Worcester Business Journal

18 Worcester Business Journal | March 29, 2021 | wbjournal.com Hotels are doing surprisingly well F O C U S G O L F & M E E T I N G S A ssaad Hallak has noticed something unexpected at the Homewood Suites hotel in Worcester, where he's the general manager. e hotel on Washington Square has been busier this winter than it was last year before the coronavirus pandemic hit. "It was very surprising to me, to be honest, but thank God," Hallak said. at stretch of success for the Home- wood Suites, stretching from December through mid-March, which is typically the Worcester area's slow season for hotel business, illustrates a relatively bright spot amid the pandemic: e area's hotel industry is not only improving since the pandemic hit but exceeding national averages. e Worcester metropolitan area's occupancy rate in January was 45.7%, compared to a national average of 39.3%, according to STR, a global hospitality data and analytics company. It was also not so significantly below the rate a year prior: 48.4%. e Worcester metro area, which includes Worcester County and Con- Even though a full rebound isn't expected until 2024, Worcester hotels are beating expectations BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor necticut's Windham County, benefits in part by relying less on tourism or major conventions, two areas crippled during the pandemic. Among the country's largest markets, for example, Oahu, which includes Honolulu in Hawaii, had a January occupancy rate of 23.6%. January, despite normally being the area's slowest month for hotels, was among the best since the pandemic hit, even as the region hit all-time highs in new cases. e worst month was last April, during the region's initial spike in cases, when occupancy hit 22.9%. "ey fared well during the pandem- ic relative to other regions, but compared to where they were last year, they were significantly down," said Monique Mess- ier, the executive director of the tourism agency Discover Central Massachusetts. Not all the area's hotels stayed open throughout the pandemic, and at least some remain closed, including the region's largest, the 406-room Great Wolf Lodge in Fitchburg, and the DoubleTree in Westborough. Both will open April 1. Others have suffered major – at least temporarily – job losses, including Worcester's AC Hotel, which had 15 em- ployees, according to the city, compared to 90 when it opened in 2018. e Hilton Garden Inn downtown was down to 22, compared to 100 normally, and the Hampton Inn was down to five because it is being used temporarily as a dormito- ry by Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Surviving the past year Hotels adjusted to the pandemic much the same way similar businesses relying on guests such as restaurants did: with plexiglass, hand sanitizer stations, signs for reminders about proper distancing, and extra cleaning. Initially, hotels were keeping rooms empty for 72 hours between guests, a time shortened as the pandemic has moved along. Other restrictions are still generally in place, including no visitors of guests or guests having to affirm doing online reservations that they're in com- pliance with health protocols. Pools and fitness centers are typically off-limits. For the 160-room AC Hotel, the hotel had to operate to the standards of its parent Marriott brand, something that General Manager Mary Simone said was reassuring to guests. No one could enter the building without a key, and the hotel's connection to the adjacent 110 Grill, normally an easy walk through a doorway, was locked. "We have to know who's walking in our building," Simone said. Easy highway access and proximity to two busy hospitals, Saint Vincent Hospital and UMass Memorial Medical Center, plus a field hospital at the DCU Center helped, Simone said. at showed Worcester was a safe city for the pan- demic, with important services nearby, she said. At the Homewood Suites, the typical self-serve breakfast has been replaced by an arrangement in which hotel workers take requests and serve guests food. Aer each room is cleaned between guests, a Lysol-branded seal is placed over the doorway, assuring guests no one else has been inside except for the cleaning staff. The Homewood Suites has had a busier start to 2021 than it did in 2020. The AC Hotel in downtown Worcester says it has benefited from its Marriott brand. The Hilton Garden Inn, next to the DCU Center, has cut back staffing. The Beechwood Hotel is among a number of hotels closed temporarily. Monique Messier, Discover Central Massachusetts The Homewood Suites has all the hallmarks of a pandemic-era hotel: cautionary signs, plexiglass and sanitizer. PHOTOS/GRANT WELKER

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