Coronavirus Hit To Temecula's $1 Billion Tourism Industry

TEMECULA, CA — Many corporations, business owners, independent contractors and laid-off employees across Riverside County are feeling financial pain due to county and state orders issued amid coronavirus. Given the growing number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, business as usual is likely many weeks — if not months — away.

For Temecula, which relies heavily on tourism dollars, the orders had an immediate impact. Shut downs at normally thriving destinations like Temecula Valley Wine Country, Pechanga Resort Casino and some Old Town Temecula establishments took place.

According to figures released last June by Visit Temecula Valley, in 2018 Temecula Valley Wine Country reached the $1.1 billion level in tourism economic impact. Overnight guests spent $705 million, while day-trippers shelled out $291 million. Guests who stayed with local family and friends, or who stayed at campgrounds and RV resorts, accounted for another $77 million in direct, local, travel spending.

It's too early to know how big the economic hit will be to Temecula tourism. Pechanga announced March 20 that the property will likely extend its temporary closure beyond the end of March due to efforts by health officials to slow the spread of COVID- 19. If Pechanga doesn't reopen April 1, tribal leaders have informed employees that temporary layoffs will take effect, according to Pechanga spokesperson Ciara Green.

Pechanga is providing employees with base pay and benefits through the end of March, and is paying 100 percent of their health care insurance (medical, dental, vision) through the end of April, Green said.

“As much as we would love to bring everyone back April 1, the facts and circumstances indicate the closure will last much longer,” said Jared Munoa, president of the Pechanga Development Corporation. “This temporary layoff means we will bring our team back together as soon as possible when we get through this. As painful as this decision is, we have to be honest and give our Team Members as much notice as possible so that they can make appropriate preparations.”

Pechanga is not alone. "There are been layoffs at both the hotels and wineries and it devastates their owners and general managers because they care about their workers, many are like family members," said Annette Brown, director of public relations for Visit Temecula Valley.

The restaurants have also been suffering, Brown said. Visit Temecula Valley and city officials are encouraging people to order take-out whenever possible. Visit Temecula Valley is also promoting the "Sip at Home" program to support the wineries, many of which are currently offering specials.

Personal Insight

Bill Wilson of Temecula's Wilson Creek Winery & Vineyards told City News Service he's optimistic business will eventually return to normal.

"I'm not scared of losing this business," he said. "We just need to hang on until we can kickstart it back up again."

The winery is among 46 established vintners in the Temecula Valley that have closed their doors to indoor dining and canceled events.

"It's been like a chess match, with us trying to keep up with what the government is doing," Wilson said. "We would make plans, then change them. So we finally decided to shut everything down except our takeout orders. We almost didn't keep that going, but now that the hysteria has settled down somewhat and we've got kind of a new norm, which is still crazy, we're allowing for curbside pickups of our products."

According to Wilson, who shares proprietorship of the winery with his parents and other family members, sales volume and on-site activity were running at a phenomenal pace, far exceeding record levels set during the same period in 2019, when earlier this month "all of it unraveled."

"We were having our best year ever, really our best year, and no one saw this coming," he said. "All of our reserves are now going into minimizing the impact of the virus."

According to Wilson, the winery has procured an expanded line of credit to buffer against financial shocks. He said business has plummeted 90 percent over the last several weeks, and only senior staff remain on-site, with a smattering of salaried employees working from home.

He said that of the 252 people employed at the beginning of March, only about one-third are still on the payroll.

"We're trying not to disrupt lives as much as we can," he said. "We're making some of our most senior people do things they otherwise wouldn't do, down in the trenches."

Wilson said all employees' health benefits are being covered for now, and he understood the winery would have to absorb paying unemployment benefits for up to four months under the federal stimulus plan.

"Hopefully we'll get reimbursed for that with tax credits," he said. "I sure didn't order this shutdown. We were going great one day and then the next, it was, `slam, bam, shut down, bye, bye."'

Concerts, birthday parties, weddings and other celebrations were all knocked off the calendar for April.

"It's sad because we worked hard to make everything happen," Wilson said. "What's really bad is that, in the service industry like ours, employees depend on tips for the lion's share of their income. That's disappeared. You can only do so much with online sales and curbside pickup."

For the operations still underway, Wilson said the winery is observing a strict set of "protocols for the benefit of guests and team members.

"America is resilient, and I think what President Trump said about the cure being worse than the disease shows that he knows this can't go on for four to six months," Wilson said. "You'd have sheer panic in the streets, and the country would go crazy. Trump is smart enough to see that. He's a business guy, and he gets it."

According to Wilson, he believes operations will return to normal by the time hot weather arrives, and COVID-19 hopefully recedes.

There are plans for a 20th anniversary celebration that will coincide with his mother's 90th birthday on Oct. 14.

"We've got something great here," Wilson said. "We're going to be fine when everything kicks back into gear."

The Little Guy

Temecula tourism is an industry, and it will rebound. But for the average worker, small business, or independent contractor, the situation can be extremely bleak — no matter the industry.

"This will throw me into bankruptcy if it goes on beyond a month," said hairdresser Janice Clemmer, who contracts her services to the Riverside Hair Company on Brockton Avenue. "Like a lot of people, I'm surviving month to month.

"I understand the virus is bad. I get it," she said. "But you can't keep businesses shut down for months. There's no way. We can start taking precautions moving forward. But right now, there's no money coming in."

Clemmer's partner, Chris Hilliard, is a professional guitarist and has played for decades in an oldies cover band that travels the country.

"We don't know when or how we're going to be able to pay our bills with no money coming in," she said. "We can borrow money, I guess. But that's more debt. Even if the credit card companies do deferred payments, there's still a bill that will have to be paid a few months down the road."

Clemmer held out hope that the $2 trillion federal stimulus package will provide some relief.

"We don't want to spend any money or plan anything because we don't know what's going to happen," Clemmer said.

As of Wednesday evening, there were 107 confirmed coronavirus cases countywide, and eight deaths from the illness.

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—City News Service contributed to this report.