The business shutdown caused by COVID-19 could lead to a long period of the lowest levels of local hotel occupancy on record.
According to Visit Jacksonville’s March hotel report, the month began with some “small concerns” about COVID-19’s potential impact on business and leisure tourism.
In the first 12 days of March, there was a “slight dip” in occupancy, but when social-distancing mandates were enacted and events started canceling, occupancy began to decline.
Occupancy ended in March at 55.5%, more than 35% lower than in March 2019.
With less demand for hotel rooms, the average room rate paid by guests declined $15 to $95.82. Revenue per available room dropped nearly $42 to $53.17.
The percentage losses appear even greater because March 2019 was the best month in Duval County’s history, the report says.
The bottom line: Room revenue was down $22.4 million compared to March 2019.
“We anticipate April’s loss to be higher as it will likely be a full month of COVID-19 mandates with numerous cancellations and postponed events,” the report concludes.
The loss is across the board from the large convention hotels Downtown to tourism-dependent properties at the Beaches and smaller, limited-service hotels in the suburbs.
The Omni Jacksonville Hotel is closed. The local phone number wasn’t answered. The operator at Omni’s national toll-free number said no one was available to comment.
According to Omni’s website, the Downtown hotel and the Omni Amelia Island Resort are two of more than 40 Omni properties closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Owners and managers of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Jacksonville Riverfront, Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront and Lexington Hotel & Conference Center, Downtown properties that were open this week, did not respond to calls and emails requesting comment.
Kirit Patidar leads a group that owns Hampton Inn & Suites at 13733 Beach Blvd. and manages Best Western Plus Cecil Field Inn & Suites at 525 Chaffee Point Blvd.
Patidar said that in early March, he and other area hoteliers were booking guest rooms for people attending The Players Championship golf tournament in Ponte Vedra. It was canceled March 13 after the first of four rounds over concerns about the spread of COVID-19 among the thousands of people in the crowded galleries lining the fairways at the TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course.
That’s when everything changed.
“Now there’s no business. There’s no money coming in,” Patidar said.
Despite revenue at his hotels being down by about 90%, he has kept most of his employees on their regular work schedules, except for the housekeeping staff.
“They come in and clean one or two rooms, then they go home,” Patidar said.
He said he’s concerned about the effects social distancing and the other COVID-19 restrictions will continue to have on the hospitality business, particularly the possible cancellation of Jacksonville’s annual sports events that fill TIAA Bank Field and area hotels.
With large-scale spectator events likely curtailed for the foreseeable future, the local hotel downturn could last for months.
Patidar cites as examples the Florida-Georgia college football game Oct. 31 and the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, played in late December or early January.
The loss of business from COVID-19 likely will persist longer than the effect on the hospitality industry caused by the Great Recession 12 years ago, Patidar said.
At the time, the city, through the Duval County Tourist Development Council, mounted an advertising campaign to promote leisure tourism by visitors who lived within a five-hour drive of Jacksonville to compensate for the loss of convention and group business.
Patidar doesn’t see that as an option with COVID-19, considering the stay-at-home and work-from-home restrictions.
“The corporate market won’t come back soon,” he said. “The confidence will not come back for the traveling public for at least six months.”
Patidar doesn’t expect business to pick up until year-end.
“We won’t see business until November or December, which are the slowest months in Jacksonville,” he said.
