Reservations about reservations: Lodging operators coax guests back

July 10, 2020  |  By Sidney Bewlay

Willie Docto (left) and Greg Trulson (right), owners of Moose Meadow Lodge since 1998 in Duxbury. Photo by Sidney Bewlay.

As Vermont’s hotels, inns and lodges have begun to reopen across the state, many owners and managers are hoping summer and fall visitors will help them make up for some of the revenue lost during the first and second quarter closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Vermont’s state of emergency and “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order that closed many businesses this spring came during a relatively quiet season for the hospitality industry -- near the end of ski season and before summer travel picks up. But the gradual opening of various sectors of the economy combined with cautions for travelers from outside Vermont has those managing the bookings nervous. 

The current state guidance for hospitality operations is to run at no more than 50% capacity and the map of surrounding states and guidelines for travelers changes frequently. 

Here in Waterbury and Duxbury, some lodging owners and managers say that they think they have been hit hard financially by the pandemic closure. 

Duane and Leah Beck have run the Grunberg Haus Inn and Cabins in Duxbury since July 2016. As a small bed and breakfast, the closure due to COVID-19 has damaged business. 

One decision they made for reopening was to no longer serve their signature breakfast as guests cannot maintain proper social distance in the dining room. “We will be lucky to make 35 percent of what we did last year,” Duane Beck said. 

For now, Beck is working a second, remote corporate job and is unsure whether the Grunberg Haus will be able to survive the year. However, he hopes that he and his wife will be able to continue running the bed and breakfast.

What would hit the Grunberg Haus the hardest right now would be canceled reservations. There is hesitation to travel as customers may be nervous about state guidelines regarding quarantine, testing, and reopening as a whole. Beck says that the costs of those refunds through the fall would put the Grunberg Hause in a position where they’d be “left with nothing.” 

Although reopening is helpful for business, the Becks said that limiting occupancy to 50% is a serious challenge.  “I get the impression that the state doesn't really want us to be open,” Duane Beck said. “It's so strict. My feeling is: tell us to stay closed if you don't want us open. Just tell us to stay closed.”

Likewise, Moose Meadow Lodge owners Willie Docto and Greg Trulson are working through the challenges of reopening and incorporating new health guidelines. For example, their bed and breakfast has had to change cleaning procedures in order to keep guests and staff safe. Rooms are left untouched for 24 hours after a guest checks out, aired out and sterilized before a new guest arrives. In addition, staff have placed signs requiring masks on the property and in common spaces; hand washing is encouraged and they’ve put hand sanitizer stations in every room. 

So far, guests at Moose Meadow have been happy to comply with the new policy; masks are required whenever a guest is outside of their room. Docto and Trulson also said they wear masks while in common spaces or on the property out of respect for the health of both guests and themselves.

One bright spot is that the property’s iconic booking -- its treehouse -- works well for guests to have their own space. Docto called it the “perfect place to isolate during COVID.” 

The two-story rustic treehouse stands apart from the main lodge as a private single bedroom and single bath cabin on the property. Guests who stay there have the entire treehouse to themselves and can keep distant from other guests as much as they’d like thanks to an isolated dining option that Docto and Trulson call the Giving Tree Service. The feature was an option for guests of the treehouse well before the pandemic hit but now is perfect for isolation because it means staff brings meals to guests to enjoy at the treehouse. 

Still, Docto seems to share the Becks’ sentiments regarding Vermont’s reopening guidelines. 

“We hope that things get better than that, that the governor turns on the spigot a little more and a little sooner. I understand he's working with the health department and trying to figure out how to do it safely, but as a business owner I would like to see a little bigger turn of the spigot each time he turns it,” he said. 

While Moose Meadow and Grunberg Haus both are off of the beaten path, the Old Stagecoach Inn is located right in downtown Waterbury. The reopening for the Old Stagecoach Inn has been interesting as its location typically allows guests to experience the summer culture of the area. However, this year, all major events in and near Waterbury that would draw crowds have been canceled including Waterbury ArtsFest, Stowe’s British Invasion car show and the Vermont Antique and Classic Car Meet held just down U.S. Route 2 from Waterbury village. 

Inn owner John Barwick said that guests this summer are coming in order to experience more outdoor recreation. But like at other inns, the Old Stagecoach is juggling reservations and many cancellations. Before the pandemic hit, Barwick said the inn was geared up for a “typical, very busy summer.”  The pandemic and the spring closure brought a flood of cancellations, but now bookings are ticking up again, something Barwick attributes to the public seeing Vermont as one of the safer places to visit right now.

“Everybody in Vermont seems to be taking extraordinary care. It is rare to ever see anyone anywhere in public without a mask on. And, you know, people are friendly and welcoming,” he said. 

That doesn’t mean things are going smoothly, however. Barwick said even guests who have booked recently are changing their minds. 

“People are watching things kind of fly backwards a little bit nationally and so they're deciding to cancel their reservations that had existed before,” he explained. 

Along with modifying cleaning practices, the Old Stagecoach has done away with its buffet breakfast option. The same food is offered, but guests must be ordered through a server, in order to reduce physical contact and increase distance between guests. The inn’s Facebook page tells locals that breakfast for the public will be offered as long as outside seating is possible. 

