Subscribe
to the E-Star!

Mountain Area businesses wade through recession

Brian Wilkinson

(Updated: Thursday, July 23, 2009, 6:37 PM)

With the recession continuing to damage many industries, tourism-dependent businesses in eastern Madera County, although not flourishing, are proving to be resilient to the current economic climate.

Max Stauffer, owner-operator of the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad said he was very apprehensive at the start of the summer considering the hardships the economy has caused and the high unemployment numbers for California and the Central Valley.

"Although it is not the season we would like to see, we are holding our own," said Stauffer. "We are only off about five percent from last season."

The fact that the mountain area borders Yosemite National Park gives businesses in the area an advantage over other vacation destinations around the state.

Stauffer said our National Parks still offer an affordable family vacation. And being sensitive to the economy, he has not raised his train excursion prices this year.

Dan Cunning, chief executive officer of the Yosemite Sierra Visitors Bureau, feels very positive about the summer season. He said that being a gateway to Yosemite helps a lot. "Many other areas across the state and the country are not doing as well as we seem to be doing."

Referring to the hotels in the area, Cunning explained that some are close to last year's numbers, some are at last year's numbers and some hotels are actually showing slight increases.

International travelers to the area is strong, according to Cunning. "75% of people entering our visitor center are international."

Oakhurst's Comfort Inn's occupancy is down between five and 10 percent, according to General Manager Jerry Rankin. "We're having a good summer although traffic is certainly down." Rankin said the area has a "built-in buffer" being adjacent to Yosemite. "People forget that upwards of 70% of Yosemite's visitors are from California."

Rankin said the hotel was hurt as much from the swine flu scare as the economy. "We had 40 Japanese tour buses cancel in April and May specifically due to the swine flu news. That was a loss of thousands of dollars."

What's different this year, according to Rankin, is in summers past, the hotel usually turned away walk-in traffic in the summer because the hotel was full. "We still see the routine walk-in traffic, but this summer we are usually able to sell them a room." The hotel has 117 rooms with midweek rates starting at $119 and weekend rates starting at $149.

Theresa Moody, general manager at The Pines Resort, also reports a 10% slip in occupancy this summer. She said the weekends have been sold out while midweek has been "a little slow."

Moody, however, is pleased that the resort has been able to hold room rates. "We are not giving the farm away as some in the industry have done." Rates for the 84 family style, two-story chalets at the Bass Lake resort start at $199 midweek and $239 on weekends.

Comments referring to Yosemite prove to be accurate as Yosemite's visitation (vehicle counts) this year through June is up four percent over the same period last year, according to Carrie Cobb in Yosemite's media relations office.

Year to date through June, vehicle counts are at 1.47 million, up approximately 30,000 over the last year. The count for June alone was 501,600, the highest since 1996.

Historically, Yosemite's hotels and campgrounds are always full during the summer and that trend has not changed this year.

Cobb says there are more California residents arriving at the park than in years past. Referring to the economy, Cobb feels more residents of California are making the decision to visit Yosemite rather than taking on the added expense of visiting the Grand Canyon or other out-of-state destinations.

Those thoughts were echoed by Kenny Karst, public relations manager for Delaware North, Yosemite's concessionaire for hotels, restaurants, transportation and commercial activities. "Families may be cutting back on other things, but not on visiting Yosemite."

You won't hear any complaints about a slow summer from the Oakhurst Lodge. General Manager Cheyenne Marshall said "summer is great so far," and adds that occupancy at the 60-room property is up five percent this summer. Room rates at Oakhurst Lodge are $105 midweek and $120 on weekends.

Marshall pointed out that the hotel will have been sold out 12 straight days through July 29.

Oakhurst Pizza Factory owner Pam Latham noted that May and June were a little slow, but July has bounced back as strong as last year. "Traveling families are watching their money and looking for value. We have implemented a lot of specials and the customers are looking for that."

The biggest summer success story seems to be the historic Sierra Sky Ranch on Highway 41 just north of the Bass Lake turn-off. Co-owner Ted Roache happily reports that the lodging and restaurant numbers for June and July are up approximately 25 percent over the same period last year.

Although they slightly raised room rates this summer, starting at $145 midweek and $155 weekend, Roache noted that in a recession-counter move, the properties' restaurant implemented an early bird menu (5 - 6:30 p.m.) that has been very popular, especially with seniors. In addition to the Yosemite-bound travelers, Roache points to strong support from the local community. "Locals are our bread and butter and we take good care of them."

Another positive trend that has aided the tourism industry is the decline in gas prices. The northern California office of the Automobile Association of America (AAA) reports the average price per gallon of regular gasoline in California is $2.89, $1.62 per gallon less than the $4.51 it was at this time last year. The price for regular at the busy Oakhurst Chevron station this past Saturday was $2.85.

"I think I'm being very realistic when I say by the end of August, the area tourism businesses will report a very positive summer," said Cunning.