Page 17 - BusinessWest June 9, 2021

Sheraton
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actually budgeted, said Gravanis, who then provided needed perspective by noting that, in a ‘normal’ May, buffeted by college graduations and other events, occupancy reaches 90%.
She expects the numbers to continue climbing, and while she expected the timeline for fully reopen- ing to be accelerated, and was preparing for that eventuality, the response from the public has been more immediate and more pronounced than she anticipated.
“Our customers are reacting,” she told Business- West. “I have said there’s not going to be this switch that flips, and the business is just going to come back. But it felt like that day, someone did flip a switch because the phones were going crazy. What we bud- geted for June ... we already have it on the books.”
On the other end of those phone calls have been clients across a broad spectrum, including everything from leisure travelers with newfound confidence to book rooms for this summer to those planning to participate in a recently announced three-on-three basketball tournament, to brides looking to bring more guests to weddings that were booked for this June and July.
“Some wanted to double their numbers,” she recalled. “We had a wedding for 175 people that’s now 250 people, booked for the end of June.”
The hotel can handle such developments, she said, but it requires staffing up, which is one of the question marks and challenges moving forward, said Gravanis, adding that another concerns just when — and to what extent — corporate travel, a large and important part of the portfolio at the Sheraton, returns.
“We’re seeing a slow, slow return of business travel,” she explained, adding that corporate gather- ings are critical to the hotel’s success, accounting for perhaps 40% of overall group/convention business. “We have heard some encouraging news from some of our tower tenants [Monarch Place] that they will be starting to return in June. We knew it would be the last to come back.”
But will it return to pre-COVID levels?
“I feel that it will,” she said, offering a few ques- tions, the answers to which are on the minds of everyone who relies on business travel. “Who’s not sick of being behind a screen? And are those Zoom meetings as productive as bringing everyone together and putting them in the same room?”
As for staffing, she said the Sheraton has benefited greatly from corporate direction to keep key person-
“
throughout this, and I’m sure that some of the practices that we adopted during this period will find a carry- over life as we move forward.”
regular basis.”
Looking back on 2020, Tanner Salzman said the
opening of Ground/work was certainly slowed by COVID. Pieces were arriving from the around the
It has become a popular gathering spot year- round, he said, but business peaks during the holi- days, and he is expecting a hard run on dates in December for holiday parties, especially after most companies, and families, went without last year.
But the next several months will feature a num-
“
trying to keep on the payroll and no customers; this year, it feels like I have a ton of customers and no employees.”
ber of challenges, said Santaniello, noting rising food prices and especially the ongoing labor shortages as the two most pressing items on the list. The latter is the one keeping most restaurateurs up at night, he noted, adding quickly that he’s certainly in that group counting sheep.
“Last year, I had employees I was trying to keep on the payroll and no customers; this year, it feels like I have a ton of customers and no employees,” he said.
nel amid large-scale furloughs and layoffs, on the theory that it would be difficult to replace them. That theory certainly has validity, she said, and keeping those personnel has helped the hotel as it returns to life.
Still, the Sheraton, like most businesses in this sec- tor, is struggling to find enough help to handle the new waves of business now arriving.
“You may have 25% of your interviews actu-
ally show up,” she said with a noticeable amount of frustration in her voice — because she handles the interviews. “The hiring crisis hasn’t really hurt us yet because we have such talented managers, and every employee who works for us can work in multiple disciplines — they’re all cross-trained; our front- desk people can also drive a shuttle and jump into laundry. That said, we’re struggling just like everyone else.”
She remains optimistic, though, that these strug- gles won’t interfere with this downtown landmark’s long-awaited return to life. u
—George O’Brien
world, she explained, and as borders were closing and studios were closing as well, the process of bringing those works to Williamstown became more compli- cated and time-consuming, with the exhibit taking shape over time.
“We had to be more flexible and a little more patient,” she said, adding that these qualities have served the Clark well in very aspect of coping with the pandemic and effectively serving art lovers from across the country and around the world.
And flexibility and patience will continue to be the watchwords as this institution continues through that phase known as the ‘new normal.’ u
—George O’Brien
“A good percentage of our employees have not come back yet, or some have left the industry; some are not ready to come to work for any of a number of rea- sons. Everyone has to do what’s right for them.”
He noted that the problem will actually limit the amount of business he can take on for the foresee- able future.
Indeed, while the Federal has historically been open six nights a week (Sundays are reserved for events), it will go down to five and possibly to four (Wednesday through Saturday, with events on Sun- day), in large part due to the staffing situation.
Overall, though, the outlook for 2021 is obviously much better than 2020, he said, adding that he’s opti- mistic that the employment situation will eventually stabilize, probably by the fall, and overall business,
by most projections, will continue to improve as cus- tomers feel more comfortable with being indoors and around other people.
“I think we’re going to have a great summer, and it’s going to be an even better fourth quarter,” Santa- niello said. “The second quarter is shaping out great, the third quarter will be good, and the fourth quarter and the holiday season will be really, really good.” u
—George O’Brien
Clark Art Institute
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who cannot
We were learning lessons every day
necessarily be here to walk through them for an event. Instead of
just having people at a live event at the Clark, we’ve had people tuning in from all around the world, peo- ple regularly coming onto live Zoom calls from Cali- fornia, Florida, all over, so we will want to continue that.
“I think there’s a hybrid model out there that we settle into as we move forward,” she went on, add- ing that there was a very limited amount of virtual programming before COVID. “We’ve done all sorts of things over the past year-plus, from gallery tours to lectures; Q&A conversations with curators to pod- casts. We’re enthusiastic about finding ways to adapt these virtual programs into the menu we offer on a
The Federal
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taurants in
the group won’t immediately turn back the clock on such spac-
ing, and will likely start with tables four feet apart and gradually reduce that number, again, with the pace
of change and distance set by the public and its per- ceived comfort level with the surroundings.
Overall, as his group ramps up in the wake of the reopening announcement, Santaniello is projecting
a solid balance to 2021, although projecting numbers is somewhat difficult. He noted, for example, that last summer was very strong for the three restaurants,
all of which had outdoor dining, and one reason was because far fewer people were able to vacation out
of the area. This summer, more might be able to, but most spots on the Cape and elsewhere are sold out.
“If spring is any indication, our reservations are up — they’re up to even 2019 levels,” he said, add- ing that the calls for reservations and booking events started picking up several weeks ago as the number of COVID cases started declining and the number of people vaccinated kept increasing.
Santaniello is projecting a strong fourth quar-
ter, which is traditionally the most important three months for most restaurants, and especially the one he was sitting in while talking with BusinessWest, the Federal in Agawam, located in an historic home built just before the Civil War.
Last year, I had employees I was
FEATURE
JUNE 9, 2021 17
BusinessWest