Hotels in Westmoreland County, impacted by coronavirus, could see growth in coming years - TribLIVE

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Hotels in Westmoreland County are expected to stray from national numbers depicting a ravaged travel industry following the coronavirus pandemic, making way for close to a full recovery and leaving room for future growth, local leaders said.

Nationally, occupancy rates could plummet by 28% this year, a drop that is nine times worse than numbers following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks or the Great Depression, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

“It’s tough,” said John Longstreet, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association. “Right now, based on some pretty solid numbers … 15% of hotels nationwide are closed. It’s probably fair to say those numbers are going to be similar to Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh also. Now, how many of those will recover?”

Hotels across the nation are seeing a 50% revenue decline so far this year and eight out of every 10 hotel rooms empty. About 70% of hotel employees are laid off or furloughed.

In Pittsburgh, occupancy rates are expected to drop 34.8% compared to last year, Longstreet said.

But hotels in Westmoreland County are expected to have a slight advantage throughout the recovery period, Longstreet said, because of the region’s rural landscape. He noted people are more likely to avoid cities, which typically have higher number of covid-19 cases, making rural regions such as Westmoreland County attractive.

Most hotels in the Laurel Highlands region, which encompasses Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties, have opened for business after 40%, or 20 hotels, shuttered during the peak of the pandemic, said Ann Nemanic, executive director of the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau. That means 1,847 rooms were taken out of circulation.

“I think lodging within the Laurel Highlands region, and specifically Westmoreland County, is where it should be with the market conditions,” Nemanic said. “We know that leisure and business travel will be down due to the pandemic and the recovery period.”

That recovery period could last until 2023, Longstreet said, which is longer than the 18 to 24 months it took to recover after Sept. 11, 2001.

After Sept. 11, occupancy rates hovered around 59% and 120,000 workers lost their jobs, Longstreet said. This time, rates are expected to drop to 27% and job loss could impact 1 million positions.

Factors such as increased technology enabling virtual business meetings and a fear of traveling while there is no vaccine for covid-19 will impact those numbers, Longstreet said, noting about 50% of hotel business nationwide comes from corporations.

“The recovery’s going to be much more drawn out,” he said.

Room for growth

Westmoreland has seen some hotel growth over the past five years, resulting in five new facilities: Candlewood Suites, Holiday Inn Express & Suites and Hampton Inn in Rostraver, Hampton Inn in North Huntingdon and Hampton Inn in New Stanton.

Three hotels have closed: a Best Value, a Quality Inn and an independent Motel 3. The Ramada by Wyndham Greensburg Hotel and Conference Center in Hempfield could close later this year if plans for a new home improvement store are approved by township officials.

Still, Hempfield has a handful of hotels, and, according to Patrick Karnash, director of planning and zoning, future developments such a new mini casino at Westmoreland Mall could make the area attractive to hotel growth.

“I do believe that, with the continued redevelopment of the Route 30 commercial corridor, that there is room for future hotel growth, specifically in the areas surrounding Westmoreland Mall,” Karnash said, noting there also is potential for a facility on the west side of the township between the Route 66 and 76 interchanges.

New Stanton accounts for eight hotels, borough Manager Jeffrey McLaughlin said. He noted the EconoLodge has yet to reopen after temporarily shuttering during the pandemic.

According to McLaughlin, the borough is attractive to hotel growth because of its proximity to I-70, Route 66, the turnpike and Route 119. Former manufacturers such as Sony and the Volkswagen plant also were factors in past construction of hotels, he said.

“Our former slogan used to be the ‘highway hub of Western Pennsylvania,’ ” McLaughlin said about hotel growth in the borough. “Now, we kind of came up with a newer slogan, ‘all roads lead home,’ so certainly we’re very accepting (of hotels).”

Nemanic predicts, once the industry recovers, hotel growth could peak in the county.

“I do think, in the future, boutique properties have a place in our market,” she said. “Tucked in cities and towns, a boutique property becomes a nice draw for visitors and provides an anchor for future development and the ability for extended stays.”

Chad Amond, president and CEO of the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce, said he is hopeful hotels in the county will start upgrading to make themselves more attractive to vacationers.

“We hope our county residents promote their friends and family members that live outside our region, that they encourage those groups to come to our neighborhood now more than ever,” Amond said.

Megan Tomasic is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Megan at 724-850-1203, mtomasic@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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