Concord Hoteliers, Restaurateurs Brace For Coronavirus Impact

CONCORD, NH — Some of the busiest and most prominent eateries, hoteliers, and the city's convention center are seeing a mixed business climate in the wake of the new coronavirus as customers practice social distancing and spend their extra money on nonperishables in the wake of schools closing and an emergency declaration by the state. This is all happening while the city of Concord is in the midst of a multi-year renaissance, of sorts, having spent millions of dollars to revamp its downtown strip and kickstarting an effort to build more downtown housing — while also billing itself as a tourist destination and a hub of the "creative economy" in New Hampshire. The city may see those efforts slowed, at least temporarily, or halted outright, due to COVID-19.

So, what are business leaders in the hospitality and food service industries seeing in the city?

Well, it's a mix.

Stephen Duprey's company owns four hotels and the Grappone Conference Center in Concord as well as the new Hilton Tru, which will be No. 5 when it opens April 15 on South Main Street near the city line with Bow. He said the first two months of the first quarter were good due to winter sports and New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary. After that though, things began to change.

"We are seeing the early effects of the virus with bookings slowing down somewhat," Duprey said. "How long and how significant the impact will be is too early to tell."

The conference center is also seeing bookings postponed into the future, around 30 to 60 days, with organizers looking to reschedule dates later in the year, he said.

David Shamoian, the president and CEO of the Bravo-Zulu Hospitality Group, a management company with five properties in Maine and Massachusetts, as well as The Hotel Concord in New Hampshire, a relatively new 38-room boutique hotel in the center of the downtown, has seen a dramatic increase in cancelations during the past few weeks.

"It's obviously happening quickly," he said. "There have been groups that have canceled, short-term, and we have been extremely liberal with our cancelation policies, under the circumstance."

While sitting for a 20-minute interview Friday in the lobby of the hotel on South Main Street with Patch, customers could be heard calling in with cancelations.

Shamoian said the climate with the virus was "frightening" but his priority was the wellbeing of employees and guests. Previously, he was the president of the Peabody Hotel Group, so he has seen ups and downs in the industry. But he believes, despite COVID-19 concerns, everything will eventually return to some amount of "normalcy" and "it will burn itself out."

Andy Sanborn, a co-owner of The Draft and the new Concord Casino, also on South Main Street, however, said his business was having "a banner year, so far," compared to the previous first quarter. He chalked up the increased business when compared to this time last year to "our newish commitment to really focusing on specialty craft beer — customers have been really excited to come hang."

Brian Shea, the owner of two Barley House locations, in Concord and North Hampton, said his restaurants have "felt an impact" from a number of economic pressures but not so much from the coronavirus. Those factors include competition from new businesses, online ordering and delivery, high labor costs, and lack of available labor. Delivery services, he said, "will charge the restaurant up to 30 percent of (a) meal making it breakeven, at best. We only do pick-up now."

He added, "the younger generation (millennials) not going out as much as older generations (online ordering)" is also hurting business. Higher costs associated with state and federal compliance, too, were factors, Shea said.

The business owners said there did seem to be some concern with customers due to the nature of the virus, social distancing, and other issues related to the virus even though New Hampshire is considered a low-risk state and a quarantine has not been issued for people without symptoms.

"I think there is a feeling of concern for a percentage of people that are a bit tentative about the current situation," Shea said. "On the other hand, there are some people that are still coming out but being cautious about their surroundings maybe not shaking hands, etc."

Sanborn said most customers were aware of the need to use "common sense" and understand "paying attention to their P's and Q's" will ensure it settles quickly.

"Most have commented on the concern that the press may be over hyping the situation," he added.

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Tourism In NH: Different Than Other Places

Both Duprey and Shamoian said New Hampshire was fortunate to be a place where tourists drive to get to rather than fly.

Shamoian said there was a ripple effect of sporting events being canceled and airlines cutting flights. All of that, he said, harms the entire travel chain. New Hampshire, Shamoian added, was "somewhat insolated," when compared to a place like Boston. But the coronavirus would still hit the bottom line, he said.

"There's just no question about it," Shamoian said.

Duprey said "a boost to summer tourism" could occur later this year, especially since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was advising people to get "lots of fresh air and not be in big crowds." Families will want to go hiking, boating, and enjoying the Granite State, he said.

"That plays right into the strength of the New Hampshire market and I hope the state will advertise that effectively," Duprey said. "I would much rather own a hotel in New Hampshire than one in New York City right now."

Shamoian said the unknown was people making last minute decisions not to come to the state. That was occurring, he said, but after it shakes itself out, the bookings will be made up.

