Warmth drives many residents into Clark County motels

The extreme heat last weekend drove many people to hotels, which gave the hospitality industry a boost for business.

It was an increase in an already growing number of people booking hotel rooms in Clark County and the countryside. The occupancy has increased and the hotel equipment is coming back. But the industry is still struggling with a shortage of applicants – and the loss of income of the past year and a half left some hotels still in debt or a recession model.

“We’re definitely busy,” said Mike McLeod, general manager of the Hilton Vancouver Washington. “We had forecast that the demand for leisure activities would take off in the summer, and it is. It happens everywhere, not just here in Vancouver. “

The Hilton Vancouver has an occupancy rate of about 80 percent, about 10 percentage points more than the average Clark County’s occupancy for May 2021: 69.6 percent. That’s a huge increase from 34.3 percent in March 2020.

Utilization of the district was actually better in May than before the pandemic. In May 2019, the rate was 67.9, almost two percentage points lower. It also means that prices have increased. The county’s average hotel room price was $ 100.37 in May, compared to $ 77.38 in May 2020.

The Hilton, like most other hotels, is slowly reintroducing amenities as business falls and vacancies fill. On Wednesday, the gym and pool reopened fully with no reservations. In the near future, McLeod will be reopening breakfast and lunch options, valet service and room service.

McLeod said business travel is slowly growing, but his group and convention business is still easy. “But it should all pick up speed this year,” he said.

As hotels across the country embrace the surge in business, the American Hotel & Lodging Association released a report Thursday that found that 21 of the top 25 US hotel markets are still in “a depression of the recession cycle.”

Clark County’s hotel market, which has business near highways and airports, outperforms some urban markets: Seattle hotel revenue per available room fell from $ 122 in May 2019 to $ 54 – a decrease 56 percent, according to the report.

There is still a lack of low-wage workers looking for a job in the hospitality industry on the labor market, and hotels and restaurants both have many jobs that are difficult to fill. The Hilton Vancouver and attached Grays Restaurant and Bar list more than 10 vacancies online.

However, hotel jobs are slowly changing. Clark County’s hospitality and hospitality industry saw the employment rate grow 19.2 percent from May 2020 to 2021.