GALVESTON
Island hotels and short-term rentals can open today to all visitors, and operators Thursday already were getting bookings from people eager to get out of the house.
Galveston was crowded last weekend, and the near perfect spring weather and reopened beaches promise even more visitors this weekend.
That won’t necessarily mean immediate salvation for an industry hard hit by restrictions meant to slow the spread of coronavirus, however, insiders said.
A COVID-19-induced slump in bookings likely is to persist because some travelers will be uncomfortable spending nights away from home for a while, local lodging owners said.
A few people have been booking hotel rooms, said Willis Gandhi, president of the Galveston Hotel & Lodging Association, who owns island properties such as Best Western Plus, 8502 Seawall Blvd.
“In Galveston, we’re seeing a lot of day trippers,” Gandhi said.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s orders discouraging people from non-essential travel ended Thursday. With beaches reopening today and restaurants and other businesses opening to partial capacity, hoteliers expect more people will travel to the island.
The city issued a statement Tuesday announcing it would lift restrictions today that it placed on hotels and short-term rentals in March limiting their guests to essential workers only.
The Galveston City Council officially lifted the restriction Thursday.
READY TO REOPEN
Galveston hotels have been prepared to reopen because they already have been renting rooms to essential workers, Gandhi said.
Homewood Suites by Hilton Galveston, 110 Seawall Blvd., has had 20 percent to 33 percent occupancy the past month, sales manager Michelle Stoddard said. The hotel caters to long-term guests, in addition to short-term stays, and many of the people who have remained at the hotel are staying for at least a month, she said.
The hotel is getting a lot of calls from people within one or two hours of driving who want to book rooms, Stoddard said.
The hotel ramped up its cleaning procedures in March, Stoddard said. Homewood also isn’t going to open its breakfast buffet and will make changes at the pool to promote social distancing, she said.
Island short-term rentals are starting to get bookings as well.
Ryson Real Estate & Vacation Rentals, which manages about 200 vacation rental properties, got 50 new bookings on Wednesday and Thursday, CEO Liz Overton said.
Most of those bookings are for this weekend, although some have started trickling in for later in the summer, Overton said.
“There was no hesitation,” Overton said. “They were ready to come down.”
The rental company also has enhanced its sanitation practices and gone from an in-person to a contactless check-in process, Overton said.
The shutdown has been a financial disaster for hotels and vacation rentals, said Mary Branum, president of the Short Term Rental Owners Association of Galveston.
“There was a loss of revenue,” Branum said. “Loss of revenue then trickles down to staff.”
Many people also lost their jobs in the past six weeks and are saving money, which means less travel.
The key for lodging owners is to ensure people feel comfortable and safe, Branum said.
The association has recommendations for its members, including restricting rentals to single families and waiting 24 hours between bookings to allow more time for deep cleaning, Branum said.
Gandhi doesn’t predict any hotel closures in Galveston, but the story might have been different had restrictions gone on another month, he said.
But occupancy and room rates, which have dropped with less demand, likely will stay low for the immediate future, he said.
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Hotels, short-term rentals in Galveston get more bookings, but slowly - Galveston County Daily News
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