By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
With large cruise ships likely absent from Alaskan waters again this summer, some local businesses are shifting their attention to local customers and independent travelers, business leaders said at Wednesday’s online Chamber of Commerce meeting.
Facing the loss of a second summer without cruise ship visitors, one downtown store decided to change its focus.
“Russell’s is definitely doing a pivot this year,” said Steve Eisenbeisz, owner of the Lincoln Street clothing and recreation equipment store.
“Back in November we made a conscious decision that we didn’t believe cruise ships were coming,” Eisenbeisz said. “We were going to plan our business this year around an independent traveler and not plan on any cruise ships. That set us up for success this year because when we did hear that cruise ships aren’t coming, it wasn’t a shock to us.”
Eisenbeisz, who is also Sitka mayor, said he realized that his shop would need other business in order to stay open, so purchased inventory geared toward local customers and independent travelers.
“(New items) appeal to an outdoorsman that is going to come up to Sitka, they appeal to our locals as well,” he said, “And that is the mix that we’re always trying to have – not only something that’s going to appeal to a visitor but something that we can sell year round to our locals. They are our core business. Without locals we would not exist at all.”
From his vantage point as mayor, Eisenbeisz observed that the city’s sales tax collections in recent months are up over last year’s, which he credited to Sitkans shopping in their own hometown.
“When you look at the sales tax revenue for what would be quarter two, a typical year is about $2 million in sales tax revenue,” he said. “We were up to about $2.9 million, so locals definitely were looking local first. We saw it here at Russell’s – it was one of our best holiday seasons ever.”
Because of this, he said, he was able to turn a Christmas seasonal position in a regular job in his store.
Another speaker in the online Chamber session, the director of the Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center, said the loss of the 2020 cruise season made a big dent in the non-profit’s business model.
“Almost completely losing that revenue stream last year shook us to our foundation,” raptor center Executive Director Jennifer Cross said. “Thankfully, we did have independent visitors, and although it generated only a tiny fraction of the income we would have seen if there were cruise ships, it wasn’t nothing… We were pleasantly surprised by how much money they were spending at our gift shop and donating.”
She highlighted the flexibility of the Raptor Center’s business, which is now targeting the small cruise lines that plan to come here this summer.
“Because we’re a small organization we can pivot pretty easily to whatever new mandate is instated or revoked… we’ve been doing the kind of wait and see philosophy so far, but we can’t keep doing that,” Cross said.
Another speaker, Carol Fraser, regional director of sales and marketing for Aspen Hotels, credited travelers from within the state for keeping the statewide hotel chain afloat during a difficult year.
“Instead of celebrating all year long, we basically just looked at ways to survive,” Fraser said. “Last year was pretty tough. It was full of fear and confusion and sadness and then back to fear again.” She said Aspen Hotels laid off a quarter of its fulltime staff because of the pandemic-induced recession.
When the pandemic shutdowns started last March the business hemorrhaged between $20,000 and $30,000 in bookings daily, she said.
“I had no idea how to do my job at all, no clue,” she said. But with out-of-state travel greatly reduced, she turned to intrastate travelers, offering a reduced in-state rate.
“I really didn’t think that the promotion would do much of anything… and I was completely wrong, fortunately,” Fraser said. “And that’s why I’m still sitting here with a job… That promotion alone kept our hotels open and saved us.”
Looking into the future, she emphasized the need for affordable travel options to and from Sitka.
“First and foremost, having some reliable and affordable transportation to Sitka is the most important thing. And that’s the ferry,” she said.
Speaking to the Chamber from Napa Valley, California, Dwayne Lambeth said his Dove Island Lodge at Jamestown Bay is poised to do a significant amount of business with independent travelers this year, much like the latter part of summer 2020.
“Last season wasn’t all that bad, and this year looks to be the best that we’ve ever had,” Lambeth said. “We’re hoping that the shops in town will be open. A third of clients do not fish, and so we take them around town.”
However, he acknowledged that the loss of his early season business last year was a hardship.
“Last year was definitely bad, we didn’t get to open until mid-June,” Lambeth said, “although when we did open we did a tremendous amount of business, in fact more than we ever had during the time that we were open.”
The Chamber meets again online next Wednesday at noon, when the topic will be outdoor recreation.
