Cobb lodge industry, nearing pre-pandemic ranges, hits ‘hiccup’

Aug. 26—By some markers, Cobb’s hotel sector was undertaking as effectively before this summer season as it had been before the pandemic, according to tourism field officers.

But its recovery has slowed in current months as the delta variant spreads and the post-pandemic experience of spring and summer season offers way to caution.

Statistics detailing the industry’s restoration ended up shared at the Cobb Travel & Tourism board assembly this 7 days.

Hotel/motel tax collection in the June and July time period was, at $1.6 million, up a lot more than 200% from the similar period of time a year prior and just shy of the $1.65 million gathered all through the identical period in 2019, according to a CT&T presentation.

And “revenue per accessible home,” a performance metric utilised by the lodge business, basically exceeded last month its July 2019 determine.

It was on keep track of to do the similar in August, but that is now an open issue, according to Eric Gray, general manager at the Courtyard Atlanta Vinings/Galleria. Gray serves as the Cobb Hotel Council consultant on CT&T’s board.

The latest surge of the coronavirus has designed would-be tourists more cautious, a fact mirrored in Cobb’s hotel occupancy charges.

That charge hit 73% in July, approaching the July 2019 figure of 74.6%. Though August figures were not obtainable at Tuesday’s board conference, resorts have strike a “hiccup,” in Grey text.

“Their forecast was great likely into September,” he mentioned. But “you can find certainly a slowdown proper now.”

“There is not been any large cancellations,” Gray defined. “You will find just been sort of a gradual pause.”

Although the unfold of the coronavirus has performed a part, so way too has the point that August is usually a “odd” thirty day period with students’ return to school and the Atlanta Braves playing many of their game titles on the highway.

The very good information, he concluded, was that market watchers hope the most up-to-date wave of the virus to pass promptly.

In other small business, Cobb Travel & Tourism’s financials have improved, with 12 months-to-date revenues exceeding projections and expenses under projections.

The board Tuesday unanimously handed its $2.98 million budget for fiscal 2022. A spotlight, according to the organization’s monetary director, Mike Knowles, is an enhance in emergency reserves. These reserves will improve to $452,000, or 15.3% of the annual working finances. Several years ago, the board had established a objective of 16%, a purpose Knowles believes the group will meet in the 2023 fiscal yr.