm.

“Customers actually came to the restaurant because there was nothing to do," laughed Correa. "It was fun. It distracted us from the fact that we were stuck in a hotel...running low on supplies.”

Thankfully, a last-minute coordination with the KeyBank Center and Southern Tier Brewing kept people fed.

“I think we just had enough for to make to survive until the lot the roads were unblocked,” said Correa.

The whole experience created a found family.

“We definitely did bond,” added Marotta.

People were able to find the Christmas spirit not in their own homes, but among each other.

“There were some guests here that ... they were like a DJ, if I remember correctly. We set up the ballroom for them to have bingo," said Marotta. "There was one time there was line dancing, so everybody kind of got together to do that kind of thing.”

Things here now are a bit less chaotic.

“I miss those faces. The ones that make me laugh when I was tired,” said Correa. "I'd love to see those faces [again] to make me remember those good times we had here, even though we had destruction."

While last Christmas won’t soon be forgotten, the staff here is more than happy to not see a repeat.

“You taking Christmas off this year?" asked Spectrum News 1 Buffalo.

"Hopefully, yes,” laughed Marotta.