Great Lakes Small Businesses, Ski Areas Rebound After Record Warm Winter

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This winter, every morning when hotel owner Kelli Doyen looked out the window, she expected to see the Gwinn Model Towne Inn’s snowmobile covered in snow.

“We are one of only four properties that has a snowmobile trail right next to the property,” said Doyen, who co-owns the hotel in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with her husband. In past seasons, that competitive advantage drew about 800 snowmobilers (it’s a major winter sport in northern states) to the hotel in Gwinn, Michigan, about 20 miles from Marquette.

This year, instead of fresh powder, all too often Doyen said he saw a muddy road.

As the season comes to an end, “We’re down 70% from last winter’s sales,” he said. “We’ve had a pretty difficult situation.”

The 2023-2024 season marked the warmest winter on record in the lower 48 states, according to NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Information. The change in climate has had an enormous impact on the festivals, events and tourism that define the identity of the Great Lakes and produce the income of those who live and work there. In total, eight states experienced a record warm season, including Wisconsin, Michigan, New York and Minnesota, as well as North Dakota, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire.

Instead of a winter wonderland, the last few months have offered tourists less snow, less ice and fewer opportunities for some outdoor activities. Small business owners and regional industries struggled to adapt. Less outdoor ice skating could mean more indoor ice skating. Less snowshoeing meant more pickleball in some places.

Doyen said the lost revenue amounts to approximately $70,000. She is one of several business owners in the Midwest whose winter sales keep them afloat until the summer tourist season begins. Since she bought the property in 2020, just before Covid hit, Doyen said she has invested most of her profits into renovations. Operating expenses total $15,000 per month. With the drop in reserves, her husband withdrew her 401(k) to remain open.

“For the last six months, I’ve spent every night here because I can’t pay anyone to be here,” Doyen said. “We have our last $20,000 left and we have to make it until June.”

“It’s depressing. It’s exhausting.”

Event and revenue drops

With less snowfall, severe drought spread to parts of Wisconsin and Michigan and increased in Iowa during the winter months, according to the US Drought Monitor. The situation became so dire that the governors of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin announced that drought-stricken businesses could be eligible for loans from the Small Business Administration.

“From skiing and snowshoeing to winter festivals, snowy winters are part of our way of life in Minnesota,” Gov. Tim Waltz said in a March 7 news release. “The low rainfall we have experienced this winter has had a real economic impact.” impact on small businesses that depend on snow and winter tourism to grow and survive.”

Susan Estler, CEO of Travel Marquette in Marquette, Michigan, told CNN that hotel bookings between Christmas and March are down 16% this year.

“We depend on snow for outdoor activities,” Estler said. “Reserves are low. “Businesses are down.”

Estler estimates that approximately 30% of tourism money is spent on hotels. That means the other 70% supports the local economy, from gas stations to grocery stores and restaurants.

“All of those things have been affected,” he said.

Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis highlights the importance of weather, and snow in particular, on business owners’ bottom lines. According to the BEA, snow-related activities in the states clustered around the Great Lakes add hundreds of millions of dollars to the region’s economy. For example, snow activities in Wisconsin added $83.6 million in 2022, according to the BEA, and about $130 million in Michigan the same year.

Some events that normally draw crowds of tourists to Marquette were forced to cancel this year. That includes the UP200, a dog sled race and qualifier for the famous Iditarod race in Alaska.

“Safety is our top priority and given the lack of snow and warm temperatures, we are unable to offer a safe race,” UP200 President Darlene Welch said in a statement on the UP200 website in February.

Estler noted that the UP200 was still holding an outdoor festival rather than a race, an example of how companies are quickly adapting to what could become a new normal.

“The time has come to make adjustments,” he said. “Hopefully, we will have early spring and early summer, so [businesses] “They can start to recover some of the money they lost during the winter.”

Christopher Germain, executive director of the Lake Superior Community Partnership, said some ski areas have been offering summer kayaking packages and outdoor space for special events and weddings to make up for lost revenue during the winter. Germain added: “Some of our small businesses are teaming up with each other to host special dining events.”

Associations and discounts

Germain, Estler and Doyen are all immigrants who moved to northern Michigan enchanted by the majesty of the Upper Peninsula winters.

“I actually interviewed her over the winter, towards the end of January, and it was just breathtakingly beautiful,” Estler said. “The identity of UP and especially Marquette is very tied to the winter season and always has been. So it is quite unusual to have this.”

Doyen said one of the most difficult parts of his hotel’s void is its inability to attract more visitors, activities and therefore ancillary income for his neighbors.

“The fact that we’ve been empty has also hurt our community,” Doyen said.

Despite the challenges, Doyen still loves running the inn and plans to keep its doors open as long as possible.

“We really care about our guests and our community.”

Doyen told CNN he also plans to offer a 20 percent discount during the spring months in hopes of attracting more visitors.

Looking ahead, “you can no longer plan around a season,” Germain said.