HOLYOKE/WEST SPRINGFIELD – Due to COVID-19, the amount of out of state travelers will be reduced significantly. Hotels and other lodgings are feeling the impact of the reductions in the amount of bookings and reservations.

According to a Morning Consult survey conducted for the American Hotel & Lodging Association, “Seventy-two percent of Americans are unlikely to travel for Thanksgiving and 69 percent are unlikely to travel for Christmas. Only 8 percent of Americans have taken an overnight business trip since March and 32 percent have taken an overnight vacation or leisure trip since March, when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.”

Here are some local hotels in the area and how their businesses have managed since reopening.

The D. Hotel Suites and Spa in Holyoke opened in 2013 and were operating at over 70 percent before the pandemic. After reopening because of the shut down earlier in the year, owner Peter Rosskothen said, “It’s marginal. We have usually a very busy hotel and we’re at the 45 to 50 percent occupancy on average right now. I believe the hotel industry is not going to come back until probably the later part of next year.”

He went on to say, “I feel we’re missing the college prowler. The five-college area is a big feeder for hotel rooms. We’re missing the tourism from far away and we’re missing all of the corporate travelers as well. I feel that gradually in 2021 that it’s going to start coming back and maybe we’ll get closer to normal again.”

Rosskothen also said the D. Hotel Suites and Spa are working hard to attract what they call “the staycation customer” of guests which is feeding some of their business right now. The “staycation customer,” includes people that need to get out their houses and experience their services.  

The Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott at Ingleside Square has been running since August of 2017. Their business was increasing, and they felt Fairfield would increase by a margin again through the end of 2020 and into 2021.

“We had a very positive outlook in 2019 and moving forward into 2020. As everyone in the hospitality industry has experienced declines in revenues, we too have experienced the same,” replied General Manager Seth Zenitz. “The market here in Western Massachusetts is similar to, and mirrors the trends we see nationally, and in part internationally. In the absence of travel demand, occupancy declines as well as rates which we have experienced since March. I believe that the market in Western Massachusetts has performed better than that of the eastern part of the state, but we are still struggling.”

Going into the holidays Zenitz said, “The booking window has significantly shrunken. As opposed to people planning travel well in advance, travel decisions are being made a few days prior or even day of.”  

Based on Zenitz’s estimation, he believes they will see an uptick in travel in the second quarter of 2021. “The fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021 will be a struggle for a number of reasons,” Zenitz responded. “First, with the COVID infection rate on the rise, most people are suspending or deferring travel out of an abundance of caution. Secondly, we are going into the winter months which traditionally are our slower months. The combination of these two factors and declining revenues since March will make for a difficult winter.”

He added, “We do see some light at the end of the tunnel, and are encouraged by what we are hearing about vaccine distribution. With pent up demand and the news of a vaccine we are anticipating seeing an uptick in travel as soon as April 2021.”

The Residence Inn by Marriott West Springfield opened in 2011 and was fairly busy at about 80 percent capacity prior to COVID-19. General Manager Anna Butler said, “We never really slowed down. Our hotel is an extended stay, so we are doing fairly well through the pandemic. Our business is not so much transient and out of state visitors – it’s more so medical travel. We don’t really expect to see a big change because of the business recurring we’re getting.”

Butler continued, “We’re hoping to see a bounce back just because all of the cancelled sporting events that didn’t happen in 2020, with the Big E being closed that impacted local businesses. We won’t have as much medical travel once this winds down, but we will need to replace it with something else, so we’re hoping that’s transient travel.”

Candlewood Suites West Springfield has been in business since 2006, and were operating well. This year with the pandemic, they are predicting a slower season.

General Manager Susan Daley explained, “We have been steady, though occupancy has not been as strong as we would like. The winter months are always are slower months and I would have to assume they’re probably going to be slower in occupancy than the past years because of the COVID, meaning December, January and February. We’re taking it day by day to see exactly what is going on.”