The suspension of Veishea will certainly take its toll on many local businesses.

Due to the amount of out-of-towners and alumni who planned to come see the parade and other traditions, local hotels are especially impacted by the suspension.

Sarah Metz, front desk supervisor for Hilton Garden Inn, said they have received a large number of room cancellations by would-be Veishea visitors.

“We’ve had around 25 room cancellations. We only have 112 rooms, so that is a big portion,” Metz said.

Hilton Garden Inn typically experiences a large increase in reservations and revenue around Veishea, but that will not be the case this year.

“We were near 100 percent occupancy for this weekend before the cancellation. At $129 to $179 per room, we will be losing a lot of revenue,” Metz said.

Despite inevitable revenue loss, Metz said the situation is simply out of their control and there is not much they can do about it.

“You have to cancel by midnight the day before your reservation, so if we have some people cancel late we may make some money off that, but there is nothing else we can do,” Metz said.

From a business perspective, Metz thinks the cancellation of Veishea is a bummer.

“Given the circumstances, I certainly understand why everything was canceled. Still, we will be losing thousands of dollars,” Metz said.

Rest assured, Hilton Garden Inn is not the only business in Ames that will experience losses due to the suspension of Veishea. 

Ashley Enger, guest services representative for Fairfield Inn and Suites, said their hotel has had numerous cancellations also.

“So far, we have had 15 cancellations and we only have 61 rooms total,” Enger said.

Because Fairfield Inn and Suites is under renovation right now, they are usually sold out just about every night. So these room cancellations are definitely noticeable, Enger said.

Enger said the Veishea situation will hurt them, but it shouldn’t be extremely detrimental.

Beyond the revenue loss, Enger said she is empathetic for the people who planned to visit Ames for Veishea and stay at the Fairfield Inn but had to cancel.

“Most of the people were coming here to see the parade, or are alums and wanted to experience everything again,” Enger said.

Although there were many room cancellations, those who decided not to cancel are going to spend time visiting their kids.

“I know that a few people who were planning to come for Veishea ended up keeping their reservations and are going to spend time with their kids, so we are glad there are still some people who didn’t cancel their reservation,” Enger said.

Enger said some of their guests are most likely going to Iowa State’s spring football game, so they feel lucky that event is still happening.