Whitefish lodging establishments hit hard by COVID-19
A survey by the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce and the Whitefish Convention and Visitors Bureau in June showed a significant decrease in bookings at local lodging establishments.
The survey asked hotel and motel owners to compare their summer 2019 bookings with their current 2020 bookings.
The 2020 summer bookings for June, July, August and September are down about 25-50%. The decrease could be due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For the month of June, there is about a 90% decrease in business, at least,” said Kellie Huff, general manager of Baymont by Wyndham Whitefish.
The Baymont is not the only hotel experiencing a decrease in reservations.
“The last three months have been hard. We are at about 20% capacity, I would say,” said Tracy Tyree, property manager of the Whitefish Inn.
Annually, nonresident tourism in Montana supports over 53,000 jobs and adds over $3.7 billion to the economy, according to Voices of Montana Tourism.
To combat the decrease in reservations, lodging establishments are lowering rates in the hopes of attracting more guests.
“We’ve lowered prices a lot, and we are a little family-run hotel, so we go the extra mile,” said Tyree.
“We have definitely lowered our prices, as everyone, I think, in Whitefish has. Which is another thing. So even if we have some visitors, it’s not bringing enough revenue,” said Eva Volcikova, owner of Chalet Motel.
Some owners and staff say June was a scary month for business. Looking ahead, as some see an increase of reservations through the end of the summer months, others say they are still worried.
“It’s hard to keep things going. We haven’t made any money since the whole thing started in March,” said Volcikova.
Others say they are seeing an increase in reservations for the next few months.
