Covid-19: Alaska Fishing Lodge and Travel Information

How Alaska and the Alaska fishing travel industry was affected by the 2020 Covid Pandemic

November 2, 2020
No doubt about it, we were all blind-sided by Covid-19. The Alaska tour, travel and fishing industry was no exception. Many people were asking last summer, "Are Alaska fishing lodges open?" Well, some like ours were able to while others were forced to close by local mandates. By March 2020 many Alaska fishing lodges were booked at or near capacity with many eager travelers anticipating their trip (or return) trip of a lifetime just weeks away. None of us could have expected what would happen as the virus' impacts became greater by the day as April and May played out. As lodge owners of now 20 years, we have navigated many different changes and challenges. It has been fun, but daunting at times. With every dose of adversity, we have become better, stronger and able to deliver a higher service to our loyal customer base. We have always listened to the consensus of our guests to help us reach positive resolution. As odds started to work against the summer tourism industry in Alaska, things were becoming unsettled to say the least, but we found a way to work through it with all best interests in mind.

The governor of Alaska and his administration started to lay out the most reasonable health and safety plan that would keep citizens safe, but also give certain sectors of the invaluable tourism industry the ability to operate and service out-of-state guests. "Social distancing" became the most important safety measure that businesses were instructed to take with respect to the health and safety of patrons during this pandemic. Many larger resorts, restaurants and transfer vessels found it near impossible to abide by this measure given the nature of their operation. Ultimately, by early June, 2020 businesses classifying as critical infrastructure were allowed to open and operate under a very specific guideline of safety protocols if in fact they could abide by them. Those businesses that could not operate under these guidelines sadly had to close their doors to tourists this past summer. These businesses fell primarily within the macro cruise and tour industry, which comprises nearly 70% of total tourist numbers that visit Alaska each summer. Unfortunately with the absence of these cruise and tour groups, a great ripple effect was felt throughout the entire service sector. As a small, specialty remote lodge business, we were very fortunate to be able to adapt much more easily to assure a healthy and safe atmosphere. Therefore, we were able to open and operate successfully and safely under the 2020 cloud of Covid. It is arguable that we may have been by default one of the safest places to be on earth this past summer. Luckily we live and work in a nature-based playground where social-distancing is the norm every given season!

How our Alaska Fishing Lodge was able to safely operate amidst the Covid-19 pandemic

In business, making choices is a constant. Making choices are never easy and sometimes not popular. We "roll with the punches" with the common goal being to successfully operate in a safe manner yet without sacrificing the high-level of service and hospitality we're know for. With Covid bringing about so many new and unfamiliar challenges, the choice to run our operation was seriously clouded for many weeks last spring. Kudos to the Alaska State health and safety division as they honestly were the ones that helped us inevitably to make the decision to open our doors last summer. State officials in tandem with the CDC gave us a list of guidelines as to how we could operate and not expose our guests to the inherent risks of Covid or other infectious diseases. As a business that is classified as "critical infrastructure," we were allowed to operate if we successfully completed our very own Covid-19 "community workforce and protective plan." Any responsible business should have submitted and exercised a heath-focused protective plan last summer prior to opening their doors to customers. Due your diligence and visit establishments that work hand-in-hand with the state health department. By integrating the dozens of suggestions and practices put forth by the CDC for lodging and restaurant businesses, we published our workforce plan and submitted it to state officials. Our plan was accepted, allowing us to adapt our operations and to successfully open our doors to customers. We would like to give our thanks to the Kenai River Sportfishing Association who was instrumental to helping fishing lodges throughout Alaska develop their individual heath and safety plan to handle the risk of Covid. You can view a copy of our Covid community workforce plan here to review the steps we took to keep both our staff and guests safe, healthy and happy throughout the summer. We are grateful that the plan executed without flaw and we had no instances of any illness in our camp for the duration of summer, 2020. It is our plan to implement the same protocol for 2021 no matter the level of threat the virus is at come next summer. We also praise our Anchorage-based flying service, Rust's Flying Service that implemented their own safety-centered response plan restricting all of their planes to half-capacity with upgraded safety measures and sanitation protocols. Through partnerships with safety-minded caring businesses and organizations, we were very fortunate to partake in a monumental summer season. As guests realized how their overall risk was limited, their desire to escape the new normal increased as their positive attitude propelled their family to enjoy a great experience and lasting memories during challenging times. Life has a way of figuring things out for you and we're grateful to the alliance with helpful people and the allegiance of our steadfast clientele.

So, what things made our Alaska fishing destination unique that allowed us to safely operate amidst Covid?

