Downtown businesses have been coping with mask regulations and loss of business over the past few months due to the pandemic, but Downtown Association of Hot Springs President Cole McCaskill said business is returning and downtown staff is regulating masks "expertly."
"Downtown businesses are pleased with the volume of customers that has returned to downtown shopping and dining," McCaskill said in an email. "I've heard some good reports from individual businesses for the months of May and June. Of course for the year, it will be difficult to make up the almost total loss of business during spring break which is an important and busy time for downtown businesses."
He said people are "clearly ready" to get out of the house and Hot Springs is a "perfect destination" because it has a blend of outdoor, fresh air, socially distant activities, and dining and retail.
"I'm hearing from hotels that visitors are waiting until the last minute to decide to come to town and book a room," McCaskill said. "It's been a bit of a learning curve for them to plan staffing, food, etc., when weekend reservations don't come in until a day or two ahead of time, but at the end of the weekend we're happy to have the visitors."
He noted that the Fourth of July was a "great holiday weekend" for downtown businesses, but with COVID-19 cases spiking in Garland County and other areas, businesses are concerned about what the future holds both from a public health and economic perspective.
As for businesses facing challenges with customers complying to masking requirements, McCaskill said the biggest challenge is that Hot Springs gets so many out of state visitors that don't know the Arkansas mask regulations.
"Visitors may be coming from a different state that has different rules and some have been frustrated to have to learn when they are denied entrance to a business," he said. "I ate dinner at a downtown restaurant on a busy weekend evening and watched the staff expertly manage when almost every new customer coming in the door wasn't complying with the mask regulations."
McCaskill said it takes a lot of customer service and people skills to navigate through something like this.
"Our businesses and employees should be commended for this extra level of detail and safety enforcement that's been added to their jobs," he said.
Aside from downtown shops having to cope with changes the pandemic has imposed, there are also events like the Tom Daniel Holiday Chili Cook Off, annually held in November, that may face changes.
"The Downtown Association is brainstorming some different options for this year's Tom Daniel Holiday Chili Cook Off in the fall," McCaskill said.
"It's a meaningful event that culminates with the lighting of the downtown Christmas lights on the Monday before Thanksgiving.
"Due to the coronavirus, it may take shape where the hundreds of attendees and vendors are not all congregated in one central location like has happened without issue for the past 18 years," he said.