Interview: Jackie Mangar

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. ( ) 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

doors open, defer taxes, furlough workers and take advantage of tax breaks. But throughout the recovery process, there was tension, particularly between the cruise industry in Florida and the federal authorities and CDC. In April, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the state would sue the federal government over the ongoing no sail order, impacting the cruise industry, which contributes about $1.2 billion in onshore spending alone to the state. In the first six months of the pandemic, Florida lost $3.2 billion due to the shutdown of the industry, according to a September 2020 report from the Federal Maritime Commission. The governor also signed an order to ban vaccine passports. In February, the federal government considered intervening to impose restrictions in the state given surging cases of virus variants with potential resistance to the vaccine. Florida’s authorities spent the year stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand they had to ensure the virus did not spread to uncontrollable proportions and overwhelm hospital systems, but on the other the economy was at risk of collapse due to the failure to collect tourism revenues. In September, hotels in the region were still hovering below half full and tourismrelated businesses were forced to lay off employees en masse. Port Tampa Bay was significantly impacted by the loss of the cruise industry, with operating revenue from January to June 2020 down by about $3.45 million, with operating income down about $2.3 million.

Faced with an absence of international travellers, Florida attempted to draw in more domestic visitors in the absence of international travel, promoting the state in the East Coast markets, especially in the colder states in the north of the country. Still, in December, a Destinations Florida survey projected that full recovery was about a year out. Nevertheless, Florida’s tourism industry is expected to pick up ahead of other states in the nation. A September TripAdvisor study found that both St. Pete and Clearwater were on the Top 10 list of U.S. travel destinations for fall 2020.

One of the silver linings for Tampa Bay was its position as a boating and yachting hub. In the midst of the pandemic, U.S. boat sales surged to $47 billion in 2020, a 13-year high according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. Powerboat sales were up 12%, while wakeboard sales were up 20%. As people became more conscious about the kind of lifestyle they wanted to live amid the restrictions in place, boat sales, RV sales and luxury home sales all surged, and

Tampa Bay was one of the winners as a result. Tampa was named by 26 North Yachts as the third-best city in the world to live in for yachting enthusiasts, behind only Miami and Fort Lauderdale. And in June, the Tampa Bay Boat Show will take place in a socially distanced format, attracting about 15,000 visitors to the region.

Hotel performance According to HVS, pre-pandemic, the St. PetersburgTampa hotel market had posted nine consecutive years of growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR). Although the region’s lodging RevPAR in 2020 hit its lowest point in April, some areas of the market have recovered much faster than others. The region is also outperforming other markets , with the highest occupancy among the Top 25 markets at 51% in 2020 according to STR. HVS predicts that in 2021, occupancy will reach 61%, before climbing to 68% in 2022 and 72% in 2023. The average rate and RevPar are expected to climb steadily before surpassing 2019 levels in 2023, at $134 and $97, respectively.

The hotel industry was helped in part by regional travel, providing some weekend occupancy, and the government support packages. According to data, Florida’s hotels were among the biggest beneficiaries of the PPP program, taking in $581 million in funds and in Tampa a portfolio of 10 hotels that includes the $175 million Wyndham Grand in Clearwater, received more than $19 million. Some experts argue that the PPP program is not sustainable for hotels, with research group Trepp revealing that as of August 2020, 23% of hotel properties were more than 30 days late on mortgage payments. About $20 billion CMBS loans were delinquent as of July. Instead, some experts argue for a system similar to TARP, which was rolled out during the Great Recession and provided the government with ownership of assets and therefore a return on investment.

Visitors continue to visit Tampa Bay, but there are also more options than just a hotel stay. Data shows that Airbnb visitors paid over $140 million in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk counties for lodging in 2019. Polk, Pinellas and Hillsborough attracted the fifth-, sixth- and seventh-most visitors in the state with a combined total of around 911,000.

Despite the downturn, new hotels also have been completed during the pandemic, including the JW Marriott Tampa Water Street, the region’s first fivestar hotel, which opened its doors in January 2021. Dual-branded Hyatt House and Hyatt Place opened