OAK HILL, WV (WOAY) – Outdoor businesses is one area that has thrived throughout this summer.
Ace Adventure Resort worked hard to open back up around Memorial Day for the summer. While there were questions at first due to the pandemic, this summer has proved fruitful due to an abundance of available outdoor activities.
“Surprisingly business is doing very well,” said Ace Adventure Resort Marketing Director Haynes Mansfield. “Of course we’re following all guidelines put in place by the state and by local health officials, as we want to do. Which means that there’s some increased labor costs. We can’t fill buses to capacity and things like that. However, booking is going through the roof. From month to month, we’ve even seen upwards of 300% increase.
One of the biggest periods of the year for businesses such as Ace is Gauley season. While it doesn’t typically peak until September and October, the increased demand for outdoor activities has given Ace a great lead in.
“Gauley season is going incredibly well,” Mansfield said. “We saw some growth in some products this summer, some different types of trips, but we certainly got hurt by losing that spring rafting. Gauley season, however, is through the roof. We are having the best gauley season that we have had in years so far in terms of the amount of folks that are coming.”
Ace is hoping to make a smooth transition from summer to fall. That all begins with an exciting Labor Day weekend ahead.
“Labor Day weekend we’ve got a whole lot of events going on,” Mansfield said. “We’re going to have a clam bay, with some great seafood like clam and lobster being served up right here at Ace. In addition to that, we’re going to have a craft brew festival, so you get to come out and sample different types of craft brews from all over the state. We have some really amazing breweries here.”
Ace will also have great prices for rafting trips available for the holiday weekend.
