APPLETON, Wisconsin (WFRV) – Nearly half of hotels in the US were expected to close during the health crisis last year American Hotel and Lodging Association.
What is the hospitality industry like in Fox Cities? A little over a year ago, the pandemic forced “Safer at Home Orders” across the country, which decimated the hotel industry.
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Linda Barclay, the manager of the Clarion Hotel, says: “The last time we were here. We had about ten rooms out of a hundred, so about ten percent occupancy. “
Linda Garvey, General Manager of the Red Lion Hotel, said, “It was pretty lean during the Safer at Home Orders. The occupancy was very low, but our possessions were very kind to keep us open so we can continue to serve our community. “
But what a difference a year makes. Says Barclay, “However, in the last few months we have actually started to recover. It was very good especially on the weekends. We are 95 to 100 percent busy on most weekends. So the families are ready to get out. “
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The Red Lion Hotel laid off most of its employees last year, but things are different now. Says Garvey, “We were able to bring back some employees who we missed so much. We are much better. We were able to reopen some of our restaurants. Vince Lombardi’s Steakhouse. “
The Wisconsin Hotel Association says the Appleton hotel business may be the exception right now, but not the rule. Bill Elliot, president of Wisconsin Hotels and Lodging, said, “Even if we recover, it will be a long way for many of our facilities out of the chaos that COVID-19 has created.”
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A comeback for hotels could be a little further away. Elliot says, “A lot of the reports we’re seeing show we’re not going to go back to the 2019 numbers that we had through 2024.”
However, the local Fox Valley Hotels are hoping that the introduction of the vaccine will lower COVID-19 cases and increase hotel revenue. Garvey says, “When confidence grows and people are vaccinated, we’ll start to get back to business.”
