San Diego beach businesses are seeing an increase in travel ahead of the Fourth of July weekend. And while it's a welcome sight, in order to pull off this uptick, businesses, especially in the hospitality industry, are dealing with a labor shortage.
"I can't think of any better place to work than here," said Will Cherashore, General Manager of Bahia Resort Hotel.
The increase in tourism is bringing relief to many businesses hoping to recover from the pandemic.
"We are sold out for Fourth of July weekend here just a few remaining rooms available and we anticipate occupancy will be about 95% for the month of July," Cherashore said.
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Cherashore said they are maxed out this weekend and while that's a good thing, the hotel is still working to recover as the pandemic impacted their winter months.
The hotel is among many in the hospitality industry that is looking to hire food and beverage, housekeeping, security and maintenance staff. While the Bahia Resort says they were able to bring back tenured staff, jobs are out there and so is the appetite for travel.
"We're here to enjoy the weather, scenery, the atmosphere," said Jordan Copeland who is visiting from Colorado.
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Vistors like Copeland said they are looking forward to being able to do more now that San Diego's restrictions are lifted.
"It just seems so much more opened up. Obviously, people are willing to go out and about and not necessarily socially distant. We're kind of back to normal, in a sense," Copeland said.
