The Lynnwood Convention Center is normally abuzz with activity during the busy months of March, April and May, but this spring is not like any other. As the coronavirus pandemic and government-mandated shutdowns have ravaged the hospitality industry, the city-owned convention center has not been immune.

“Right now we’ve lost just shy of $1.5 million of revenue,” reported Sara Blayne, the facility’s general manager.

The $1.5 million loss of income represents about one-fourth of the convention center’s total annual revenue.

The city-owned 34,000-square-foot convention center is not allowed to host any events during current state and local health department directives intended to slow the spread of COVID-19. Dozens of events that were to have taken place this spring at the facility have been postponed or cancelled, leading to the loss of revenue.

The financial hit is especially high as spring is a particularly busy time for the convention center. “We went from being a couple of our busiest months of the year — outside of September and October — to ultimately being fully closed,” Blayne said.

The convention center had been set to host a number of trade shows, conventions and business and health conferences this spring. Multi-day conferences of the Washington State Parent Teacher Association and the Association of Alcoholism and Addiction Programs of Washington State, for example, each would have drawn hundreds of attendees to the facility.

While the Lynnwood City Council has authorized an early allocation of tax money to help the convention center this spring, it hasn’t been enough to prevent layoffs and furloughs of regular facility staff — from waiters and janitors to some center managers.

The postponement and cancellation of events affects temporary convention center staff too. For large-scale conferences, the center may have upwards of 100 people working at any particular time, many brought in from temp agencies. “Obviously we’re not calling in those guys,” Blayne noted.

Blayne, who has served in a number of positions at the center and has been in the hospitality industry for 25 years, said the impact of the coronavirus pandemic is the worst she has ever seen. “SARS was nothing like this; 9-11 wasn’t like this,” she said.

While Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has lifted a couple of government restrictions recently — the allowance of private construction workers to return to work and the opening of golf courses, state recreation land and fishing seasons — Blayne cautions that any possible easing of hospitality industry restrictions soon won’t necessarily mean the convention center woes are over.

“We anticipate even when we are allowed to reopen we’re going to be limited on the size of events we can host,” Blayne said. 

“We’re watching what they mandated for construction to go back to work this week, what the minimum requirements for them (are),” she explained. “We assume they will be as strict if not more strict for us when it comes to our turn just because of the nature of our business.”

Even when revised restrictions on hosting trade shows, conferences and conventions are announced and events are allowed to return, Blayne speculates that between 25 and 40 percent of attendees will simply choose to stay away.

“Even when they say we can reopen, there’s still going to be a handful of people who are like, ‘I just don’t feel comfortable going to an event,’” Blayne said. She also believes there will be companies that will back off on their participation in business and trade shows at least temporarily.

While the short-term outlook is bleak, Blayne does see a time when convention center bookings bounce back. Approximately 70 percent of events at the center are held there quarterly or annually; many of those recurring events that had been planned for this spring are rescheduling for this fall or spring of 2021.

Blayne has also kept on the payroll her sales manager and event manager — both, of course, working from home. “If you need to book a meeting for 2022, we’re staffed and open in that regard,” Blayne said.

— By Doug Petrowski