VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — No doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic made the spring and summer rough. But, Virginia Beach City tourism leaders said the season wasn’t a total loss.
City of Virginia Beach Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Vice President Tiffany Russell reports that Norfolk and Virginia Beach led the nation in the top 25 DMA markets for 13 straight weeks. They did so at 60 percent hotel occupancy recovery.
Those numbers are powered by Smith Travel Research.
“Smith Travel Research is one of the premier providers of hotel data,” Russell said.
Russell said, in Virginia Beach specifically, August hotel occupancy was at 71.8 percent.
“We nearly closed the gap,” Russell told city council.
Still, there is a long road to recovery.
“We have seen a loss and it is significant,” Russell said.
From January to August Russell said hotels in Virginia Beach lost $81 million.
“$81 million right there does actually represent the actual hotel revenue lost, year over year, in Virginia Beach during COVID,” Russell said.
Now, all eyes are on the offseason.
“We have to figure out how to make up for all of those lost festivals, events, conventions, meetings, and groups that have historically come -- particularly in the mid-week -- to fill our hotel rooms,” Russell said.
The CVB is trying to attract remote workers to the beach with their "Surf, Sand and Study" campaign. They also continuously remind visitors of safety protocols in place with their “VB Smarter” campaign. All information is available directly on their website.
“We probably recognize how important it is that we work together to make sure we do stay open in Virginia Beach,” said City Council Member Barbara Henley, after the presentation.
Henley, along with Mayor Bobby Dyer and City Council Member Guy Tower, were happy with the presentation.
“Our success is probably the envy of many people in the nation right now, thank you," Dyer said.
Russell said the numbers are far from perfect, but still better than other big cities.
“There is a lot of bleeding that is going on. So, while we have this amazing story to tell, there is still that negative impact that is going to be very hard for us to get through,” Russell said. “We don’t know when that is going to end.”
Russell said the city’s commissioner of revenue is still calculating numbers for restaurant and retail performance.