Published
October 15, 2025
The historic Riverview Hotel in St. Marys, Georgia, is the closest hotel to the popular Cumberland Island National Seashore, where visitors enjoy pristine white sand dunes covered with sea shells and lined with palm trees and where wild horses, sea turtles and other wildlife live. The hotel, built in 1916, relies on a ferry to take its guests to the island.
But the ferry has been docked since October 1, when the government shutdown began. The ferry is privately owned but must abide by park rules. During a shutdown, visitors may still access the island but it is at their own risk since no park rangers are working there, meaning emergency services are limited. There are also no open washroom facilities or visitor’s centers and no trash pickup.
The lack of easy access to the island is having a devastating impact on the hotel.
“It’s horrible,” Shawna Munro, Assistant Manager at the hotel, said. “I probably lose five to six reservations, minimum, every single day. People are calling and cancelling in advance for even a month out because they don’t know when the island will reopen. I’m losing so much revenue—an enormous amount.”
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Impact of the 2025 shutdown
Munro says the shutdown is leaving the hotel with disgruntled customers who didn’t realize they would not have access to the island because of the government shutdown.
“I have guests that … are very mad because they planned this wonderful vacation and they can’t go,” Munro said. “That’s our main selling point. We’re a historic hotel and we’re right by the island.”
The hotel also has a restaurant that features live music and those aspects of the business are also suffering.
“The shutdown severely affects both sides of our business,” said Munro. “Typically, people come in, go watch music, eat and drink, and stay the night and go to Cumberland. Not only do we lose revenue on them staying here, we lose it in the restaurant as well.”
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A need to end the shutdown
Munro said she “absolutely” supports ending the shutdown as soon as possible.
“I understand that it’s a government shutdown and involves government negotiations back and forth,” said Munro. “But I don’t think it should go so far down the line to reach public transportation and sites. It shouldn’t affect the little things like this.”
When the government partially shut down in 2018, it reduced economic output by $11 billion in the following two quarters, including $3 billion the U.S. economy never regained, analysts estimate.
The Chamber’s Senior Vice President of Small Business Policy Tom Sullivan breaks down the potential impacts to small business contractors, Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, business travel, and more.
More on the Shutdown
About the author
Thaddeus Swanek
Thaddeus is a senior writer and editor with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's strategic communications team.
