Report shows US saw worst year for hotels; SWFL industry faring better

The beach is a big selling point for people who are visiting Southwest Florida, but hotels have taken a hit during the pandemic.

According to an STR data report, 2020 was the worst year on record for U.S. hotels. End-of-year reports show hotel occupancy was down 33% nationwide. The average daily rate dropped more than 20%, and the revenue per available room was nearly cut in half.

“Business is off but not as bad as the rest of the country,” said Bill Waichulis, the general manager of Pink Shell Beach Resort on Fort Myers Beach.

Southwest Florida is largely an outlier.

The Christmas week was a true telling,” Waichulis said. “Would people fly down? And they did.”

Both Pink Shell and the Inn on 5th in Naples closed for about two months during the pandemic. But unlike other states, Florida’s businesses were allowed to come out of quarantine.

“Floodgates opened, and we are busy every day,” said Cathy Christopher, the director of sales and marketing at Inn on 5th.

Little by little, these Southwest Florida hotels have worked their way closer to where they were pre-pandemic.

“We’re still rebuilding, but it is definitely coming back, and we will be close,” Waichulis said.

Both hotels believe there are dozens of factors, including no cruises, no international travel, beautiful weather, fewer restrictions and, of course, more places to go where you can socially distance.

“Just being out in the warm makes you feel good, and just getting away from just the cold weather and restrictions,” said visitor Sandi Haverdink , who was with her husband, Mike.

Pink Shell and Inn on 5th did have to lay off employees during the pandemic but are now back to full staff. The hotels say business is going back so well now they’re even hiring for more positions and employing more people than they did before the pandemic.

Both hotels also said they saw a huge uptick in people travelling within the state. Staycationers include Bob and Cheryl Wentworth in Bonita Springs.

“We just had to get out and do something because of COVID,” Bob said. “We normally travel out of state or out of country, and we just felt we needed to get away and do something, so we said, ‘Well, look around and see what’s nearby that we can go and enjoy.’”

MORE: STR – 2020 officially the worst year on record for U.S. hotels