HS Convention Center continues to lose events
Around 95 events have canceled or rebooked to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, costing the Hot Springs Convention Center several million dollars in convention business since mid-March, but the general economy is what will suffer the most, Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison said this week.
The situation is what Arrison would describe as “fluid,” saying there are 40 events from now through October, but none are firm, as he receives news of cancellations or re-bookings on a weekly basis.
“At one time we had 24 events booked for July, and we’re down to eight,” he said. “August, I think at one time we had 18 events booked, we’re down to 10. We had 17 booked in September, we’re down to nine. October we had 20 events and now we’re down to 13.”
It is a “disheartening” situation, Arrison said, but he remains hopeful business will return to the convention center and Bank OZK Arena.
“We have our plan that we filed with the health department, and everyone will have to wear a mask in our building, we do have hand sanitizing stations and social distancing will be practiced, so I think we just need to get it going,” he said. “As we move forward hopefully more and more events will happen
as people see you can hold events and still be safe.”
If there’s any “good news,” Arrison said it would be that a majority of the events that canceled have rebooked to next year.
With 24 employees currently furloughed from the convention center, he said “the more things cancel, the less likely it is that we’ll be bringing all of them back.”
“We’ve got our fingers crossed that we’ll be able to bring them all back, but we’re just not sure,” Arrison said. “Hopefully we’ll bring some of those back here in the next couple of weeks, and then hopefully the rest of them back shortly thereafter, we just have to watch what’s going on with our future business.”
He said with the amount of re-bookings, 2021 will be a “great year,” possibly even their best ever, but they have to ensure it will “hold.”
With expenses currently being cut as much as possible, Arrison said the convention center has not yet had to use its unrestricted reserves of $2 million, but if the city shuts down again to slow the spread of the coronavirus, he anticipates the reserves would be used “rather quickly,” since the “low side” of utilities to operate the building run about
$40,000 a month. All-in-all, he said the convention center will “absolutely” make it through the
COVID-19 pandemic.
“It will be a great year next year,” Arrison said. “The convention center is a big demand generator for the city and obviously we’re going to make it. We’ve had to cut back, and just like everybody else in business in Hot Springs has had to adjust to get through, but we’ll make it. We’ve had reserves, so we’ll be relying on those reserves to get us through it.”