"Once this is over, there will be pent up demand," he said. "'I've had cabin fever, I need to get out, I need to go and visit that satellite operation in the capital region of New Hampshire,' and then there is going to be, hopefully, an influx of additional travel making up for what you couldn't do or didn't want to do now."

Customer retention is also an issue but that doesn't mean owners and operators will change their marketing strategies just yet.

The cancelation of games for a sports bar like The Draft can be an issue, too. But Sanborn said his place has always had "a great vibe and fun atmosphere." While customers were disappointed about not being able to watch games, everyone is hoping it will all blow over, at least in time for opening day at Fenway, he said. That belief and hope — that it could be temporary and things will get back to normal — means Sanborn will stick to things that work like "great homemade food with substantial portions."

Shea agreed unless something drastically changes, "We will be here for (customers). I think time will tell if (we) need to change our strategy."

Worst of all, with conference center postponements, is that it can hurt part-time workers. If demand stays down or meetings get smaller, fewer staffers will be needed on those days, Duprey said. His company would be watching over expenses and new hires, except at Tru, and make changes in an equitable fashion, he added.

"We have such good people that we are going to do our best to take care of them," Duprey said. "NH and the country will get through this."

Focused On Health, Safety

All said the current emphasis on washing hands, keeping facilities clean, ensuring that workers who are sick stay home, and other preventive measures were nothing new to their businesses. The only difference from today compared to last week or last month was going above and beyond what they were doing before.

Shea said the main focus of his business right now was the health of his employees and their guests — and they have been keeping up with the latest information offered by federal and state officials.

"I think, like anyone else, they watch TV and read the warnings," Shea said of his team members. "But we have emphasized that the most important thing they can do to keep safe and keep their guests safe is to wash their hands often (which is part of our training anyway), not touch their face, sanitize surfaces (menus, door handles, etc...), and stay home if not feeling well. Knowledge is power as they say. When you have the facts, you can make better decisions and maybe not let unjustified fear creep in."

The staff at The Draft remains "hyper-focused" on to ensure patrons and employees are in a clean and safe environment.

"We are proud of our many certifications, awards and recognition for outstanding operations," Sanborn said. "That said, we, like all businesses, have really stepped up our efforts to promote a clean and safe environment and are doubling down on our cleanliness."

Wipes, sprays, sanitizers, everywhere, were the new norm, and customers would see staff continuing to do what they've always done to stay clean, Sanborn said. The Draft though is also cooking to-go orders for customers, too, and "will happily meet anyone at the door, who may want to eat at home," he said.

Shamoian said COVID-19 made the hospitality industry be "vigilant in adopting a new way of doing business" including "super cleaning everything" and having employees not show up for work if they are sick. But covering for those employees can be difficult, too. At the Hotel Concord, every staffer is cross-trained, he said — every employee knows the other employee's job.

"Our managers have to pick up the slack," he said. "All of those people have to jump in, and fill-in, for extra time or overtime when a team member who is not available to come into work. That creates a tremendous amount of stress especially if you have a small business, as this is."

Weathering The Coronavirus Storm

In the end, what the future holds is unknown. But restaurateurs and hoteliers in Concord, while taking the necessary precautions and ensuring customer safety, want people in the community to know that they were here for them, too, and will try to create some normalcy in the midst of the outbreak.

"I want people to know that we are very aware about sanitation and personal hygiene, we are up to date with the information from the federal, state, and local authorities," Shea said. "Most importantly, we are here for our community and friends."

Duprey said the response to the coronavirus has been typical New Hampshire.

"People and customers are not freaking out," Duprey said. "They are being typical NH people — practical and handling this with common sense. (They) are being rightly cautious (because) we won't know the scope and magnitude of the impact for a while."

Sanborn, being optimistic, said he believed "this concern is temporary and things will be back to normal quickly."

"It's St. Patrick's Week," Sanborn said, "and we have truly amazing smoked corned beef, New England boiled dinner on the menu this week, so come on down and have some fun."

What You Can Do

COVID-19, not unlike the flu and other respiratory illnesses, is spread through respiratory droplets, usually through coughing and sneezing, and exposure to others who are sick or might be showing symptoms. Take the same precautions as you would if you were sick:

• Stay home and avoid public places when sick (i.e. social distancing).
• Cover mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing.
• Wash hands frequently.
• Disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

More information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services about coronavirus can be found here on the department's website.

• Guidance to schools can be found can be found here.
• Instructions for returning travelers to self-observe for symptoms of COVID-19 are available are available here.
• For more information on COVID-19 in NH, visit its site here.
• For the latest information from the CDC, visit its site here.

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