Covid 19 and Miller’s Landing Services

Covid-19 and Miller’s Landing Services

Hello Everybody;

Recently as you all very well know, the world was turned on it’s head by the COVID 19 pandemic. This has impacted every person and industry imaginable to no small degree. We sincerely wish all of you the very best in this difficult time.

For us, March is a heavy reservations month. Phones ring off the hook and emails come in by the hundreds, we hire on additional team members to help with the volume. We frantically wait for the ground to clear of snow and ice so we can get the boats, kayaks, cabins, and employee facilities ready for an upcoming season as soon as possible, upgrading, repairing winter damage, and generally cleaning up.

It is very exciting, full of new people, energy, tough decisions, and implementation of new systems and equipment. Months of waiting in the dark are met by longer and longer days, slightly warmer weather, and an undeniable drive to make things the best we can for the upcoming season. We are often fishing and kayaking by early April and running water taxi services to the fjords and area state park beaches. Our spring is really, really great.

This year, with nearly every other industry and person in the world, we have experienced a disruption. A disruption of business, of bookings, of travel, and of those known constants spring brings. This may come as a shock to some: banning travel has had a negative impact on the travel industry! We are hanging in there however, and not unlike so many storms at sea, our only available option is to weather it as prudently as possible.

For those within the USA, you’re aware of the steps the fed has taken to contain COVID 19, with strong advisories and mandates. In Alaska specifically, the governor has closed all non-essential businesses, and even banned non-essential inter community/domestic travel for the immediate future. This has more or less crippled our spring season entirely. Any hopes or plans we had of taking a fishing charter, hosting a weekend getaway or kayaking tour are off limits/inherently against the rules as the services we provide are considered non essential by state definition.

We trust these rules are in place to keep us safe, and as much as we hope these mandates are lifted by 4/21 when they are re-evaluated, we are following them and encouraging others to do the same. If you request lodging or services right now for the immediate future, we are responding with sincere thanks, and eagerly requesting you book for a date further down the road in May or June.

With most of April requiring cancellation, and many existing clients visiting from out of country calling in to rebook or cancel their plans, we have been doing our best to remain positive. We have worked to keep our existing on site staff on payroll and gainfully employed, while tasked separately. We firmly believe that there will be a summer season, though perhaps starting a little later than normal. All available information shows no implication that June – September shouldn’t meet us with lifted travel restrictions for those wanting to visit.

Cruise ships are responsible for about 50% of the tourists who visit Alaska. A lot of cruises have been cancelled until 7/1/20 or so. Those arriving to Seward or leaving it via cruise ship have had to reconsider plans as a result. Please know:  If you’re on a cruise and your cruise is canceled, we are happy to help you plan a road-based tour out of Anchorage, via car or RV rental. We do this for people all the time free of charge, and this can be a very fun and affordable way to explore the Kenai Peninsula and beyond. Further, if Coronavirus concerns are still on your mind, traveling in an RV is an excellent way to minimize social contact. These things have all the amenities of home all with direct access to the middle of nowhere – something Alaska has a lot of.We are closely monitoring the rules and regulations that change daily, have every intention of keeping our (albeit minimal) staff dependent upon us employed, and have waived all cancellation and change fees associated with COVID-19 travel. You can find the state travel mandates as they stand or are updated by clicking this text. We have also updated our gift card program to roll all existing bookings that do unfortunately require cancellation for the immediate future into a unique redemption code applicable to all of our services. We encouraging compliance (and complying ourselves) with all state and federal mandates, advisories, and recommendations. With literally everything we own on the line, we genuinely hope these efforts being made by all of us now will make for an earlier recovery for our world and economy.We want you to visit, but more than that we want it to be safe for you to visit. With any luck, all this effort will allow us all to travel, relax, fish, kayak, hike, adventure and explore in a few short months. Your visit with Miller’s Landing this year more than ever makes a difference we may never be able to adequately put into words. Thank you so much for your interest in what we do, and wanting to be a part of that. Take care of yourselves, and know we are here for you!

-The 2020 Miller’s Landing Spring Family: Mike, Sherrie, Tom, Chance, Elijah, Kim, Nate, Jean, Drizzt, Jayde, Dillon, Tedi & Miles