In February 2020, as COVID was breaking, we started a new quarterly survey with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and Explore Minnesota Tourism. We wanted to understand what challenges you were facing.
The Fed wants to understand business conditions in real time. Explore Minnesota Tourism needs to shape how they promote our state around the world. We want a clearer picture of current economic conditions, so we can advocate for policies that work. And, we want to bring you relevant and timely information and resources to help you run your business.
Each quarter, we put out a survey asking hospitality business owners across Minnesota to tell us how things are going. Each survey has repeat questions, so that we can track changes over time. Sometimes, we add one to gain insight on something that is occurring right then. Usually, the survey can be completed in about 10 minutes.
Getting enough is crucial because it helps us tell the story of a specific moment in time and how conditions vary over time. We use the information inform public officials at the state and federal level about what you are facing.
The information gathered through the surveys has been especially helpful during the pandemic, as conditions changed rapidly. We expect that will continue as we focus on recovery efforts. We want to see our members move into a period of growth.
When the results are in, our members receive summary of the findings. This lets you see quarter-over-quarter, and now year-over-year, comparisons where they are meaningful. You can take a look at the summaries going back to Fall 2020 on the web site.
Our next survey will open on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 and remain open for a week. Watch for an email on that date.