Another new challenge comes from managing reservations made through third party sites such as Booking.com or Expedia. The inn must call the potential guest in order to ask where they are coming from, how they plan to travel (nonstop, personal vehicles are the safest option), if they’ve been tested for COVID-19, and if they have been complying with Vermont’s self-quarantine guidelines. When guests arrive, there’s a new contactless check-in. Staff wear masks, and guests are strongly encouraged to as well. “We still see guests, and we talk to them from a distance. We try to be as social and as friendly as possible, but while keeping a distance and trying to keep everybody safe,” Barwick said.

Downtime makes time for upgrades 

In contrast, some larger hotels have been able to treat their closures as development opportunities absent the financial pressures that smaller lodging options face. 

Best Western Plus Waterbury–Stowe has been able to rehire the majority of their staff and implement new cleaning procedures as well, according to General Manager Melissa Moore. The closure allowed the hotel to complete needed upgrades that otherwise would have been a hindrance to guests, such as re-carpeting every room.

“We’re feeling as optimistic and as positive as possible. We’re gonna do our best to make sure that we keep our doors open, keep our guests safe, keep our staff safe and make the best of it,” Moore said.

The Best Western has been relying on social media advertising, geared towards Vermonters. The “Vermont by Vermonters Package” offers a 30% discount per night for Vermonters who choose to visit. Additionally, the hotel now allows guests to bring their dogs. For $30 a day and a refundable cleaning and damage deposit of $150, guests are permitted up to two dogs per rented room as long as the dog does not exceed eighty pounds. Other pets, such as cats, require the hotel’s approval prior to arrival.

Despite not advertising to larger markets due to state restrictions, the hotel has seen a “nice uptick” of reservations from guests from neighboring states like New Hampshire and Maine according to Moore. She said she hopes the trend will continue though the summer as more restrictions are lifted although returning to  “normal” isn’t likely any time soon.

Alyssa Johnson, Waterbury’s economic development director, has been working with the state on outreach recovery grants for local businesses including inns and hotels. The grants, however, are not likely to carry businesses through a second closure in the fall if it should happen. “Foliage season will be the tell-all,” Johnson said. “If we close again, a lot of places will be hurt, especially small businesses.” 

Johnson explained how Waterbury’s hotels and lodging sites are closely tied with restaurants and how local restaurants depend upon the success of lodging in Waterbury and nearby Stowe to bring in tourism dollars to the area. The closures for lodging and restaurants in both communities are closely linked, she said, and as a result businesses in both places are looking to work together such as promoting nearby outdoor attractions.

Johnson said that Revitalizing Waterbury has been helping share information with lodging businesses regarding the “ever-changing” regulations put forth by the state Health Department and the federal Centers for Disease Control. The state’s color-coded map showing which areas in the country are safe to travel to and from allows lodging owners to determine which guests may pose a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19. 

For the upcoming months, Johnson says it’s “going to be really challenging” for both the lodging industry and the restaurant industry to operate at 50% capacity, be on guard for COVID-19 and not have more economic support.

Barwick at the Old Stagecoach agreed. Given the extra work and limits on reservations, he said that it doesn’t make much sense economically for the Old Stagecoach Inn to be open right now, but it’s what he and the other members of the staff want to be doing. “It's conceivable we could be shut down again. And that will be very tough. It's already been very tough. So, you know, our, our game plan is to survive. And to work within the parameters set forth by the governor and do our best,” he said. 

Johnson gives local restaurants and hotels  credit for being “creative in finding ways to draw customers and doing all that they can to help each other out.”

There’s always the great outdoors

Waterbury is “lucky” to have so many outdoor recreational opportunities. Johnson says that attractions such as Hunger Mountain and other state parks nearby have been drawing tourists, thus keeping smaller businesses open. 

Probably for a variety of reasons, area campgrounds and state parks are in high demand this season.  Susan Bulmer is Northeast Parks Regional Manager for the Vermont State Parks. She said she believes that many people are excited to get outside and be in nature rather than stuck in their houses due to the pandemic. As a result, the parks have been “mobbed” even before they officially opened, she said, with issues of visitors parking on private property in some cases. 

State parks had a delayed opening this year in late June rather than Memorial Day because the Stay Home order that kept staff away was in effect into mid-May. That didn’t stop people from visiting the state parks in Waterbury anyway which created some crowded conditions at access points around the Waterbury Reservoir. 

For example, boaters toting everything from kayaks to large motorboats on trailers have lined up at the boat launch at the end of Blush Hill Road since the weather turned warm. Earlier in the season, vehicles on nice days filled the parking lot and lined both sides of the narrow dirt road above the access area. 

That prompted the Waterbury Select Board in mid-June to amend its parking ordinance to ban parking on the west side of the road from Michigan Avenue to the water. Nearby residents found it hard to get in and out of their driveways and town officials worried emergency vehicles might not have been able to get through if needed. 

Town Manager Bill Shepeluk this week said new signs have been posted and he’s visited the spot several times to find the public complying with the new arrangement. 

Since the new parking rule went into effect, the Waterbury Center Day Use area with a larger boat access has opened. Bulmer at this week’s Select Board meeting said the park has been busy and taking some of the pressure off the Blush Hill spot.

Parks staff have been holding twice-weekly meetings to discuss CDC guidelines, Bulmer said, and new cleaning practices have been implemented in all locations. Being that the state parks are an outdoor environment, masks are required for the employees to wear when near the public or each other. 

Due to the pandemic, the campground sites at Little River State Park are available for booking but the park will not be renting cabins, Bulmer said. All special events and nature center programs have been suspended for the season as well. 

Community News Service is a collaboration with the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.