Sep 14, 2020 — Tourism, an economic driver of many North Country communities, has taken a huge hit this summer. Everything- from restaurants, to recreational businesses, to lodging, has been impacted.
The Adirondack Hotel has been an operating hotel since the mid-1800s, before the Civil War. It’s a historic hotel that normally sees visitors from all over the world. But this summer, things are really, really different, says owner Carol Ann Young.
Young is 76 years old, and she’s been running the Adirondack Hotel for thirty years. She says the hotel has been her entire life. These past few months have been the worst she’s ever experienced in the business, but Young says she also has no choice but to continue.
‘I’m 76 years old. I can’t re-do again. I lose the hotel and I lose my home, I lose everything.’
Exterior of the Adirondack Hotel. Photo courtesy of David Sommerstein.
A hard spring
From mid-March to mid-June, the hotel was averaging 250 dollars a day, doing takeout and delivery from their restaurant. That was a sharp dive from their usual spring revenue, which usually comes in at about $2000-2500 a day. Young says it was hardly worth opening for, because "that didn’t even pay my electric bill, [which] is 1500 a month.”
On June 15, the hotel was able to open up outdoor dining and start renting their rooms again. Carol says their turning point was the July 4 weekend, and that business has been up for July and August. Still, they’re at just over 50% of what they’d usually be taking in.
Short and long term impact
Restaurant staff inside the Adirondack Hotel in Long Lake. Photo courtesy of the Adirondack Hotel.
Carol says she can stay afloat – for now. But she’s really concerned about this winter. Normally, they rely on summer business to get through the scarce winter months. Normally, she needs to have 150,000 in her savings account going into the winter to cover her losses.
“And I’m still going to have those winter losses, because I still have to cover the electric, the mortgages, stationary operating expenses that don’t go away. So what comes in the door might pay for the inventory and the labor, but it doesn’t cover anything else.”
It leaves her with few choices when it comes to saving money. Her plan post-Columbus Day is to cut back on staff.
“I mean, if it only takes four people, then that’s all we’re going to keep. That’s the sad part, I can promise no one a job this winter.”
Lodging up and safety first
There are a couple of bright spots: lodging is back up nearly to normal, people are staying for several days instead of one night, and the guests are mostly New Yorkers and northeasterners. Young says people who have never visited before are getting to know and love the area.
Young also feels pretty safe, even though she's in a high-risk category at 76 years old. She's following state guidelines very strictly, and expects the same of her employees.
“And you can’t work here if you don’t abide by it 100%, and it has worked. No one here has gotten sick, nobody here has disobeyed the rules. They understand they’re not Carol’s rules, this is the government saying this is the only way you can operate, or we’re going to shut you down."
Outdoor dining arrangements. Photo courtesy of the Adirondack Hotel.
Patrons eating at the Adirondack Hotel. Photo courtesy of the Adirondack Hotel.
She says she explains it to her staff like this:
"We have to educate our customers by our example. And if they don’t have a mask on, we have masks at the front desk, we tell them you have to have a mask on or you can’t come into the building.”
A decision she made outside of state guidelines was to close their bar. People can order drinks, but servers mix and deliver them. It means they can close earlier, and she can rest easier.
“Because number one, that’s where all the trouble start, where people drink and then they lose their inhibitions and start hugging and talking and not obeying the rules! And I just didn’t want to get into that situation, I felt it was unsafe and it wasn’t fair to my staff.”
Long Lake. Photo courtesy of David Sommerstein.
'It's taken a toll on me'
Thoughts of her employees, the future of the hotel, doing all of this mostly alone, have taken their toll.
“Very difficult, it’s been...it’s hard for me to even talk about, it makes me want to cry, because it’s been emotionally, physically, and mentally very, very stressful and difficult. It’s taken its toll on me. I’m a very energetic - I work seven days a week in some capacity over here - and I’m totally running the office by myself, so nobody else comes in here. Doing the general ledger, doing the books, counting the money, figuring out the banking, how am I going to pay these people, writing all the checks. I see it in my face. I never looked old, I look my age now.”
But she’s not throwing any towels in yet. The only time that’s been worse, she’s says, was a flood in 2011.
“So I keep saying, you know Carol, we survived the flood, we’ll survive this. I have to.”
North Country at Work stories are supported in part by:
Major support for North Country at Work comes from Wyncote Foundation, Humanities New York, and the National Archives.
Find scores of work stories and thousands of work photos at http://ncpr.org/work
"hotel" - Google News
September 14, 2020 at 08:50PM
https://ift.tt/2DYFeii
Adirondack Hotel owner on the struggle of 2020 summer tourism - North Country Public Radio
"hotel" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3aTFdGH
https://ift.tt/2xwvOre
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Adirondack Hotel owner on the struggle of 2020 summer tourism - North Country Public Radio"
Post a Comment