Dashed hopes have become commonplace in this year of the pandemic, but UVA President Jim Ryan’s announcement on March 3 still stung: No friends, family, or guests will be allowed at the university’s 2021 graduation. Last year’s festivities were canceled too, and this year the school had hoped to hold two ceremonies on consecutive weekends for the classes of 2020 and 2021.
The university is weighing options for honoring its students—a virtual ceremony will be held this spring, and a visitor-friendly graduation could be in the works for an as-yet unspecified date. The UVA news is especially bitter for the class of 2020, which has now seen commencement ceremonies postponed twice.
It’s also tough on area businesses, which have had a difficult year.
Courtney Cacatian, executive director of the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau, estimates conservatively that the local economic impact this May for two canceled graduations “is at least $5 million.”
A typical graduation weekend accounts for about $2 million in hotel room revenues, with 40,000 guests staying for at least two nights, filling all of the city’s 3,768 rooms. The $5 million figure comprises premium lodging rates plus lost revenues at restaurants, shops, wineries, and other tourist sites. “This lost revenue will make recovery that much more difficult,” Cacatian says.
Owners and managers in the hospitality business almost all said they were not expecting a robust graduation month this year. Several used the word “creative” when asked how they have been getting through the past 12 months.
Michelle Davis, general manager of the Courtyard by Marriott near the medical center says she “believed it was probably not going to materialize this year because of the restrictions.” On March 4, the hotel began calling people who had booked rooms, and had also started to receive cancellations. While the past year has also been hard without large football and basketball crowds, she says, “I also believe there is an end in sight.”
Across West Main, The Draftsman front desk agent Sharron Smith says the hotel hasn’t made specific plans about graduation weekend. Over the past year, it has only experienced full occupancy during February’s dreadful ice storms.
Airbnbs are emerging from hibernation. “Graduation is about three times the usual charge,” says superhost Gail McDermott, who was just getting ready to open hers again when she heard about Ryan’s decision. “It would have been nice, but Airbnb hosts here don’t fully depend on graduation. The season for Charlottesville is spring, summer, and fall weekends.”
Caterers and restaurants have been working hard to keep their doors open in a difficult year. Lisa McEwan, owner of HotCakes at Barracks Road, is now in the kitchen six days a week and enjoying a lift in store sales from returning students and warmer weather. “I’m not sure yet how we will market for this year’s graduation period,” she says. “Catering is important to profitability.” Parents, who are not invited to Grounds, pick up most of that tab.
Manager Julia Wegman at Farm Bell Kitchen and Dinsmore Boutique Inn is testing materials for the best ways to package to-go brunch foods. She wonders when people will feel comfortable walking into crowded rooms once more, and how businesses will adapt. Optimistic, she says some visitors may still wish to come and organize activities of their own near Grounds.
It won’t be the same, however. Davis at Marriott says she feels worst for the Class of 2020’s two-year wait. “Once the students leave, it’s hard to say ‘come back,’” she says.