SAN ANTONIO — Businesses in the San Antonio tourism industry are figuring out how to move forward as government mask mandates end just as spring break is beginning.
Starting Wednesday, business owners around the state have a decision to make. Texas won’t require masks in public places anymore, but businesses can refuse service if they want to continue requiring them.
“I don’t want to take away anybody’s individual freedoms,” said Andy Harvey, an assistant manager at Ostra on the River Walk. “But when it comes in our facility, that’s a responsibility we take, and we do take that very seriously.”
Harvey says they will be keeping their mask mandate in place.
“All of our associates will still be required to wear masks. We will require guests to wear masks while they are in public spaces of our hotels and restaurants,” he said. “Of course, if they are dining at a table or if they’re enjoying themselves at the pool, absolutely they can take their masks off.”
Their parent company, Omni Hotels and Resorts, is based in Texas, but they have locations all across the country. They have a set of “safe and clean” standards that they follow.
“Keeping our safe and clean standards in place, those are the best ways that we feel that we can ease the minds of, like I said, our guests and our associates that work for us.”
Harvey says the biggest change they are making is preparing for higher volume as the mandates end and spring break begins.
“We anticipate that residents of Texas and throughout the country will feel more comfortable traveling to San Antonio,” he said. “Especially with spring break coming up there next few weeks going into the NCAA Women’s Final Four.”
He also says that business takes a hit when there is a large spike in coronavirus cases like there were after Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the possibility of a spring break spike is a concern.
“It is sort of a double-edged sword where on one hand: Yes. We’re excited to see people. We want people to come back. We love the business. We need it.” Harvey said. “But on the other hand, you know, there’s still that, ‘I could catch this, someone else could catch this, I could take this home. What are we going to do?'”