Sacramento’s largest art museum, The Crocker Art Museum, reopened on October 16, 2020. Patrons must reserve tickets in advance; the facility is operating at 20% capacity for the time being.
Nearby Sacramento businesses, hard hit by the dramatic loss of customers over the past six months, are hoping the museum-goers also visit other storefronts, eateries, and shops.
Countless businesses have been shattered by the coronavirus pandemic and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “stay at home” order The hotel industry might be hurting most of all.
Travel has come to a complete standstill. Weddings have been postponed or held at private venues. Conferences have been canceled. All this leaves Sacramento’s hotel owners struggling. According to Visit Sacramento, the city’s convention and visitors bureau, this time of year, owners expect properties to be at 85% capacity; now they are seeing occupancy rates as low as 6%.
Some hotel owners have found creative solutions to fill their rooms and generate revenue. The Hilton Arden West is offering rooms as temporary office space for workers who are finding it difficult to work from home. The Hampton Inn closed, and the owner moved the guests to a nearby sister property, a Holiday Inn Express. He is rationing limited work hours among the housekeeping staff. The owner of a California Inn in Rancho Cordova is in negotiations with Sacramento County officials to lease the rooms as housing for the homeless.
Thousands of hotel workers have lost their jobs. Before the crisis, the hospitality industry employed more than 10,000 workers in greater Sacramento. John Kehriotis, owner of the Embassy Suites in Old Sacramento, and part-owner of the Sacramento Kings, said he had to let go of three-quarters of the riverfront hotel’s employees.