One week after reopening its hotel, L’Auberge is averaging about 50% occupancy and general manager Kim Ginn says she is “pleasantly surprised” by the volume of business.
About 50% of the hotel’s rooms were occupied on its first night last Friday, May 29. On Saturday, occupancy climbed to 65%. Its midweek low was a little more than 40%.
Most of the guests came from within a one-hour drive of Baton Rouge—representative of the typical weekend getaway visitor.
“I met one man, though, from Dallas and they were on their way to Hammond to bring their teenage son to see Southeastern, which is trying to recruit him to play football,” she says. “So it’s encouraging to see things like that and to see people getting out and about.”
The casino floor, meanwhile, moves to phase two of the staged reopening today, which will allow it to increase occupancy to 50% from the 25% it has been limited to under phase one.
While the new phase will allow more gamblers into the facility, the change won’t make much practical difference, Ginn says, as every other machine on the casino floor is turned off and every other chair at wagering tables has been removed to allow for social distancing.
The restrictions have, obviously, taken a serious chunk out of the casino’s typical revenues. Still, she says, it’s worthwhile to be back in business.
“You just have to be careful to manage your expenses and payroll,” she says. “No different than any other restaurant. But it’s worth it. I’m happy to be operating again.”
L’Auberge’s experience is similar to what other Baton Rouge area hotels have seen in recent days, after occupancy bottomed out in April. Visit Baton Rouge President and CEO Paul Arrigo says marketwide occupancy last weekend reached 53%.
“I think it’s a lot of local and regional people getting out,” he says. “We’ve also heard from the hotels that they’re seeing travelers passing through from Texas on their way to Florida.”Â
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