Turning the page on the summer that wasn’t

GILFORD — This is the time of year when the Lakes Region tourism industry might be looking forward to foliage season and the New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival, but this is 2020 and it seems like nothing is normal.

The festival has been canceled because of coronavirus concerns and buses full of leaf peepers likely won’t be coming.

Frank Tuscano, general manager of The Fireside Inn & Suites in Gilford, said business was down 40 percent over the summer and he doesn’t have a good feeling about this fall.

Normally, the hotel gets about 40 busloads of guests on fall foliage tours, but this year, nobody wants to get on a bus.

“Everyone had to cancel,” he said. “These are excursions that come from New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts.”

Tuscano said there are similar cancellations throughout the industry. This affects not only lodging, but food and beverage sales and revenue for local attractions.

Silver lining

One bright spot in an otherwise dismal summer is that many first-time visitors came to the region.

“A lot of new people came here who have never been here before,” he said. “They needed to get away. At the same time, many of our regulars didn’t want to travel.”

Many of the guests were from Massachusetts. They wanted to go to the beach or get on a boat.

Tuscano said the Fireside Inn & Suites has stayed open throughout the pandemic, providing rooms earlier in the year for essential workers such as traveling nurses and contractors.

No employees were furloughed, but he estimated that about 15 to 20 percent of his staff decided on their own to leave.

He’s hoping business will return to a more normal footing next year.

“The funny thing is this was going to be our best year, we had so much on the books,” Tuscano said.

Pandemic winners

While tourism attractions, the accommodations business and the restaurant industry were hit hard by the pandemic, some businesses thrived, said Karmen Gifford, president of the Lakes Region Chamber.

The boating industry was extremely busy as more people looked to get on the water, an activity that allows social distancing.

Landscapers, building contractors, lumber yards, nurseries and hardware stores reported brisk business as more people stayed home and wanted to remodel or spruce up their yards, Gifford said.

“People see their backyards as an oasis,” she said. “And people who spend a lot on a monthly basis on going out to eat or on vacations were staying home.”

Companies providing online education or assistance to businesses with computer or online needs also fared well.

Online assistance

Marc McNamara, chief executive officer of The Enablement Group, said his Laconia-based communication and training agency saw a 15 to 20 percent increase in its baseline business during the pandemic. It serves customers around the world.

“The biggest increase is in delivery of virtual events,” he said. “We offer the service of live streaming very sophisticated, orchestrated events like sales kickoffs and quarterly business reviews.

“Organizations are having trouble engaging people. We help them collaborate.  We also have a long history in distance learning and distance communication.”

Thriving companies

Other businesses that have done well specialize in cleaning and sanitizing, a priority in the time of COVID-19.

Also busy were farm stands and other purveyors of locally grown food. People became accustomed to sourcing good quality food locally after shortages developed at supermarkets. But those markets also enjoyed strong business, Gifford said.

The real estate business also thrived.

“Inventory is low,” Gifford said. “Something becomes available and it is snapped up.”

Florists have been busy.

“They have been doing a ton of weddings that are really like elopements, or micro weddings, a lot of people are coming up and having small weddings,” she said.

Even some retailers, who went through a difficult period when much of the economy was closed, staged a comeback.

“The outlet mall stores have been very busy,” Gifford said. “Each store has its own safety guidelines. They have lines going out the sidewalk and down the sidewalk. People from out of the area like to shop here tax free.”

Liquor stores recorded strong sales. Golf courses did well.

Hard times for small businesses

But all this does not alter the fact that many small businesses have suffered greatly, and some have gone under.

In July, the NH Small Business Development Center released its 2020 Business Resiliency Survey of 1,549 small businesses from 172 towns and cities.

One in six respondents said they were not confident their business would still be operating in a year.

More than half of the businesses surveyed had seen their revenue decrease by 50 percent or more, especially those with few employees and those in the arts, entertainment and recreation industry or the accommodation and food service industry.

The Winnipesaukee Playhouse in Meredith is an entertainment business struggling through tough times.

It was not able to hold its summer shows and is now having a brief revival in a newly constructed outdoor theater with limited audiences and various rules and restrictions designed to prevent spread of COVID-19.

Restaurants try to survive

Mike Somers, president and chief executive officer of the New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association, said many restaurants, particularly smaller ones, were hit hard.

“We suspect 100 to 200 restaurants failed,” he said.

Restaurants historically average a 3 to 5 percent profit margin, so it’s likely many have been losing money all summer, he said.

“If I was a large restaurant with a large outdoor dining area, I might be down 15 or 20 percent for the summer, but some smaller businesses are down 50 to 60 percent.”

Overall, demand was soft. People chose not to travel. Many events were canceled. Others, such as Laconia Motorcycle Week, were greatly scaled back.

Some restaurants are just hanging on and hoping for better times ahead.

“Most of these guys are just hoping to make it to the spring,” Somers said. “The real test is can they make it through November and survive until the end of March."