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Linda Bradford is a longtime restaurateur in Ulster County, once co-owner of Bacchus in New Paltz before she opened the Stone House Tavern on Route 209 in Accord. Her current venture opened Aug. 30, 2019 after she bought the property a year prior and renovated the former restaurant. But six months later, the world became engulfed with the COVID pandemic, and Bradford would face challenges that completely changed a business dependent on openly public revenue. “When COVID hit, we thought this was it,” she said. “We were really afraid the business would not survive it.”
During those first six months prior to the shut down, Bradford said her business was 100 percent in-house with some rare take-out orders. When restaurants were forced to close, the business shifted immediately to take-out and went to social media to promote itself. A drive-up window was also built to help patrons safely pick up their orders. “Anything to stay in business,” said Bradford. And during that time, unemployment soared, especially in hospitality, which faced unprecedented challenges. “At one point, there was more than 14% unemployment in that sector,” said Lisa Berger, Ulster County’s tourism director.
But much has changed as normalcy has returned. As of July, 2022, according the New York State Department of Labor, 32,100 private sector jobs were added to the Hudson Valley, an increase of 4.2 percent. Leisure and hospitality led those gains 8,800 jobs. “What we've seen in Ulster County is that the hospitality industry has rebounded,” said Berger. “Mohonk Mountain House is one of the largest private employers in Ulster County, when they're fully operating - like right now at full season, they have more than 600 employees.”
Now the biggest change to tourism in Ulster County are the day-trip visits, which dominated the region in 2020, with a 1.5-day average stay prior to COVID to 2.5 days now. “Tourism will continue to grow here,” said Berger. “We're a respite. I think people need those respites.” The data used by Berger also notes that visitors increasingly are coming from central and western Massachusetts and from the I-95 corridor south of the New York City metro area.
“We are becoming increasingly a luxury destination,” said Berger. Mohonk Mountain House and Inness, in Accord, are luxury resorts in the county near the Shawangunk Ridgeline, and in October, Wildflower Farms, part of the Auberge chain, will open its first New York state resort in Gardiner in October as it tries now to fill 100 needed jobs.
Some of the reasons why Ulster is increasingly seen as a luxury destination include the abundance of protected open space, 75 miles of linked rail trails, in addition to existing trails systems, and the artisanal offerings from our craftspeople, restaurants, brewers and distillers. “I almost think there is no limit for the desire of that. People can come here and have an experience with their partner or themselves,” said Berger. “It used to about escapism, but it’s now an about an experience like nothing else.”
Hospitality can open doors to many careers. It survives and can be hurt by global factors, such as inflation or surges in gasoline prices, and good business skills are needed to maneuver through this competitive landscape. There is also the nature of serving the public, and this is needed for other good paying jobs in the public and private sectors.
“Anybody who's started a career in hospitality, leisure or tourism sector, can go on to use those skills, whether they become a police officer or a school teacher, “ said Berger. “I mean, you learn skills by doing these jobs that are vital to almost everything else.”
Mohonk Mountain House trains its staff and can attract talent from schools like Culinary Institute in America in Dutchess County. Regional community colleges and BOCES also offer hospitality programs that help applicants get in the doors of hotels and restaurants – before new employers train them for a nuanced workplace. And Bradford said experienced full-timers and young, willing part-timers have helped her staffing needs.
“A good restaurant, you’ve got a blend,” she said. “I have some high-schoolers that I hired that go on and graduate and become summer help when they are not in college,” she said. “And they get better every year, and they grow. They also spread the word with the other high-schoolers that it’s a good place to work.”
Restaurants have also been helped by websites like VRBO and Airbnb, which allow regional visitors to rent homes and apartments, so they can design experiences in new or favorite places. “It has helped us tremendously,” said Bradford. “But we have lots of people that are staying here and love the area.”
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