Busy tourism season forecast

| JOHN S. HAGEN THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

“I would expect to see more visitors who can get here on one tank of gas — such as people from Seattle and Vancouver (B.C.) — and fewer visitors from Portland or California. Americans still view vacations as a right, but they’ll be taking shorter trips.”

National surveys about vacation plans paint varying pictures of how Americans are adjusting to record-high gas prices. A recently released USA Today/Gallup Poll said more than a third of Americans are changing their plans, while AAA estimates that 37.9 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this Memorial Day weekend, down less than 1 percent from last year’s total.

“The trends tell me that we’ll continue to get most of our visitors within a 100-mile or so radius,” said Loni Rahm, president of Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism.

“The main focus will definitely be people taking car trips here. Many will stay with family or just for the day, but we’ll still have plenty of overnight guests. Whatcom County is in a good position for this type of tourism because there are two large metro areas nearby.”

A big reason for plenty of overnight guests will be organized events, such as weddings.

Sara Stroh, front desk supervisor at The Chrysalis Inn, said the busy summer season came a little early this year because they are seeing more wedding groups than in previous years.

“We’ve also seen more corporate bookings, which is important because they tend to fill the rooms during the week day,” Stroh said. “I think one factor is that we are now seven years old, so people do know about us.”

Sporting events also play a role in hotel room bookings. An adult soccer tournament in July already has the Lakeway Inn’s rooms booked, Brenk said.

“There are plenty of events during the summer that draw people in from Seattle that fill hotel rooms quickly, particularly on the weekends,” he said.

The Chrysalis also is adjusting to the increased traffic with a major renovation of its spa facility. The spa will be closed for the month of June, giving the inn a chance to add some rooms and make changes that were suggested by guests, Stroh said.

“While June is a busy time for the spa, this will allow us to have an improved facility ready for July, August and September, which is our peak period for the spa,” said Stroh.

PICK-UP NEEDED TO OFFSET FIRST HALF SLUGGISHNESS

In recent years hotel occupancy rates in Whatcom County have been in the 65 percent range. But they’ve been more in the 60 percent range in the first quarter of this year, according to Brenk, who compiles local information through outside data sources.

“Hotel rates have risen, though, which will offset some of that slowdown,” Brenk said. “But those rates have risen because the cost of goods has continued to rise.”

Brenk believes the slowdown in the first quarter was a bit of an aberration because that’s usually a slower time of year and in 2007 there were some unusual events that filled rooms. While the summer looks like a regular year for Brenk’s 132-room hotel, the uncertainty in the economy has people hesitating about booking ahead to 2009 and 2010.

“There seems to be a holding pattern for those group bookings while people try to figure out what is happening with the economy,” Brenk said.

With current occupancy rates, Brenk said there’s room for growth locally in the lodging industry. There has been discussions about new hotels coming, particularly to Bellingham’s West Bakerview Road area, but construction hasn’t begun on any projects yet.

“I get one or two calls a month from hotel representatives that are looking in this area, so I’m surprised nothing has materialized yet,” Brenk said.