Yes, we worked very hard to implement all we did to create the safest environment possible for our guests. But in addition to that, there were some fortunate characteristics of our lodge's location and the nature of our operation that allowed us to open versus other tourist operations that unfortunately faced immovable barriers beyond their control. Aside from our main fishing lodge, we also are blessed to own and operate some very unique off-grid outpost cabins that offer a glamping experience that many who were seeking a true escape 'away from it all' tapped into. The outpost trips were blended with a one or more night stay at Wilderness Place Lodge for the ultimate Alaska wilderness adventure for those seeking solitude.
Here is a list of characteristics that inevitably blessed our lodge with the unique ability to navigate barriers and challenges that may have threatened our compliance to health mandates otherwise:

• We are a completely remote location outside of any small municipality. Most remote lodges in Alaska are accessible by wheel or float plane only. A fair amount of lodges require guests to fly into small rural villages or municipalities prior to catching a smaller plane to reach the lodge. Many of these small remote villages were on lock-down during the Covid pandemic and rightly so. Any level of Covid exposure to these remote villages could literally be devastating to their communities. To no fault of the villages or the lodges, health mandates closing these communities for summer, 2020 prevented access to certain areas of the state. We fortunately are located off a remote river whereas all of our guests are dropped on a riverbank sandbar by float plane and then commute by boat piloted by their private guide to our main lodge. We have no risk of community contact or transmission. We fall under no jurisdiction of any village or municipality in our area and mandated only by state regulations and protocols.


• Our guest stay in private, separate deluxe cabins with bath The simple fact that our lodge set-up already features isolated, private accommodations set us apart from the more risky hotel-style accommodations where all guests sleep under one roof. Guest cabins provide private sanctuary from other guests and are equipped with private bath/shower/toilet/sink that is used exclusively by those guests for the duration of their stay. We made housekeeping available by demand only so no access to private lodging is made available to anyone but the resident unless the resident requested otherwise.


• Those that travel to our Alaska lodge, do it for the social distancing in the first place! The term "Retreat" is being used more widely since the onset of Covid-19. As a wilderness lodge, we see ourselves as far more than just a fishing lodge, but rather an upscale nature-based retreat. Guests visit us from around the world to unplug from the grid and take a well-deserved break from their version of normal. Escaping a pandemic just accents this need for retreat. Our remote lodge, cabins and facilities are spread out on a spacious 15 acre property on the banks of the blue-ribbon trout and salmon fishery that we showcase. We house on average 14-16 guests when at max capacity. When you are fishing, you are doing so in the privacy of your own group of 2-3. If you have 4 or more in your party, you are paired with multiple fishing guides to keep the guide to client ratio most often 2 to 1 and no more than 3 to 1. We never mix and match groups when on the water, so that keeps your experience and your exposure exclusively to your family and/or intimate group members.


• Dining within the wilderness is an epic experience, with ample space to avoid bumping elbows with others One big step we took for summer, 2020 was to increase our dining space throughout our private acreage. We constructed our new "Coho Cabana" dining and recreation cabin for those that enjoy 360 degree wilderness views with private dining outside of the main lodge with a capacity of 4 group members. We also converted our oldest log guest cabin to a pioneer-themed dining cabin for a max capacity of 4 people. Within the main lodge, we spread 3 tables apart 20 feet from one another to serve the remainder of our guests not dining at the alternative private buildings. For those guests that prefer to dine within their private cabin, we integrated dining tables within the cabin and provide room service for any or all meals. Breakfast and lunch options include meals served or cooked on the river to maximize your fishing time and your distance from others.


• Our staff lives the summer on our remote property Part of our Covid-19 workforce plan that allowed us to open for summer involved flying our staff of 20 member up 14 days prior to taking our first guests to assure our staff was virus-free before serving others. This was huge. Also, since our staff members spend the entire summer on our property off-the-grid, they have no exposure to the public. Since there is no inter-meshing of our staff members with public citizens in places such as restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, etc., they are about the lowest risk in the country to contract the virus. This coupled with social distance practices, regular sanitation, mask wearing indoors and the very small number of incoming guests we host day-to-day significantly insulates our staff and hence our guests from any contracted health risk.


• The bulk of what we do is outside! One of the healthiest things we can do on any given day is to spend as much time outside as possible. In a society of increasingly domesticated pastimes, we need to get into nature, exercise and breathe fresh air as an integral part of our wellness. During a viral threat such as Covid-19, we need this more than ever. God's fresh air is the greatest barrier that prevents us from contracting an unwanted virus. Luckily the motivation of all of our guests to visit us is to spend the bulk of their time outside participating in a pastime they love with the people they love. That alone is the ultimate medicine and we're privileged to offer that opportunity in very large doses!

We would like to take this time to thank our very brave, honorable and loyal guests that joined us this past summer and every summer at Wilderness Place Lodge. Covid-19 has had an impact on all of us and we continue to pray for you and pray that things get back to normal soon to make every decision we all make much easier with the outcomes our our decisions more predictable. In the meantime, rest-assured we are going above and beyond to set the bar for our summer operations in Alaska higher than ever. If you are seeking respite from the trials of the world right now, we have a fishing package or adventure tour that should fit the bill for you. We wish you and your family a safe and healthy winter season. Keep in mind those less fortunate as they are facing adversity that we will never know. Through investing in each other's happiness we will get through this! Keep a positive mind and keep doing the things that you love. The impact will be great!