The first summer without a pandemic may seem like a tantalizing mirage in Central Oregon, but the leisure industry is still doing what it can to keep the high desert communities top of mind.

Hotels are gearing up for a bumper crop of visitors, just like the ones who endured COVID-19 restrictions last summer. They’re adding restaurants and beefing up outdoor spaces. They’re doubling their workforce. And they’re hoping some of the 200,000 visitors in Oregon for the summer World Athletic Championships in Eugene will find their way to Bend.

“We have no reason to expect that the tourism industry won’t have a strong summer,” said Kevney Dugan, Visit Bend CEO.

“Bend remains desirable. What we’re seeing is that people are starting to travel further away. Bend is an eight-hour drive from several metropolitan areas, but some families are getting on planes for the first time in years. Having more destinations to choose from is ultimately a good thing for sustainability in travel,” he said.

Destinations like Central Oregon face more global competition to attract visitors, said Julia Theisen, Visit Central Oregon CEO. Central Oregon draws its tourism business from Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho.

“U.S. travelers are still excited about summer road trips and we are expecting to see continued strong demand for the natural beauty and attractions of Central Oregon this summer,” Theissen said.

Last summer, Bend vacation rentals topped 90% occupancy, an 8.4% increase over 2020. Hotels, on the other hand, for the same period, were at 83.5%, a 15.3% increase over the year before.

This comes at a time when 10% more hotel rooms have come online since 2020, increasing supply, Dugan said.

This growth shattered records for room tax collection, said Damon Runberg, Oregon Employment Department regional economist.

Revenue per available room, the measurement used to show profitability, was up 11% for vacation rentals in 2021, compared to 2020, according to AirDNA, a vacation rental analytic prepared for Visit Bend, the destination marketing nonprofit for Bend. The revenue per available hotel room for July 2021 was $169.40, compared to $99.72 in 2020, according to data.

Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe, a popular river activity rental and sale business at the Old Mill District, is stuffed to the rafters with equipment for sale and rent. Kelli Wittman, company director of marketing, said customers with large groups have been calling to reserve equipment for the summer months.

“We have seen a decrease in interest of preplanning trips,” Wittman said. “Overall it feels like it’s slowing down, but just to pre-COVID-19 times, like things are trying to resume back to what they were before we were locked down.”

On Third Street, the Campfire Hotel is planning some minor renovations and sprucing up public spaces, said Daniel Elder, hotel general manager. The hotel is updating and adding new guest areas, adding decks for hanging out and adding a restaurant.

Bend is unique in that the winter not only offers ski and snowboard activities, but below the mountain there are trails for hiking and mountain biking, Elder said. Summer sees even more activities on the water and in the mountain.

Even with those attractions, Elder looked at this past spring break and saw a very slow beginning that finished above expectations. Elder said he offered marketing partners a hefty commission to market the property high up in online listings, which then sent would-be guests over to the hotel’s website for a direct booking.

Even with the unknown, hotels like the 100-room boutique Campfire Hotel, have to prepare and hire as if the summer will be robust.

Sunriver Resort, with its 300 vacation rentals and 245 hotel rooms and suites, needs to double its staff of 900 to 1,000 workers between now and Memorial Day, the official start of summer travel. In February, the leisure and hospitality industry employed more than 14,400 people in Central Oregon, a 1.4% decline over February 2020, which was right before government-mandated shutdowns were imposed.

Statewide, tourism has not fared as well, Runberg said. February, which is normally a slow time for travel, the travel and tourism employment was done 7.4% in 2022 over 2020. Central Oregon hotels typically have occupancy levels at 50% to 60%, according to Visit Bend data.

“The labor market will continue to be our biggest challenge,” said Tom O’Shea, Sunriver Resort managing director. “Labor, childcare and housing are the three big factors affecting the job market.”

The pandemic shifted the visitor mix at Sunriver Resort from mostly convention travelers to now mostly leisure travelers. Leisure travelers tend to stay for shorter trips and that helped keep the hotel occupied during the times of pandemic-related restrictions, O’Shea said.

“For much of 2021 we had mostly leisure travelers, but now we’re seeing the convention market recover as the mandates have lifted and changed,” O’Shea said. “It will bring a rebalance of the mix of business for us.”

Because of that market segment return, O’Shea said he is looking at a bright summer. At Sunriver, visitors who want a specific vacation rental unit will often book months in advance, O’Shea said. That’s the complete opposite of the winter traveler who often will decide on a Thursday to book a weekend stay. That short booking window makes it tough to staff a resort of this size, O’Shea said.