‘The Great Recession pales in comparison’: New insight on COVID-19 impact on St. Louis economy | News Headlines

August 19, 2020 steven

ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) — Many businesses are struggling to stay afloat as COVID-19 continues having a major impact on the economy.

Brian Hall, chief marketing officer for Explore St. Louis, said the hospitality industry has by far been hit the hardest during the pandemic.

“There has been nothing… 9/11 pales in comparison, The Great Recession pales in comparison,” said Hall.

Hall said hotels, for example, would normally be at 80 to 90 percent capacity this time of the year. Instead, most hotels in the St. Louis area are averaging about 40 percent each week.

He believes most of that 40 percent is from people who are in driving distance and looking for a getaway or locals wanting a staycation. Hall hopes more St. Louisans choose staycations to help local businesses.

Restaurants are also seeing a major decline in business. Jason Arnold, vice president of operations for Hamilton Hospitality, said fewer people working downtown and stopping in for lunch has been the biggest impact on his businesses. The city’s new 11 p.m. curfew for bars is also having an impact on his business.

“We’ve seen that our normal hockey crowd that will come in to watch the Blues game isn’t able to come in and watch the game. No one is going to come in and watch a period and then go home,” said Arnold.

Hall said there is reason to have hope for the future of St. Louis. A recent surge in construction including the addition to Ballpark Village, Union Station, construction of City Foundry, renovation of the Arch grounds, and the new soccer team will likely make St. Louis stronger than ever once it makes a comeback.

Explore St. Louis is still crunching the numbers to determine how big of a loss the St. Louis economy will have due to the pandemic.

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