Lodging industry: Reopening urgent

Karim Houry, of The Woodstocker Bed and Breakfast in Woodstock, Vermont, mows the lawn on Tuesday afternoon. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

After three months without revenue, the Vermont lodging industry is looking to save their summer after seeing a wave of cancellations amid tight state restrictions on travel and occupancy due to COVID-19.

Gov. Phil Scott’s emergency order allows multi-room operations to only book 50 percent of rooms or have a maximum of 25 guests and staff on site, “whichever is greater.” However, quarantine requirements have expunged the out-of-state traffic they depend on, lodging owners say. That’s even true under the eased quarantine restrictions, which limit incoming travel based on COVID-19 caseloads in New England and New York counties. Their greatest need is to allow more guests in, after weeks of issuing refunds for cancelled reservations. In some cases, the customer has agreed to move a reservation to a later date. On Friday, the governor intends to unveil a plan to bring more out-of-state traffic into Vermont. 

That could line up well for the Woodstock Inn & Resort, which plans to reopen on July 1. The inn is close to the 50-percent occupancy for most of July, according to Courtney Lowe, the inn’s vice president of marketing and business development. 

“It's something, it’s a start,” he said. 

The toughest part has been the state restrictions.  

“They are very conservative, and we understand their reasoning to a certain extent, but at the same time, with what we’ve done, and most of the hotel industry has done, we really feel like we’re one of the safer places for people to go to.”   

Lowe mentioned the inn’s grab-and-go options for food, dining with social distancing, separate rooms and local outdoor recreation opportunities. 

Karim Houry, co-owner of The Woodstocker Bed and Breakfast, also plans to reopen on July 1. He said the calls keep coming in from potential customers wondering when restrictions might be eased. For the moment, there’s no good answer to give them.  

“One thing we have a hard time dealing with, frankly, is the fact that we can’t plan ahead,” Houry said, noting the loss in guests. “The risk there is, they’re going to go elsewhere.” 

Patrick Fultz, co-owner of the Sleep Woodstock Motel in West Woodstock, said Vermont is losing business to states like New Hampshire and Connecticut, whose restrictions are less rigid. This comes after cancellations of major events, like the Covered Bridges Half Marathon and the Quechee Balloon Festival, which usually mean dependable revenue. 

“We’re typically booked solid, at higher rates, every weekend in June, and then we go into summer,” Fultz said. “To lose June, that was tough.” 

A traveler on his motorcycle from New Jersey called up for a place to stay the other night, but it didn’t work under state restrictions, Fultz said.

“I had to say ‘no’, and I basically sent him to Leb (Lebanon, New Hampshire).”

Houry and Fultz both said they keep to high cleaning standards, so their buildings are safe for guests. Now, it’s the traffic they need, to get revenue flowing again.

“It’s that balance that needs to be struck between the continued shut down of tourism to the entire state, and safely allowing people to start coming to Vermont,” Houry said. 

In recent days, the Legislature has been working on relief funding for businesses. Rep. Charlie Kimbell, who represents Woodstock, Reading and Plymouth, said the House has proposed to the Senate over $1 billion in relief spending via federal aid. He wasn’t sure how much would be available to the lodging industry, though about $88 million in grants for businesses was passed by the House last week. The grant application process still needs to be set up by the administration. 

“We’re looking at money hopefully starting to flow next week, but haven’t seen a lot of the details yet,” Kimbell said. 

Lawmakers continue to hope for more federal assistance in the coming months. 

“The financial damage and the emotional toll this is taking on businesses and individuals is real, and the need far exceeds the money that we have available to make them whole,” Kimbell said. 

For the lodging industry, Lowe saw indications Boston’s restrictions could lift entirely within the next two weeks. 

“Counties seem to be opening up a bit more every week,” he said of areas outside the state.

— Gareth Henderson