VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — It's the big Fourth of July holiday weekend and that means big bucks for the Oceanfront.
13News Now checked out how much rooms are going for. The cheapest room we found as at the Cerca Del Mar Motel: it’s $230 for the weekend.
The most expensive is a tie between the Cavalier and the new Marriott across the street. Both will set you back $609 for the weekend.
So, will people pack the beaches this weekend, or will COVID keep people home? Oceanfront businesses feel confident it will get busy.
“I’m looking to see everyone open on July 4th, it’s always a good time for us,” said The Atlantic on Pacific restaurant manager James Orlander.
Orlander said the lobby waiting space will be their biggest obstacle.
“We are not going to let people wait inside for their table, because that will get overloaded pretty quickly,” he explained. “We are just going to have them wait off-premise or in their cars, and we will just give them a text whenever their table is ready.”
But without fireworks, will July 4th bring the usual crowds? Virginia Beach Hotel Association President Russell Lyons thinks so.
“At least, for the hotels that I oversee, we have been sold out for a number of weeks now for the Fourth of July weekend,” Lyons said.
Lyons oversees seven hotels and expects similar packed houses at hotels all along the Oceanfront.
“It’s always the biggest weekend of the year and certainly it looks like the current COVID situation has not dampened that at all,” Lyons said. “People still want to get out and go on vacation.”
After a silent COVID spring, Lyons said the Oceanfront is rebounding nicely this summer.
“If you look at the top 25 markets in the country, Virginia Beach/Norfolk is the top-performing in occupancy and has been for the past three or four weeks now,” Lyons said.
Phase 3 will restrict crowds when it comes to hanging at the bar. Governor Northam said that won’t happen just yet, but Orlander doesn't mind.
“We were planning not to open it anyways, just because we didn’t feel comfortable,” Orlander said. “We knew a lot of people didn’t feel comfortable.”
He hopes following every rule will keep them from moving backward.
“We are just lucky to be open,” Orlander said. “We are lucky Virginia Beach still has what Virginia Beach has to offer. It would be awful to shut this place down during one of the busiest times of the year.”
Mayor Bobby Dyer called a special meeting for Thursday afternoon to hear updates on public safety and COVID, heading into July 4th weekend.