VIRGINIA BEACH, Va - Memorial Day weekend is only a few days away.
Plenty of tourists are visiting the Virginia Beach Oceanfront for the holiday weekend, and that means big bucks for hotels.
Business owners and lifeguards say despite weather concerns and staffing shortages, they still remain optimistic.
"I’m more worried about the rain keeping people away," John Zirkle, the president of the Virginia Beach Hotel Association and director of operations for several Hampton Roads hotels.
Zirkle manages several hotels near the Oceanfront including DoubleTree.
Temperatures are expected to be in the 60s for the holiday weekend with a strong chance of rain, according to our News 3 First Warning Weather Team.
Zirkle says hotels are almost booked up to capacity.
"This hotel is at about 85 to 90 percent occupied right now. We expect to be sold out Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We’re expecting similar crowds to Something in the Water," Zirkle said.
Meanwhile, Tom Gill with the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service says 75 lifeguards will be on the Oceanfront during the holiday weekend. He says 220 lifeguards is their goal for the summer. Currently, they're only at 175 lifeguards.
"The water is still going to be cold. If the air temperature is cold and rainy then it’s going to limit the number of people getting on the beach," Gill said. "Over the last two weekends, we put about 35 [lifeguards] through," Gill said.
Gill also showed News 3 a class of lifeguards in training and learning new skills.
"We’re still accepting applications at VBoceanrescue.com," Gill said.
As far as hotels, Zirkle says many of them have staffing shortages and are up to 20 percent short of where they need to be.
"If you need a job, walk into a hotel and say you need a job and we’ll find a job for you," he said. "It’s everything from cooks to front desk agents to bartenders, housekeeps, you name it," Zirkle said. "We have a new normal in a lot of the hotels where housekeeping service is on request. If you’re staying multiple nights, unless you ask, your room is not going to get cleaned every day."
