Category Archives: Business News

By Susan E. Campbell
The long Memorial Day weekend at the end of May marks the beginning of summer each year and with it, traditionally, comes an influx of consumers on which many Lake George businesses depend.
But this year has been overshadowed by coronavirus pandemic. Village Mayor Robert Blais was concerned about whether the community, one of upstate’s most popular tourist areas, would draw its usual surge of visitors.
“I wondered if people would take the time and expense to come here and rent a room and then find enough to do,” he said.
The weekend proved to draw good-sized crowds and hotels were busy. The mayor attributed the success of the weekend to Lake George itself.
“The water is consoling and mesmerizing,” Blais said. “Never before have we learned how important it is to have that lake. What saved us was the state opening up Million Dollar Beach.”
“People came from other parts of the state as if it was going to be different here, but we had to explain that we were still in Phase I” of the state’s reopening, said Gina Mintzer, executive director of Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The board of directors of the Adirondack Balloon Festival has announced the cancelation of this year’s event due to restrictions involving the COVID-19 pandemic.
The board “is disappointed” to lose the popular festival that was slated for Sept. 17- 20, it said in a new release.
“The most important part in planning in an event of this magnitude is safety. Safety is not only for our balloon pilots, but also includes our spectators, law enforcement, public works, fire and rescue staff, vendors, volunteers, musical acts, and our landowners in the region,” said Mark Donahue, board president.
“This is an unprecedented decision for us and one we did not take lightly. Our decision process included discussions with state officials and the Federal Aviation Administration officials as well,” he said. “This event is for the community by the community. We have a responsibility to make certain social distancing occurs and we do not feel we could make that happen with the tens of thousands of people who attend our event.”

The oldest resort on Lake George, the Fort William Henry Hotel, opened for business in May for its 165th season.
“Since before the Civil War, people have come to the southern end of Lake George for rest and relaxation, warm hospitality, fresh air, swimming, boating and hiking in our beautiful mountains,’’ said Sam Luciano, president of the Fort William Henry Corp. “Because the world has changed, things will look a little different this year. But our long tradition of Adirondack hospitality, taking care of our guests and looking out for their wellbeing and that of our staff and community, will be more visible than ever before.’’
This year, the focus at Fort William Henry will be protecting the health of its staff, guests and community, Luciano said. The hotel has adopted rigorous standards of sanitation informed by the guidelines of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state Department of Health and leading hoteliers.

People planning to go to the Great Escape this summer will have to make reservations. But the Six Flags Great Escape Lodge will re-open with new guidelines on Friday, June 26, and the Johnny Rockets restaurant will also re-open, Six Flags said in a June 4 news release.
The 200-suite lodge, located across Route 9 from the Great Escape theme park, is now taking reservations.
The lodge will initially open with limited capacity. The theme park and indoor water park will remain closed until allowed to re-open by state and regional officials.
“The hotel will offer a clean and safe getaway for families coming to the beautiful Lake George area to enjoy hiking routes in the Adirondacks, exciting bike trails and stunning mountain summit reviews with outdoor adventures,” Six Flags said in new release.
High-touch items like coffee makers, pens and paper and in-house guides have been removed. Cleaning protocols have been elevated and room rentals are rotated so rooms can be thoroughly cleaned after guests have departed.

By Michael Cruz
As we re-open our local economy, we can’t quickly go back to normal. It is important to re-examine all aspects of your business. What you were doing before COVID is not necessarily what you should do next. Examine your business plan. I often say that a plan is like a road map.
The only time you don’t need a map is when you are going where you have already been. Or, when you don’t care where you are going.
Things are not going to be the same for quite a while. You need to figure out how to rekindle sales. You need to make sure your product pipeline is solid.
Your customers are having the same challenges you are. Everyone will be a little more cautious as to where they spend their money. Each of us needs to reassess our priorities. We need to figure out which expenditures are required. And, which purchases we can delay until we are sure of the recovery.