Coronavirus forces some SLO County hotels to close, but at least we still have pink cake
Hotels around San Luis Obispo County are facing the harsh economic impact of the stay-at-home order and general low occupancy rates — and some are choosing to close for the time being.
Some of the county’s most prominent hotels have temporarily shut their doors, while others remain open amid tough economic challenges.
San Luis Obispo’s two new luxury hotels — Hotel Cerro and Hotel SLO — announced temporary closures last week amid statewide social distancing guidelines.
Other hotels that have closed for the time being include Hotel Cheval in Paso Robles and the Apple Farm in SLO.
The Madonna Inn and its bakery are still open for guests, but the hotel has closed its pool, sit-down dining area, fitness center and spa.
Others such as Oxford Suites, with locations in Pismo Beach and Paso Robles, and The Cliffs resort in Shell Beach, also remain open.
Many local hotels are watching to see how the federal stimulus legislation will assist them in a time of extended financial difficulty.
“We’re waiting to hear on what the (federal) stimulus package will bring,” said Beverley Matthews, a Hotel Cerro partner. “We’re taking this one day at a time. And then, when we turn this corner, we’ll get back up and running and do what we do best.”
How SLO hotels respond to coronavirus
At the Madonna Inn, the coronavirus travel recommendations have reduced the number of guests to a trickle.
“Normally this time of year, we’re at about 80% to 90% occupancy,” said Clint Pearce, president of Madonna Enterprises. “Now, we’re at about 10% occupancy. We’re staying open because we do have guests who are staying with us as they conduct essential services at French Hospital. There are health care workers who come to the community to help out.”
The hotel is still serving food for takeout, including its famed pink cakes, Pearce said, and the staff is taking advantage of the slowdown to catch up on some overdue maintenance.
“One silver lining for us is since we have all of this staff fully employed and a lot of them don’t have a whole lot to do right now, we’re giving them tasks that maybe were down on their list quite a ways.” Peace said. “For instance, our steakhouse doors — big heavy carved wood doors —it’s very hard to finish those when we have people and groups moving in and out seven days a week. Well, that’s not happening right now. So it does give us an opportunity to refresh the property.”
While the Madonna Inn can spend the slowdown sprucing things up, that’s hardly necessary at the city’s two newest downtown hotels, Hotel Cerro and Hotel SLO, which both opened in recent months but are now closed temporarily.
“It took us five years to plan and open Hotel Cerro, and five days to close it down,” Matthews said about Hotel Cerro. “But we had to make sure it was safe.”
She said the hotel’s workers have been furloughed, and the hotel’s ownership partners are on daily conference calls.
Meanwhile, she added, the hotel has 24-hour security, deploying some staff members to look over the property since it closed to the public on Monday.
Hotel Cerro has been able to postpone spa and event bookings to future dates when operations resume.
On its Facebook page, Hotel SLO wished its guests well and urged them to take care of themselves.
“Take this time to focus on you. Play a board game, read a book or take some quiet time to meditate,” the hotel said. “We look forward to welcoming you back soon, but please do take care in the meantime.”
And the Apple Farm announced that it has temporarily suspended all operations at the hotel, restaurant, bakery and gift shop, as of March 25.
Downtown, the Granada Hotel & Bistro also has closed, but it’s offering a grocery service of curated selections of “comfort wine, goods and essentials” for curbside pickup or delivery.
Though some of the big-name properties in SLO have suspended operation, others are still welcoming guests.
The Kinney, the La Quinta Inn and Suites and The Sands currently are currently open for business and taking reservations..
Pismo Beach and Paso Robles hotel chain offers special deals
Other hotels have found ways to stay open by catering to workers who have traveled here to provide critical services.
At Oxford Suites — which has locations in Pismo Beach and Paso Robles as well as in Oregon, Washington and Idaho — the hotel has welcomed “first responders, traveling nurses and other medical personnel, as well as utility and construction workers that are providing essential support to our communities and our infrastructure,” said Lorealle Bishop, the hotel’s senior marketing manager.
Bishop said because the business is independent and family-owned, they have the freedom and flexibility to “do things differently and move more quickly to roll out measures.”
“Like many of our colleagues in the hospitality industry, we have created special rates for these essential personnel,” Bishop said. “We want to do our part to ensure that they have access to sanitized, affordable, and comfortable lodging during this time.”
Bishop said the economic impact is undeniable, but the hotel is supportive of the public health decisions.
“While this has impacted occupancy rates and the hospitality industry as a whole, we support these decisions and believe that they are our best chance at flattening the curve,” Bishop said. “... This won’t last forever, and we’ll be here and ready to welcome our leisure guests back when we make it through.”
Downtown SLO focusing on recovery efforts
As the coronavirus shutdown drags on, several SLO businesses owners, including hotel operators, have been consulting with Downtown SLO, the nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster an economically vibrant downtown. The group has a members-only Zoom online conference call set up for this week, including its board of directors.
Bettina Swigger, the organization’s CEO, said that Downtown SLO’s staff has realigned its focus on resource guidance and recovery efforts related to downtown businesses, which rely heavily on tourism, to help stabilize the future economic climate.
“Hotels depend on tourism, and the coronavirus economic impact has been a big hit for hotels,” Swigger said. “The cancellation of Cal Poly graduation will have a huge economic impact as well.”
Swigger said she worries about new business, including more than 30 that opened in SLO over the past year or so, that were still developing a community presence when the virus shut down activities.
“I worry about them and some of the older, more established businesses that may not have an online presence,” Swigger said. “Many of the new ones, however, have great tools for food deliveries and other purchases to make it easy (during the shelter-at-home period).”
SLO passes extension on bed tax late fees
Meanwhile, the city of San Luis Obispo itself is taking steps to help hotels weather the coronavirus crisis.
Hotels that are late on their transient occupancy tax payments due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic will have an extension until August to cover those payments.
The SLO City Council voted 5-0 Friday to allow the extension..
Applicable late fees and penalties on delinquent bed tax remittance for February (due on March 31) and March (due on April 30) will be postponed until Aug. 31.
“Most lodging businesses within the city are now experiencing dire declines in occupancy while trying to maintain their properties and operating cost,” SLO city officials wrote in a staff report. “Staff has received several inquiries about the monthly (bed) remittance and requests to postpone collection.”
The city clarified that it doesn’t administer sales tax or utility taxes, which are collected first by the state of California and later remitted to the city’s coffer. As a result, it doesn’t have jurisdiction over those tax-related deadlines.
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