Summer resorts say the customers have been calling ‘non-stop’

Jun 17, 2020

Ever since the Province of Ontario decided that campgrounds and resorts could start accepting visitors. A whole group of people across the region sent from nervously waiting and wondering if they were going to have any business at all this summer, to figuring out how to handle new bookings while instituting COVID-19 safety measures and desperately calling staff to come back to work.

And then there is the problem of how to handle bookings from their patrons from the United States.

Fernleigh Lodge on Kashwakamak Lake is a prime example. On June 1st. Kevin Phillips was talking to a bait customer from across the lake in the shop at the resort, telling him that he had decided he might as well close down the lodge for the summer, when his wife Melissa called him from their home at the front of the property to tell him that their Facebook page and email accounts were lighting up.

Fernleigh Lodge was founded 100 years ago by John Ahr from Buffalo, NY, as a fly in fishing lodge and it has maintained its connection to the United States to this day. 80% of its summer bookings are to travellers from the US, many of whom have been spending one or two week vacations at the lodge for decades.

Many of those customers have been very reluctant to let go of the dream of getting up to the lodge this summer, causing some problems for Melissa and Kevin.

The demand is there from Canada to fill their cabin from mid-June to Labour Day, but many of the rooms are already reserves, by people who will likely not be able to come.

“We would be better off if they announced that the border will stay closed all summer,” said Melissa.

This week, with the announcement that the border will remain closed until at least July 21st, Melissa has half of her wish, but the status of the August bookings is still unclear.

Other resorts have different sets of challenges. The Oaks resort on Crow Lake in Central Frontenac lost business by not being open for the fishing season in May, and will not be able to rent out the Lake House this , which sleeps 17 and provides a major portion of their annual revenue, but they will be able to book their 7 cottages. They have US based customers as well, but not as many as Fernleigh, and the early season s renters have mostly deferred their stays until September, when they hope to be able to criss the border.

“We feel now that we will be able to survive this year. We are taking a hit, no question, but things are looking better now,” said Debra Parks of the Oaks.

Terry Warden of Pine Haven Resort on Devil Lake near Perth Road was able to open the trailer park section of the resort in May because some the perennial trailer sties at the resort are summer homes for snow birds. With the re-opening she will be booking the four cabins at the resort starting in late June. A number of the trailers that park on her site year round are owned by US Citizens who pay seasonally.

“We are in pretty good shape overall,” she said of the resort she and her husband have owned for over 15 years, We just want to make sure we keep ourselves, our staff and our clientele safe through the entire season.

Finally, at Pleasantview Lodge on Brule Lake in North Frontenac, the Ward’s have been running at full tilt ever since word came about opening up. They have more demand than they can match at their 5-cabin resort. They have some concerns about US bookings in August, but feel they can deal with that if necessary.

Interest in booking vacations at Pleasantview have been coming in from across Ontario with new contacts just about every day.

Demand for waterfront resorts in the region has never been stronger than in 2020, another unexpected consequence of COVID-19. The demand from Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto is rapidly replacing the US and European traffic that will not be here this summer, at least at the lakeside lodges, resorts and campgrounds.