🔒New Haven hotels, with new competition, see rebound from pandemic’s low points

New Haven hotels are roaring back from the dark days of the pandemic, largely thanks to pent-up demand in leisure travel.

“We’re hopping,” says Dana Zimmerman, director of sales and marketing at the Omni New Haven at Yale, as she scrambled to accommodate the annual rush of Yale’s commencement weekend.

But the comeback is uneven, cautions Ginny Kozlowski, executive director of the Connecticut Lodging Association.

In March, the latest numbers available, Connecticut’s 40,000 hotel rooms were 55% booked at an average rate of $117.41. That’s a marked improvement from the past two years and is comparable to 2019.

Still, strong weekends and slow weekdays leave plenty of room for future gains, hotel officials say.

Business travel remains slow, Kozlowski says, pointing to the long tail of pandemic effects.

There are indications businesses are still leery of the potential liability of employees contracting COVID while attending a meeting or convention. They’re doing more online meetings, just as they’ve been slow to bring employees back into the office full time.

And the lack of office workers downtown has a ripple effect across the hospitality industry, Kozlowski says.

Both Zimmerman and Kozlowski say they expect a slow return of business travelers, likely meaning it will be 2023 before that sector returns to pre-pandemic levels.

Until then, Zimmerman has her hands full with a rush of weekend events filling the Omni’s 22,000 square feet of meeting space, the largest in New Haven. She explains she’s had to hire an additional event coordinator to keep up with the “off-the-charts” demand for weddings and galas, reunions and bar mitzvahs.

People want to get out and be social again, she says. She described the recent Mother’s Day brunch as “amazing” and said the hotel’s catering staff has been extra busy.

It’s a phenomenon that is showing itself nationally in leisure travel that’s already above pre-pandemic levels.

New competition

Kozlowski is bullish on the upcoming summer season. Sure, inflation is going to be a drag on demand, she says, but the state’s gas tax moratorium will help. She’s seeing no need for special promotions to drive business in the months ahead.

Over at the shiny new 165-room Hotel Marcel, everything was in place on May 16 as the renovated property officially debuted.

So far bookings at the New Haven hotel, which overlooks Interstates 95 and 91 and the Long Wharf district, have been strong, and the hotel staff has gotten lots of positive feedback, said Susan Norz, director of sales and marketing.

“The community, the universities, the sustainability community … it’s sort of overwhelming in a positive way,” Norz said. “We’re going to be successful because everyone wants us to be.”

Westport developer Bruce Becker opened the hotel in time for the rush of visitors around graduation and alumni gatherings at area universities.

Part of Hilton’s Tapestry Collection, the Marcel joins The Study at Yale, The Blake and Graduate New Haven as part of the Elm City’s boutique hotel scene.

Rates at the Marcel started at $218 on Hilton’s website for opening night and ranged up to $324 for a king bed in a corner room. Bookings have been bolstered by Hilton’s loyalty program, Norz said.

The hotel’s new restaurant, BLDG, features farm-to-table cuisine at an accessible price point, Norz said.

From his perch as chief communications officer at HotelPlanner.com, Darien native Philip Ballard sees a number of national trends at play in the New Haven market. His Florida-based firm specializes in booking group travel.

He echoes Zimmerman’s sense that Americans are eager to re-engage with their friends and families — and the community at large. The influx of weddings at the Omni New Haven at Yale matches the pent-up demand hotels across the country are seeing.

He says 90% of Americans are telling researchers they are planning “a big trip” this summer and tapping savings from clothes and meals they didn’t buy and trips they didn’t take over the past two years.

On the other hand, Ballard says the rise of online meetings may force hoteliers to adapt to a new baseline expectation for business travel that’s 10% to 20% lower than pre-pandemic levels.

Staffing woes

There are important headwinds to a full recovery, he warns, that go beyond inflation and domestic COVID concerns.

One is the shortage of international travelers, who are turned off by stiff COVID testing protocols that remain in place for foreign visitors. His company, listed by Experian as one of the top 50 travel sites in the country, has urged Congress to ease the restrictions.

He calls the restrictions “the No. 1 disincentive” for travel to the U.S.

Zimmerman says she’s seeing the impact first hand in New Haven where few international parents showed up for Yale’s commencement this year.

Ballard also points to labor shortages as a factor across the country as the “Great Resignation” takes its toll. Maids, wait staff and cooks are all in short supply, he says. The result is restaurants being closed early in the week and hotels offering maid service only by request.

Kozlowski says the Connecticut hospitality industry was hit hard by pandemic layoffs and still has thousands of unfilled jobs across the state.

She points to the Omni New Haven at Yale as a rare exception.

Zimmerman says the hotel’s status as the city’s only unionized hotel sets it apart. Wages are higher and turnover is less than other hotels, she says.

Her sales team was decimated when the pandemic forced the hotel to close but all returned when the Omni reopened, she explains. And the hotel has shown great flexibility in helping part-time employees in one area pick up hours in another area of the operation.

From his national vantage point, Ballard has some suggestions for New Haven’s hotel industry:

• Play to your strengths. Target weekend travelers from nearby states and point out the under-appreciated attractions like Connecticut’s wine trail;

• Work on your weaknesses. New Haven still has a lingering reputation as a dangerous place. A public safety campaign and some marketing would help.

• Ride the wave. Do a great job on those weddings and leisure travelers. Impress them and they’ll become repeat guests.

From a local perspective, Zimmerman says service additions at Tweed New Haven Airport present an opportunity to find new business and suggest a recognition that the Elm City — particularly its red-hot biotech sector — will be a growing market for business, whenever business travel gears up again.