Coronavirus (COVID-19) Impacts Tulsa's Restaurant, Hospitality Industry

Worry about the virus is impacting the restaurant and hospitality industries.

James Cunningham, the president of the Metro Tulsa Hotel and Lodging Association, said the industry is seeing a 30% decline in revenue overall.

"Some of the hotels are a little bit worse, some are a little bit better, but overall the average is about 30%," Cunningham said.

Each company is working hard to make sure guests are safe and keeping in touch with state and local leaders.

"A lot of us have gone out and continued to advertise, and do things to help offset the downturn a little bit, to try and get more people to come and see the city of Tulsa and the great things we have to offer," Cunningham said.

City leaders believe the impact on tourism could get worse as spring break hits next week. Many families have canceled or postponed their vacations.

"This event has the ability to potentially have a significant budgetary impact on the city government as we see a reduction in tourism and regional travel here to Tulsa," Mayor GT Bynum said.

Industry stocks are dropping drastically too, after they started the year fairly strong.

The Dow Jones U.S. Hotel & Lodging REIT Index is down by 51 percent this year to date.

Marriott International, Hyatt Hotels, Hilton Worldwide, and Wyndham Destinations -- also sharply down.

And, as hotels adjust, we've heard from some employees who've been laid off amid the downturn.

"We as business people have to do the right thing and have to reduce our staffing or reduce our hours, in order to remain a viable business," Cunningham said.

He said as industry leaders wait and see what direction this all goes, he's optimistic they will be able to bounce back.

"Hopefully this is a short-term problem. We're not seeing an impact past the month of May. So hopefully as the summer comes on, and it's a little bit later, more time progresses, we'll see travel return," Cunningham said.