Summer brings challenges, surprises for small Minnesota resorts
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In May, Andy Leonard was a bit gloomy about the prospects for East Silent Lake Resort, his family-run business in Otter Tail County. Cancellations were coming in every day — and with a growing pandemic, he expected to lose up to half his business this summer.
But now it’s August. And while the pandemic — and the uncertainty it carried with it — continues, the summer has markedly exceeded Leonard’s low expectations.
"It's turned out better than we hoped,” he said last week. “We still had a lot of cancellations, but we also saw a lot of new guests. From a reservation standpoint, we were probably down about 30 percent."
Now that the summer vacation season is winding down, resort owners are taking stock of what turned out to be a challenging, unexpected year. Many in western Minnesota’s lakes country went into the season bracing for the worst, as the spreading coronavirus upended vacation plans and put reservation calendars in a tailspin — but some have fared better than they expected.
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At East Silent Lake Resort, Leonard had to make some adjustments in response to COVID-19.
His staff are wearing masks indoors, in accordance with state rules, and outdoors, too.
They've kept a 24-hour break between guests’ reservations so they can deep-clean the cabins. That's meant some vacations have been cut a day short, but most guests have been understanding, said Leonard.
The resort's lodge and restaurant have remained closed all summer. Leonard said it just felt too risky to open an indoor gathering place.
"I think we made it through the summer. That's what I'll say,” Leonard said, as he watched kids playing on the beach that just a few months ago he feared would be empty. “Talking to other resorters, I think nobody is wishing to ever have to repeat this summer, but at least we were able to have a summer."
There was no summer season at Woodlawn Resort on Blanche Lake, about 30 miles south of Silent Lake, next to Glendalough State Park.
For the first time in 72 years, the family-owned resort did not open.
Kate Narveson manages the eight-cabin resort with her sister. It was a difficult decision to not open this spring, but, given the evolving risks of this pandemic summer, she’s confident it was the right choice.
"Most of our guests come from out of state. We didn't want to be encouraging them to travel and then carry infection around. That was probably the most important reason,” she said. “The other reason is that we didn't want to be policemen."
Narveson felt it would be very difficult to require guests to take proper COVID-19 precautions.
Customers were disappointed, she said, but not upset.
"In fact, quite a few people wrote special notes to us to say they completely understood our decision and were in support of it. But we didn't get any backlash," she said.
She did notice that a few of Woodlawn’s regulars visited other local resorts, but she expects to see them back next year: The resort is already more than 90 percent booked for next summer, she said.
Woodlawn can absorb the financial hit from closing for a season, she said, because she and her sister have other incomes.
But it's been a tough year for many other small resorts that have no way to make up a 20 or 30 percent — or larger — loss in business.
"There will be some resorts that aren't going to make it," said Erik Osberg who does marketing for Otter Tail County. "The small, family-owned resort was facing a lot of challenges before COVID-19, and this certainly added to those challenges.”
But while many resorts and restaurants have struggled with fewer tourists, Osberg said, outdoor business in Otter Tail County has boomed. Golf courses are reporting a great summer, and boating- and fishing-related business was strong.
"If you walked into a bait shop or even a big box outdoor outfitter, the shelves were bare,” said Osberg. “I went into a few shops a couple times to buy some things I didn't even think would be hard to find and, nope, they're all sold out."
Osberg doubts the gains those businesses make this summer will make up for the losses to the overall economy from the hit to the hospitality industry. But it's at least a silver lining to a challenging summer.
Leonard is looking for that silver lining, too — and he thinks the influx of first-time guests at East Silent Lake this year is one positive note in a summer of turmoil and cancellations.
"Next year is looking really good for at least our resort — and I hope resorts in general,” he said. “Those new people, they were able to get an experience that they're going to want to come back and repeat, so I think it is going to pay some dividends down the road."
Leonard says there's already a waiting list for some popular weeks next summer.