President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa last weekend financially benefited some downtown businesses that have been hit hard by coronavirus pandemic.
Some hotels near Tulsa’s BOK Center saw a substantial increase in business due to the rally. This is after months of financial struggles due to COVID-19.
Randy McKinley, general manager of Fairfield Inn and Suites in Downtown Tulsa, said he had to furlough 10 of his employees in April and the hotel has only reached 20 to 30 percent occupancy during the pandemic. But the hotel, which is only about a half mile from the BOK Center, was at 93 to 96 percent occupancy the weekend of the Trump rally.
"Our revenue for Friday and Saturday night alone… whatever that was, the 19th and 20th of June… was more than the entire month of April here," McKinley said. "That’s how bad COVID-19 has hurt us here."
Even though the rally drew a smaller audience than Trump’s campaign expected, some Tulsa businesses closed last weekend as a safety precaution.
Rob Stuart, owner of Chimera Cafe, said his cafe closed for two and a half days last weekend due to the rally. He says the cafe lost business since Saturdays and Sundays are usually its busiest days, especially after events at the BOK Center.
"We’ve only closed for that amount of time in the span of eight years during a kitchen renovation. And it's you know, it's always hard to do, you know, close like that," Stuart said. "I mean, we just had to do it. So, I mean, we kind of took the hit and felt like we did the right thing."
