Interview: Tim Petrillo, CEO

FLL’s passenger numbers dropped 50% in 2020 compared to 2019, totaling just under 16.5 million

Tim Petrillo

CEO & Founder The Restaurant People

( ) also got involved to support the local community. Through its 2020 Supplemental Tourism Place of Interest Sponsorship Program, the center began offering $20,000 grants to Broward County businesses that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. But toward the end of the year, a funding shortfall jeopardized the expansion ambitions of the convention center and its $900 million renovation was put on hold. The project, which broke ground in May 2019, includes construction of 350,000 square feet of exhibition space, 132,000 square feet of ballroom space and an 800-room headquarters hotel.

Airport and airlines For airports and airlines, 2020 was a mixed bag as greater cargo shipments partially made up for the passenger shortfall. But for industry overall, it was a dark year. The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport handled over 36.7 million passengers in 2019 but this dropped over 50% to just under 16.5 million in 2020. International passenger numbers were down almost 65% to 3.1 million, while domestic passengers totaled 13.3 million, a 52% dip. In April 2020, it was announced that the national airport and airline industry would receive a $25 billion bailout but as the COVID-19 crisis wore on and passenger numbers slowed to a trickle, the industry realized it needed more. Toward the end of the year, the Trump administration floated the idea of a payroll tax cut and other major stimulus moves for the industry in a second bailout package. By January, an additional $2 billion was awarded to airports and $15 billion to airlines to curb losses and help restore employment of up to 32,000 furloughed workers. In September, U.S. airports received an additional $1.2 billion in safety and infrastructure grants from the FAA. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood was given $7.28 million for improvements and upgrades, while Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport was awarded just over $800,000.

How has The Restaurant People handled the challenges posed by COVID-19?

Before the pandemic, the market was extremely active, with a lot of hospitality businesses opening in the area. It was getting a bit overheated. However, we did not have the density of residents to support that growth. With the pandemic, a lot of those new businesses have been forced to close and it will be interesting to see what happens to the market going forward.

What opportunities will the pandemic offer to investors seeking to enter the industry?

There are a lot of distressed assets available in the market. Private equity capital has come into the market, helping to bolster growth across the country but many funds have been unwilling to provide the necessary monetary support during the crisis. These businesses are now being controlled by the banks, which are trying to unload them at potentially discounted prices. So there is a lot of opportunity there, particularly regarding restaurant chains, and we have looked at several of those.

What is your take on the minimum wage increase?

The minimum wage does not take into account tip credit for bartenders and servers. Business owners now have to pay their sta more on top of the tips they are already receiving, and that is why there has been some opposition to the decision. Restaurants have been hit with supply chain issues this past year, which have driven costs up significantly, as well as the additional costs related to COVID safety, like PPE equipment and now we have to deal with significantly higher labor costs.

What plans do you have to continue expanding The Restaurant People?

We are constructing two new rooftop areas, one in Fort Lauderdale and another in Downtown Miami. We don’t expect normal levels of volume until the final quarter of 2021 at the earliest, and that is the driving factor with respect to our planning for the coming years.

The arrival of the 3,405-passenger Celebrity Apex cruise ship is a positive sign for the industry’s eventual recovery

As air travel began to resume, it looked very different in South Florida. The use of face masks was mandatory, and an extensive awareness campaign was launched by Broward County Aviation. Rolling into July, passenger traffic began to pick up as confidence increased, prompting Spirit Airlines to announce the return of 47 FLL flights to various destinations. In July, the airline said it planned to add FLL flights to 13 additional international cities, including Jamaica and Haiti. By December, Fort Lauderdale Airport was able to begin offering COVID antigen and PCR tests at a small cost to passengers who could provide proof of upcoming travel. In January, as confidence began to pick up, American Airlines also announced it would add a new flight from FLL to Port-au-Prince, Haiti starting April.

Cruise industry Within tourism, the cruise industry was one of the hardest hit globally by the pandemic. Not only is there no safe way to socially distance on a cruise ship, but the industry also faces the uphill battle of overcoming the image it obtained at the beginning of the crisis as a breeding ground for COVID-19.

There were more than 3.9 million cruise ship passengers passing through Port Everglades in 2019, with 10 cruise lines, one ferry service and 40 cruise ships.

Although activity has been on hold for 2020, 2021 is looking brighter. In October, Fort Lauderdale welcomed the new 3,405-passenger Celebrity Apex ship owned by Celebrity Cruises and in February the ferry service between the port and Grand Bahama resumed. Port Everglades took some of the downtime to implement some improvements, including building ( )