After five years of continuous business, the Aurora Inn will close its doors this winter and return to a seasonal facility.

Ann Rollo, the vice president of community and college relations for Wells College, which owns the inn, said a weak economy had slowed down the Finger Lakes region's tourism industry prompting the decision to close down for the winter. The inn will re-open on May 1.

“The hospitality industry has been feeling the effects of a downturn,” Rollo said. “This was the logical step to make.”

Sue Edinger, the inn's general manager, said that while the restaurant closed this past Sunday, and the rooms will be closed next Sunday, they would still do weddings, group retreats and other pre-scheduled events.

Nearly 16 full-time and 24 part-time employees will be affected by the change.

“They will be the first folks we call back in May,” Edinger said. “They have all been working hard and they are loyal.”

Edinger said talks had been going on for the past week about changing the business hours before employees were told on Monday and Tuesday.

“As the opening general manager, this is incredibly sad, we are a tight knit group,” Edinger said.

Rollo said seasonal operations will be nothing new for the inn since that was how business had been conducted before the inn re-opened after undergoing renovations in 2003.

The Aurora Inn is not the only tourism-related establishment to change the way it conducts business, according to a local hotel owner. The Springside Inn in Fleming is evaluating ways to streamline things as best it can, owner Sean Lattimore said Tuesday.

“There's no question we are looking at difficult times,” said Lattimore, who added that Springside will continue to offer its usual lodging, dining and entertainment services

“I think no matter what business you are in, everyone has really taken a good look at their internal operations and at what they are doing,” he said.

The tourism industry in the Finger Lakes region tends to be very seasonal, Lattimore continued, with a lot more business coming in the summer and fall than in the winter. He also said he noticed a lot of local customers from upstate New York vacationing closer to home over the summer.

Lattimore believes the trend will continue with the slowing economy, though he is keeping a “closer eye” in the inn's operations, he said.

“It's an uneasy situation, looking out to the future,” Lattimore said.