Wet weather and the recession can”™t hold a candle to colorful leaves. Or at least, so hope the innkeepers of the Hudson Valley, who see the next two months as an opportunity to make up for business not done earlier in the year.
It has been a slightly slow period for the lodging industry in the Hudson Valley as the rainy weather and the Great Recession combined to raise caution flags for travelers. And even as business picks up, tourists are making fewer early reservations and expressing greater desire to make a deal on room rates.
“It”™s down a little bit, not drastically, ” said Jerry Lucas, president of the Hudson Valley Lodging Association who along with his wife has for 16 years run the Fox Hill Bed and Breakfast in Highland.
Things have improved during the course of the tourist season after the first five months of the year, when the recession seemed deepest, “Things were down considerably. Everyone was just so uncertain,” said Lucas.
It”™s not difficult to find a quantifiable measurement of reduced tourism business. A major indicator of profitability in the lodging industry is the occupancy tax added to the cost of booking a room by some counties as a source of revenue.
Â
Both Ulster and Dutchess counties show significant decreases in occupancy taxes for the first two quarters of 2009 compared with 2008. From April to June, Dutchess collected about $462,000 in such “bed taxes” down $93,000 from the same period in 2008. It was the first time that quarter fell below the $500,000 mark since 2004. Overall, Dutchess 2009 bed tax receipts were down by $135,000 from 2008.
Â
Ulster County bed tax revenues were down by $87,000 in the first and second quarters (January to June) compared with the same period in 2008. The second quarter total is the worst for Ulster since 2005.
Bookings at the Buttermilk Falls Resort and Spa on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River in Milton were also down slightly, said general manager Dan Reyburn. He said that the down economy is reflected in seeing more New Yorkers patronizing the resort instead of going overseas for a vacation. He said another change is fewer advance bookings and a new emphasis on last-minute inquiries and bookings. “It”™s a little bit more last minute,” Reyburn said. “And everyone is looking for a deal.”
Reyburn said that while the recovery may take time to fully work itself through the economy, Buttermilk is making investments to increase its appeal by expanding the range of customers who can enjoy the grounds of the historic site on 75 acres of landscape with ponds, streams and waterfalls.
Besides Buttermilk”™s historic appeal, modern accessories are standard, such as the spa and high speed Internet in all 13 of the unique rooms and cottages that can accommodate a total of about 40 guests. Currently, lunch and dinner are not served on the grounds. Reyburn said the spa”™s owners were bowing to customer wishes and creating facilities to serve three meals a day every day.
But the investment idea goes beyond a bigger kitchen and dining area. Buttermilk is in the late stages of constructing a Culinary Arts Building that will serve meals, but also host cooking classes by area chefs and create accommodations for larger groups such as conferences and business retreats. And the investment allows the Spa to join in on the farm-to-table movement in nearby Marlboro and other local agriculture centers, where the farmers who grow the food will appear alongside the chef”™s who turn it into a feast.
Â
Reyburn said it was a little “nervy” making large scale investments improving facilities during a recession but said there were advantages to taking the chance. Lower construction costs are available now as contractors all seek work, and there is the prospective advantage of being ready to do additional business as the recession ends.
Â
Bookings may be down in Beacon as well, but it”™s too soon to know, said Neil Caplan of Swann Inn Bed and Breakfast in Beacon, which opened last October and thus has no bookings history to look back on. “We weren”™t as busy as we expected,” said Caplan, adding that weekends were busy but weeknights slower than expected.
He said, however, the inn is trying to taking advantage of tourism trends. “People are still a little leery to go out for any extended trips, but want to take the one-day trips so we will do one-night bookings,” he said.
He also added that people seem more leery than in the past about making travel plans. “We get a lot of last-minute people,” he said, and noted that the Swann Inn”™s location in Beacon adjacent hiking trails and near the Dia Arts Center and the Metro-North station makes it ideal for day trips. He said October is shaping up as a busy month, with reservations already being made. “They are booking for the leaves,” he said.
Lucas, president of the Lodging Association, said as the economy seemed to stabilize and the wet weather of early summer gave way to a so-far glorious September, hoteliers are anticipating a surge of visitors attracted by the leaves and the grand opening next month of the Walkway Over the Hudson between Poughkeepsie and Highland. “October is always the peak month,” Lucas said.
