Scenes from an empty Restaurant: Recession turns places into ghost towns

A professor at NYU, recently commented that due to deteriorating economic conditions, January of 2009, may turn out to be the worst January in the history of the hotel industry. My recent excursion to a hotel in downtown Phoenix seemed to confirm this bleak prognosis with a first-hand view of the impacts due to the credit market collapse and current economic contraction.

This past Saturday I went to meet a relative visiting from out of town who was staying at a hotel in a very upscale area of Phoenix. Rooms at this gorgeous hotel would typically cost $300 per night at this point of the tourist season (January 2009), due to luxury amenities and the wonderful weather and abundant sunshine at this time of year. I wonder if this hotel has had to lower the rates during this recession and financial meltdown.

I proceeded through the hotel lobby and into one of the most luxurious atrium-lounge areas that I have ever seen in any hotel. A large indoor oasis complete with ponds, cascading waterfalls, streams, palm trees and bridges came into view as I walked into the spacious atrium. The ceilings, complete with skylights, were some 45 feet high. In between sections of the pond area were many inviting seating areas.The total area of the lounge area had to be around 4000 square feet. It was so large, that the vast open space and high ceiling gave one the sensation of being outdoors!

I proceeded on the walkways, through the pond area, viewing the many koi that the pond was stocked with, and the decorative stone embellishments. The steady sounds of running water and echoing waterfalls provided a calming respite from the stresses of the world and everyday life.

That is, until I realized that I was the ONLY person in the atrium lounge area. I stood there for a moment in stunned silence perusing the entire area looking for signs of human life. I proceeded to the bar, located at the far end of the atrium, where I saw two other people seated at the bar. Two people. "Maybe Saturday afternoons are typcially a slow time at this hotel", I thought to myself. I ordered a beer and proceeded to the pool where I met up with my cousin.

My cousin and I had the large pool area all to ourselves, besides two other people, who left after some time. This pool area could have easily seated 75 to 100 people, but it was simply desolate. Fresh towels remained unused on each of the scores of lounge chairs that were devoid of sun worshippers who usually flock to Phoenix at this time of year. Neither my cousin or I were swimming. We were just enjoying the soothing sunshine and blue skies, reminiscing over old times. Still the desolation at the pool was eerie to say the least. I mean, there should have been at least a dozen people or so at the pool. Phoenix is probably one of the most desirable places in the country to be in the month of January.

Yet, no one was at the pool, except for my cousin and I. Surely there must be at least some business travelers in town for a convention, or business meetings that would stay at this gorgeous hotel! Surely they would appreciate a sunny warm day by the pool, while the rest of the country is freezing in the dead of winter. Surely there must be at least some vacationers who would revel in the sunshine and calm weather! Nope. Not on this day. I heard some noise coming from one of the patio areas of one of the rooms. "Some noisy partiers stirring up commotion?", I asked myself. No. Just the hotel cleaning staff brushing off the patio area of one of the poolside rooms.

Later that evening we went to dinner with some more relatives who came to visit. We decided to go to the restuarant in the hotel, a very nice steak restaurant that is known for their high quality steak cuts. Would our group of six people need reservations at this time of night, during peak dinner time hours? I remember the days (during the credit boom) of having to fight for a table at many of the Phoenix metro areas finer restaurants.

We walked over to the restaurant in the hotel, passing by the bar, which at this time still had only two or three people! I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as I realized just how empty the place was. When we walked into the restaurant, the reality of the credit collapse became all too real. There was NOT A SINGLE PERSON in the entire restuarant! ZERO. ZILCH. ZIP. NADA! I mean, I literally felt embarrassed for the restaurant staff because the place was so vacuous. It was like one of those commercials where the chefs are sad and because there is no one in the restaurant....only this was reality. The new economy had arrived.

We were seated at a large round table in the center of the restaurant, and the six of us remarked about how shockingly desolate the place was. Our dinner was great. Very well prepared, high quality steaks, salmon, pork, excellent desert, good service, I mean there was nothing wrong with this place. It was a great restaurant, and we all enjoyed our meals. The fact that this place was completely empty, save for the six of us, was quite disturbing. During the whole time we were there, no other customers came to the restaurant. Not a SINGLE ONE. I'm not complaining, as we had our choice of seats and didn't have to wait in line! We had the place all to ourselves. However, the fact that not a single customer was dining in this establishment, besides our group, is very disconcerting. It underscores the real world impact that the dislocated credit markets and ensuing economic collapse have impacted the hospitality industry. 

After dinner we proceeded back through the spacious lounge area, past the bar, which now actually had a whopping five people seated at it! There were a couple of other people seated in the lounge area as well. I saw two or three other people walking around as well. Wow. However, this is about as busy as I saw it for the whole time I was there. How could a gorgeous hotel like this be so empty?

After bidding good night to the relatives, I proceeded back to my car, situated in the nearly empty hotel parking lot. I drove home that night, wondering just how deep and long this recession will be. If this hotel experience is any indication, we're in for a rough one.

Additional Notes:

Looks like Phoenix isn't the only place suffering the effects of the economic crash and credit crisis. Take a look at some of the articles below for more information on the impacts of the recession on the hospitality industry. Bjorn Hanson, a professor at New York University specializing in the travel and hospitality industry, says that January of 2009 may be the worst January in the history of the hotel industry. See link below for more information.

The Wall St. Journal also ran a story on hotels bracing for effects of the recession. See link below for the video.