Business is back. Okanagan hotel rooms emptied by the coronavirus pandemic are now filling up with guests.
“In all honesty, the recovery has been way quicker than what we ever anticipated,” said Brent Lavery, Eldorado Resort’s general manager. “We’re glad to say that it has rebounded beyond expectations.”
Most visitors are British Columbian, although there are several Albertan licence plates too, Lavery said.
“Anecdotally, the Okanagan Valley has bounced back a lot quicker than other areas,” he added.
“I would say that’s a testament to our location, our welcoming people and the facilities that we have here.”
Several Kelowna hotels told Global News they’re either full or nearing capacity.
Microtel Inn and Suites owner-operator Saug Sekhon said that as soon as the government announced B.C. was entering phase 3 of its restart plan, the phone started ringing off the hook.
“I feel exuberant actually because things have just turned around overnight basically,” he said.
BC Hotel Association president and CEO Ingrid Jarrett said that on weekends, vacancy rates throughout the Okanagan are sitting at roughly 70 to 80 per cent.
However, some hotels are seeing single-digit occupancy rates mid-week, she added.
“People are travelling for longer periods, so historically they may have come for three or four days, and now they’ve been cooped up for three months, and they’re actually saying ‘Let’s take that 10 day vacation,” Jarrett said.
Like much of society, hotels have brought in safety measures that include plexiglass barricades, floor markings and frequent sanitizing for high-touch areas.
Jarrett also recommends that hotels leave three hours between check out and check in for guest safety.
“That really is based on an average of the air exchange within a hotel unit, so if you have windows that can open, that exchange will happen much more quickly,” she said.
Some hotels said they’re so busy they’re struggling to find staff.
“We could use five to 10 people today,” Sekhon said.
The BC Hotel Association believes that the employee shortage is partly because of the financial support CERB offers to people who might otherwise be looking for work.
“We have some hotels that are experiencing very high occupancy, and they literally are operating on 50 per cent of the employees they would have before, which is a really difficult way to operate right now,” Jarrett said.
Both Sekhon and Lavery said that they haven’t had to drop their rates to attract guests.
“Hotels have had zero revenue for four months, and lowering a rate does not create demand,” Jarrett said. “These hotels, if they’re going to survive, they need a room rate that is going to pay for their expenses.”
Jarrett suggested that travelling British Columbians should call hotels directly to book and ask any questions they might have of COVID-related closures or restrictions for amenities.
While the Okanagan hotel industry is faring relatively well, with the exception of some parts of Vancouver Island, the rest of the province is looking at a 23 to 25 per cent occupancy rate, Jarrett said.
“The majority of the province, we’re actually seeing very dire circumstances,” Jarrett said. “We need to do everything we can to save the summer, build the revenue and travel and support the B.C. economy.”
“If we don’t do that well, and it doesn’t come out ahead, we will lose up to 30 per cent of the hotel business in the province.”
Jarrett said Vancouver is probably the hardest hit region in the province, partly because of the loss of international tourists, cruise ship passengers and business travel.
“It will most likely be the last to recover,” she said.