One thing Jonathan Schwartz has noticed at the Fairfield Inn is an increase in last-minute bookings since the threat and start of war.
"People are waiting to see what's going on," said Schwartz, general manager of the hotel, which is located on the Washington Dulles International Airport property. "People are still a little bit hesitant about making plans for the future to come to the area."
Schwartz said the war and homeland threat level have led to a cutback in corporate and international travel in the past two weeks and a 50 percent drop in student trips. "Some of our international customers we see regularly, their travel has been scaled back," he said.
Likewise, Lansdowne Resort has "seen some effect from the war," said Hal Powell, director of sales and marketing. "We did see inquiries for ... meetings and business travel slow down a little bit for the last part of March, April and May," he said, adding that most of the hotel's individual guests and conference groups did not change their plans in response to the war. "The effects have been contained to the three- to four-week period from the start of war. The property is busy now."
THE WAR HAS NOT impacted the number of visitors coming to Loudoun and requesting conventions through the Loudoun Convention and Visitors Association. "We have been preparing and planning for this possibility for months, so our spring marketing campaign is targeted at the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore market to make sure those people come out and spend money in Loudoun," said Patty Rogers, marketing director. "We're fortunate because we have that future market to draw from."
The war and the nationwide economic slowdown have not affected the county's real estate market either, according to Jeanette Newton, vice-president of the Dulles Area Association of Realtors. The market took a 30-day hit following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack and "recuperated beautifully" after that, she said.
"Real estate continues in Loudoun County to be extremely strong. I expect to see some leveling this year, certainly no slowdown," Newton said, adding that the real estate market is driving other industries in Loudoun, such as furniture and home accessory providers.
Randy Collins, president of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that small service and retail companies and the businesses that provide products and services for the Department of Defense "continue to do well," while "spending in some areas is down." "It's obvious to most casual observers of the business world that the economy is not running at peak capacity. There definitely is a slower pace," he said.
THE JOB SITUATION in Loudoun is the worst Collins has seen it in the past several years, he said and mentioned the March 7 job fair sponsored by the chamber and the county, which brought out 1,000 job seekers. The county's unemployment rate was 3.2 percent in January, less than the 4.3 percent state rate and about the same as it has been since late last year, according to information provided by the Virginia Employment Commission.
"The slowdown in the economy was seen coming even before the conflict in Iraq," he said. "It hasn't been a secret. The war has perhaps accelerated that a bit and made a difficult situation probably worse."
Even so, Loudoun has not been adversely impacted by the war, Collins said. "We're optimistic that 2003 will be a good year, but a lot of it is hinging on the length of the conflict in Iraq. We hope it's a quick resolution," he said. "The wheels of the economy continue to move forward even in time of war."