Hotels in Columbia are taking a big hit with The Masters Tournament postponed due to the coronavirus.
For the past week, South Carolina has been dealing with several cases of COVID-19. On Friday, Governor Henry McMaster announced a state of emergency in the Palmetto State.
Due to the coronavirus, many are choosing not to travel or visit crowded places. Events with large gatherings have been cancelled or postponed across the country. This includes the men's and women's NCAA Basketball Tournaments.
Nikul Patel, the General Manager at the Comfort Inn off Bush River Road, says the hotel industry is taking a hit with The Masters postponed.
"It's impacted with people traveling with the scare of the virus," said Patel. "We lose rooms, you know. We've already saw the impacts the last few days. Started last week with people just canceling because of the coronavirus. They get scared, you know."
The Comfort Inn has been taking extra precautions at the hotel. They've been keeping the facility clean and disinfected with new regulations.
One of the biggest events of the year in the world of sports is The Masters. Golf's first major of the year takes place in Augusta.
On Friday, the golf course announced it would be postponing one of the most famous golf tournaments in the world. It has taken place in April every year since 1945. The only time it was canceled was during World War II from 1943 to 1945.
Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley released a statement on Friday with the reason for postponing the event.
"Unfortunately, the ever-increasing risks associated with the widespread Coronavirus COVID-19 have led us to a decision that undoubtedly will be disappointing to many, although I am confident is appropriate under these unique circumstances."
Many typically choose to stay in the Columbia area to travel back and forth to Augusta National for The Masters. Now, fans are calling hotels to cancel their reservations.
"Usually The Masters, for the week, we get sold out, not just me but all the hotels in Columbia, Augusta. And Augusta particularly relies on The Masters. That's their biggest income for the year," explained Patel.
The general manager says this will have a big impact on his hotel. He's expecting to lose roughly $50,000 because of the postponement.
"We're taking a big hit you know. I'm already getting canceled out. I'm not even 20% occupied. Usually, I'm already booked by now a year in advance. People cancelled it because they just heard that The Masters postponed."
The general manager says this may be something the hotel industry will deal with for a long time.
"It would be hard. The hotel industry would be scarred. It would be bad for the hotel industry. Let's just say they ban traveling for domestic flights and stuff like that and people wouldn't be able to stay, it wouldn't even be able to make ends meet. Paying out the hotel, mortgages, bills, employees," said Patel. "My staff too, I have a good number of dedicated employees that I have and it really impacts them as well."
Patel is hopeful since the event was postponed and not cancelled that customers will be able to return once The Masters is rescheduled. Having the tournament back on will help them make up the money they've lost so far.
"We just let them know whenever they find the date they want to reschedule. We are giving them their refund back because it's a fair deal because it's the respect of the guest," Patel said.
Customers at The Comfort Inn will be able to get refunds, but there is a March 31st deadline to cancel reservations. Guests may cancel by calling the hotel or going online.