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Conference hotels
Read more from the cover story package: Unconventional times — Hotels closed, workers furloughed as convention biz dries up Virginia hotels, attractions shut down during pandemic Delay of game — Sports tourism takes a timeout amid coronavirus Subscribe to Virginia Business. Get our daily e-newsletter.
Delay of game
The COVID-19 pandemic has paralyzed one of Virginia’s growing economic drivers: sports tourism. But even amid mass cancellations and lost revenue, tourism officials hold out hope that, for the sports sector at least, there can be recovery. “Over the years, sports tournaments and competitions have generally been recession[...]
Sorry, we’re CLOSED
“April is the cruelest month,” T.S. Eliot wrote, but for the hospitality and tourism industries, the cruelty began in March. With conferences and conventions canceling reservations amid the pandemic, hotels and convention centers across the commonwealth have temporarily shut down operations, furloughing and laying off wo[...]
Unconventional times
After recent visits to Savannah, Georgia, and St. Louis, Missouri, Pete Kingwill is bringing the annual Police Fleet Expo to Richmond in August. The Chicago-area-based meeting planner has been scouting locations in Virginia and North Carolina for a while now, knowing that the Southern states checked many of the boxes for what[...]
Colonial Williamsburg extends closures through May, plans additional furloughs
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is extending its closures through May 31 and is furloughing additional staff. The nonprofit, which owns and operates the Historic Area, museums, hotels, restaurants and other attractions, had originally announced closures would last through April 30. The Williamsburg Lodge, which has remained ope[...]
Virginia Aquarium names VP of marketing
The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach announced Thursday it has named Natalie Sims as its vice president of marketing. Sims was most recently the marketing senior leader for SeaWorld, Aquatica and Sesame Place in San Diego, and previously the marketing director for Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. I[...]
The show must not go on
Abingdon’s Barter Theatre – the nation’s oldest Actors’ Equity Union theater – has closed the curtain on its spring season. The theater, which opened in 1933 during the Great Depression, announced March 19 it would furlough 87 of its employees, then days later furloughed six more. This left a skeleton crew [...]
COVID-19 disrupts Va. tourism as season ramps up
RICHMOND, Va. — Michael Moore has always enjoyed his job as wine trail guide with Top Shelf Transportation. He said the job is about more than wine. “I get people anything they need,” Moore said. “I’m like a rolling concierge.” Moore, 71, works in the Monticello Wine Trail region, which encompasses parts of A[...]
Walk this way
Virginia Business virtually sat down with Joshua Weinstein, founder of Norfolk Tour Co., which provides public and private tour services in downtown Norfolk and surrounding areas. This is part of an ongoing series of conversations with Virginians about how their work lives and businesses have changed during the pandemic. Virg[...]
Richmond EDA to offer no-interest loans to small businesses hurt by crisis
The Richmond Economic Development Authority announced Thursday it will begin offering no-interest loans up to $20,000 to small businesses harmed by the COVID-19 crisis. The Richmond EDA has made $1 million available for the relief fund, according to the city’s economic development director, Leonard Sledge. Businesses based within the city limits with fewer than 25 […]
Virginia is for takeout
Some people are testing out their baking skills during the coronavirus outbreak, while others are existing on Cheetos and M&Ms on the couch. The state’s restaurants want Virginians to remember that many eateries are still open for service, albeit in a different way than before, focusing on pickup and delivered provisio[...]
Dining downturn
During the first week of Virginia’s coronavirus crisis, a timer went off every 30 minutes at Perch, the high-end Pacific Rim seafood restaurant in Richmond. It was time to wipe down all surfaces again. “We can control the inside, but we can’t control the outside,” says Mike Ledesma, executive chef and owner. Th[...]
