Jackie Mangar General Manager The Hotel Zamora
How did you weather the pandemic? When COVID-19 hit and the shutdown went into effect, we had to close down our own restaurant while maintaining the hotel’s flow. Most nights, we had extremely low occupancy, ranging from five to 15 rooms. This property took advantage of the time to greenlight several renovation projects we had in mind. We took advantage of that time with significant reconstruction efforts, changing all of our carpet floors to hardwood flooring, for instance. Our property has been extremely fortunate because once the region started going into phase two and phase three of the reopening process, we were doing a lot better than several properties in the area with 40 to 50% occupancy or higher and even close to selling out. What tourism and travel segments do you expect to recover first? In general, we anticipate that corporate travel will be probably the last to recover. In the case of our property, the banquet section of our hotel is poised to recover first. In October, we held an event for the first time since February, with 100 people, in line with strict safe distancing and other health and safety protocols as outlined by the CDC. What is the near-term outlook for The Hotel Zamora ? Upper management is getting the details in place, planning for the worst and expecting the best. No one wants another shutdown but we need to be prepared for it in case it happens. Our award-winning rooftop bar sells itself for regular service, birthday events or wedding events and our banquet section is poised for a quick comeback. During this time, we were grateful and fortunate to have the business we had. We saw numbers that actually improved compared to 2019, even with the ongoing pandemic. We remain an up-and-coming property and we’re highly optimistic about what is coming. 166
| Invest: Tampa Bay 2021 | TOURISM, ARTS & CULTURE
( ) almost $1 trillion arrived in December and a third $1.9 trillion bill was passed in March. Airlines received $14 billion in payroll support and airline contractors $1 billion, among other payments. When restrictions began to be lifted, many hospitality and restaurant venues quickly pivoted to the new reality. Restaurants, cafes, delis and bars that previously had been dine-in only began to offer food takeaway or collection services. The city of Tampa promoted the Dining at a Distance program, which publicized a list of outlets offering takeaway and delivery services. When restrictions were finally lifted in September as part of the phase 3 reopening plan, restaurants were able to operate at a minimum of 50% capacity and had to ensure social distancing and sanitation procedures were followed. But even then, the authorities were strict on those locations breaking the rules, with St. Petersburg issuing 200 citations as of December against businesses flouting the rules. No doubt, 2020 was a challenging year for all cities and companies exposed to the tourism and leisure sectors. According to early projections, Clearwater’s COVIDrelated losses could total $9.4 million in 2020 and Delta reported its toughest year in history with losses totaling $15.6 billion. Tampa International Airport’s budget was slashed dramatically in 2020 to $195 million and, although the 2021 budget increased slightly to $219 million, this is still a far cry from the $270 million 2019 budget. Recovery Closing out the year, the industry saw a pickup in activity, especially surrounding the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday period, although passenger numbers remained low compared to previous years. In December, total international passenger numbers at Tampa International Airport were down by 55% on the year to 964,000, and domestic passenger numbers were down 53% to 950,000. But by March 2021, the travel numbers at the airport were surpassing the previous year. March saw 1.4 million domestic passengers pass through the airport, up 25% on the year, while international passenger numbers were up by 19% on the year to almost 1.5 million. Spring Break saw a spike in visitors to Tampa Bay, with the airport projected to see a 60,000 passenger per day increase. And many airlines were caught off guard by the sudden uptick in numbers. Delta found itself short-staffed and was forced to reopen some middle seats when faced with the increased demand. American Airlines expects to reactivate its parked jets between April and June to keep up with increases in demand. The recovery of the sector was underpinned by federal government funding, which allowed companies to keep
