After great summer, hospitality ready for big holidays

When the coronavirus hit earlier this year, The Coeur d’Alene Resort closed in April.

In May, it reopened.

Slowly, things came back online. Restaurants returned. The spa opened its door.

In June, business picked up, and “we kind of started to figure it out a little better,” said Bill Reagan, president of The Coeur d’Alene Resort.

Then came July and August.

Wow.

“It just took back off,” Reagan said.

The Resort was filled night after night

Rental boats were in such demand that they enjoyed their strongest summer.

Never had Reagan seen so many riding Resort bikes on the North Idaho Centennial Trail.

The Resort Golf Course was filled.

“Anything outdoors, it was just lights out on fire,” Reagan said. “And it’s because of the makeup of the guests.”

The Resort was packed not with business groups, which is common, but with leisure travelers, he said — individuals who want to shop, eat out, try the different activities.

“Those are people I think the town notices,” Reagan said. “They’re not sitting in a room listening to a presentation. They’re going out shopping, they’re going on zip lines. They’re going to Silverwood. They’re doing all the activities that everybody comes to Coeur d’Alene for.”

“People who had decks, outdoor seating, they were the ones who did the best,” Reagan said.

Reagan had concerns early in the summer that it might be a slow season for North Idaho's premier waterfront resort, what with all the travel restrictions, quarantines and shutdown of small businesses.

“I think there was certainly a dark cloud of what was going to happen,” he said.

But with Coeur d’Alene located just off Interstate 90, its proximity to Glacier and Yellowstone national parks, “There is a certain amount of business that is going to come our way,” Reagan said. “It just happened to be drive business.”

People also became more mobile, working from home while their kids were learning from home, which made it easier to travel.

“A lot of them wanted to get out of the cities. They were tired of being cooped up,” he said.

It helped, too, that Coeur d’Alene is considered a walking community, where one can stroll from the waterfront to restaurants and hiking on Tubbs Hill and back to The Resort.

“That is powerful,” Reagan said.

A lot of people, he said, thought they would try the camping experience, which was good for a day or two.

“But then they wanted to get back to the luxuries of staying in a hotel and enjoying room service,” he said.

It helped that the weather was wonderful, with the hottest and driest July and August in memory, and sunshine and blue skies well through September.

The Resort noticed the changes in travel patterns, from airlines to vehicles.

“When we started seeing that unfold, we really jumped on it and we changed our marketing message,” he said.

It worked.

September was equally busy, and the business bounty spilled into October. The Resort employed about 1,500 this summer, only about 100 shy of its usual peak employment.

But with the recent uptick in COVOD-19 cases, in Idaho and nationwide, The Resort has backed off its usual long-awaited holiday lineup.

“I think we’ve got to get that under control in order for us to be this safe haven that everybody perceives us to be,” Reagan said.

The traditional fireworks display the day after Thanksgiving was canceled, as was the official ceremony with song and candles to commemorate the Holiday Light Show.

“That has always been a gift to the community from the Hagadone family,” Reagan said. “And it’s been something that’s been really important to them. That decision was not made lightly.”

“It is a tradition but the welfare of this community is too important to us,” he continued.

But the lights and displays decorating The Resort, inside and out, will be turned on at 6 p.m. Nov. 27. They are bigger and better than ever, he said.

“We’re very excited about the look of The Resort this Christmas period,” Reagan said.

Just in time, too.

“We need some signs of positivity out there. We’ve had enough negativity for a while,” he said.

Reagan expects a festive holiday season at The Resort.

The Travelocity 2020 Holiday Outlook survey, conducted in mid-September, found that some travelers are feeling optimistic when it comes to leisure travel for the remainder of the year. One-in-four respondents said they have a personal vacation planned later this year, and nearly half of family travelers (45%) with kids under the age of 18 are taking a leisure trip before the year's end.

"It's going to be a nontraditional holiday season this year, so families are gearing up to make the most of it by planning a holiday away from home and using their vacation days to travel," says Katie Junod, general manager at Travelocity. "Our survey found that 80% of travelers who have taken a trip since the start of COVID-19 rated their experience as excellent or good, and that's given them the confidence to plan that next vacation at a time when they need a break from at-home school and work."

Those who are planning to travel this holiday season are getting a head start. Almost two-thirds of holiday-goers say they've already booked transportation and lodging for Thanksgiving or December holidays, upending the last-minute travel trend that Travelocity reported throughout the spring and summer in the wake of COVID-19.

Based on survey results and demand data, Travelocity is predicting the following holiday travel trends:

• Stay at a Hotel this Holiday: More travelers (43%) say they plan to stay at a hotel or vacation rental this year, with hotels being the slightly more popular option.

• Get Road Trip Ready: Nearly 80% of respondents plan to drive for November and December holidays, and one in five will fly.

• Pack for a Long Weekend: Holiday travelers say they'll stay through the long weekend. More than half (53%) plan to stay between 1-4 days as opposed to shorter day trips.

• Celebrate Close to Home: Two-thirds of holiday-makers plan to travel 250 miles or less.

Reagan said The Resort will be ready.

Christmas cruise boats will still cross Lake Coeur d’Alene to see Santa and his workshop.
 Boats will be limited in passengers. Instead of going straight in, the boats will turn sideways upon arrival, and Santa will be on a platform that rises up to be level with the boat deck and the children. There will also be socially distanced circles for groups.

“He’ll be talking to the kids right there at their level,” Reagan said.

He believes the North Pole cruises will be “better than ever.”

“We think it’s going to be a great year for the Holiday in Lights," Reagan said. “This is probably going to be the new standard for us in the future because we think it’s going to be such a better experience than we had in the past.”

The Resort could have backed out of putting up the holiday lights.

“But we said, 'No, this is going to be really important,'" he said. "This is another thing the community enjoys.

“I think the decorations are a special thing for this community.”

While many businesses did well this summer, Reagan said others are still struggling. He hopes The Resort's holiday programs help them out.

"But I think we in Coeur d’Alene have a lot to be thankful for,” he said.

Reagan is confident The Resort will do so well this holiday season that he urges people to make reservations now.

“Everything gets compressed,” he said. “Be sure you’re making your plans”