Shutdown interferes with banner year for tourism industry in Prescott

(Screen shot from the May 13 meeting of the Prescott Tourism Advisory Committee)

(Screen shot from the May 13 meeting of the Prescott Tourism Advisory Committee)

When Prescott’s tourism advisory group last met in February 2020, local hotels were in the midst of an upswing of nearly 6% growth.

That changed rapidly over the ensuing three months, however.

Meetings were largely shut down in March and April, and when the Prescott Tourism Advisory Committee resumed its business on Wednesday, May 13, members learned that the bed tax revenue — generated mostly by hotel customers — had since taken a nosedive and was expected to be down by about $200,000.

Prescott Community Manager John Heiney reported that through February 2020, the community’s hotels and other accommodations had been on track for an increase of about 5.8%.

And that was on top of a good year in the previous fiscal year, when bed tax revenues topped the $1 million mark for the first time, Heiney said.

But with the COVID shutdown that virtually halted Prescott’s tourism in March and April, the bed tax total for the current fiscal year is expected to be in the $800,000 range.

“The good news is we were having a killer year before (the COVID shutdown),” Heiney said of the 2019-20 fiscal year that started in July.

Currently hotel/motel occupancy is currently in the low 30% range, Heiney said, which is up from the mid-to-upper 20% range in previous weeks.

Committee Chair Margo Christensen, vice president of marketing for Ponderosa Hotel Management Services, reported that occupancy in the company’s hotels was also down, although she said the Residence Inn on Highway 69 had been housing construction crews, which helped with its occupancy.

With the reopening that is underway, Christensen said, “It’s just going to go up from here.”

Heather Hermen, the city’s tourism consultant, pointed out that Prescott would benefit from its outdoor amenities, which have largely stayed open during the shutdown.

“One thing we do have in our favor is the outdoor recreation,” Hermen said, noting that coming marketing campaigns for Prescott would focus on that aspect.

Robert Coombs, visitor information manager for the Prescott Chamber of Commerce, agreed with importance of the outdoor activities, noting that questions about the community’s lakes and trails were among the top queries he had been fielding during the COVID shutdown.

“Recreation — what’s open and what’s not? — that’s the big question,” Coombs said.

While the Chamber has stayed open for questions, Coombs said the visitor center is scheduled be fully back up and running on Monday, May 18. “We’ll be ready to go,” he said.

Meanwhile, tourism experts predicted that restaurants and other businesses would be facing a host of questions about what precautions they are taking to guard against the spread of COVID, such as whether workers would be wearing masks and how social distancing would be maintained.

Hermen suggested that businesses be open with customers about those concerns. “They should be as transparent as possible,” she said.

Committee member James Dawson agreed. “Your strategy is brilliant,” he said. “The American consumer is going to vote with their feet. Making it transparent is the key to success.”


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