ZJZ Hospitality manages 11 hotels in the Corpus Christi area. Charlie Bhakta, VP of Operations said there was a delay in Spring Break crowds showing up.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Spring break had mixed results for the local hotel and motel industry and a number of factors may be involved.
3News spoke with management of several hotels for some answers.
Charlie Bhakta, Vice President of Operations for ZJZ Hospitality said their establishment experienced a different volume of business then what their normally use to.
“Spring break was a little off this year compared to what we had last year,” Bhakta said.
ZJZ Hospitality manages 11 hotels in the Corpus Christi area. Bhakta said there was a delay in Spring Break crowds showing up.
“I think March started off very cold for the first weekend. It was pretty mild because of the cold weather,” Bhakta said. “And then as things started warming up on Monday, Tuesday started getting busy throughout all the hotels.”
Other hotel managers had better reviews of the number of guests compared to last year.
“Going back to 2019 and comparing ourselves to that time because obviously 2020 was a wash. 2021 was very up and down, but 2022 is giving us a good picture of almost post pandemic numbers,” according to Melody Nixon-Bice with Embassy Suites.
According to Blanche Morris with Omni Corpus Christi, residents are starting to travel more.
“Last year I still think people were a little apprehensive. I mean we still saw travel but I think this year people are more confident,” Morris said. “I’m looking forward to that moving into the future and into the season for the summer here in Corpus Christi.”
Morris said the hotel also had higher numbers because of a convention that coincided with Spring Break.
While some official hotel numbers may be available later this week, Bhakta said there could still be lagging effects this summer.
“The majority of the people that come to Corpus Christi, they come from Austin, Houston, San Antonio and from the Valley area,” Bhakta said. “So basically it’s a short drive but if the gas prices keep skyrocketing then we might definitely see an impact.”
There is still a serious shortage of labor in the area and they all need to hire more to get through the summer season.
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