No longer California’s best-kept secret, the Central Coast has a high-profile these days as a destination encapsulating the best of the Golden State. Its Mediterranean climate, celebrated culinary offerings, array of outdoor fun on land and sea, along with growing air accessibility, are proving a strong draw for meetings from far and near.
Ventura County
The southern gateway to the Central Coast, Ventura County includes the beachside communities of Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo and Port Hueneme, which are collectively marketed by an organization called Ventura County Coast.
“We encompass four cities and 60 hotels, all of which work very well together,” explained Victor Dollar, spokesman for the organization and chairman of the Ventura County Lodging Association. “We also partner with the local visitors bureaus; it’s a collaborative effort that makes the most of marketing dollars. If a planner contacts us, we can send out leads throughout the area and help them find the hotel that best suits their needs.”
What planners will find in all of the cities is an expanded and refreshed selection of hotels and meeting spaces, according to Dollar.
In Ventura, major meetings hotels such as the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach & Convention Center, Ventura Beach Marriott and Four Points by Sheraton have either completed or are wrapping up renovations. In addition, the Holiday Inn Express is planning a 40-room expansion. In Oxnard, approvals are in the final stages for a 200-room Hyatt House to be built in a prime harbor-side location.
While meeting groups of up to 350 can be accommodated, Dollar said the ideal group size for the county is about 150. The county attracts a wide range of groups, including scientific organizations drawn to the rich marine ecosystem of the Channel Islands just offshore.
“Of course, we get a lot of business from nearby Los Angeles and Orange County, but we’re also seeing a number of groups coming in from Las Vegas, Arizona and Dallas,” he said. “A big factor is our comfortable year-round climate—when it’s triple-digits in those places, we’re in the 70s or 80s.”
Another big draw is the array of outdoor activities, including a coastal bike path, hiking in the nearby mountains, whale watching and kayaking, Dollar said.
“We also offer a number of farms and ranches that are great for events, as well as many wineries,” he said.
A growing craft beer scene, which includes the Surf Brewery, Poseidon Brewing Company, Topa Topa Brewing Company and Ventura Coast Brewing Company in Ventura, as well as Red Tandem Brewery in Oxnard, is also providing options for groups.
“These craft breweries are tremendously popular with groups,” Dollar said. “Along with a tour and tasting, you can bring in food trucks for a fun and casual event.”
Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara County is living up to its moniker “American Riviera” more than ever these days, according to Michelle Carlen, director of sales for Visit Santa Barbara.
“Santa Barbara is in the midst of an exciting time, with new hotel development and rebranding putting us front and center as a place to rediscover for meetings and events,” she said. “We’re ideal for groups of under 1,000 attendees, including board meetings, advisory groups and small to medium conferences.”
In particular, Santa Barbara is a growing magnet for high-end resort meetings, home to such properties as Bacara Resort, which was recently acquired by Ritz-Carlton and is scheduled for major enhancements, and the classic Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara, which celebrated its 90th anniversary this year. Just opened in September is the Hotel Californian, a stylish property featuring Spanish Colonial/Moorish design with a modern twist and event space that includes a rooftop pool deck with mountain and ocean views. In addition, the five-star Rosewood Miramar Beach Montecito is coming online next year.
Linking points within downtown Santa Barbara is a recently updated city-operated shuttle system that runs through the city’s main shopping areas with stops at such places as Stearns Wharf and the Santa Barbara Zoo. The city’s newest attraction and off-site venue is MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, which offers interactive science exhibits that include a giant walk-in guitar and build-your-own racecars and a rooftop event space with a telescope called the Sky Garden.
“What we emphasize to planners is that we’re a retreat and getaway destination—we’re close enough to L.A., but you really feel you’ve gone somewhere else,” Carlen said. “You can provide a wide variety of experiences very easily, whether it’s Segway tours along the waterfront, a sunset cruise, hang gliding, horseback riding on the beach and much more.”
With over 220 wineries within the county, wine-themed options for groups abound, even within downtown Santa Barbara where the Urban Wine Trail links over three-dozen tasting rooms.
PageBreakLocated 35 miles up the coast from Santa Barbara, the Danish-themed village of Solvang is in the heart of the county’s wine region. Meetings-friendly properties include the 122-room Hotel Corque, which offers an acclaimed restaurant and over 8,000 square feet of meeting space; The Landsby, a 41-room boutique hotel featuring modern Scandinavian design; and Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort, a 10,000-acre property with two golf courses and a private lake. A new venue in downtown Solvang, the K’Syrah Catering & Events center, is available for meetings and events for up to 300 people.
“We’ve been known as a leisure destination for a long time, but now we’re seeing business from small meetings really getting strong, especially midweek when our rates can drop by half,” said Tracy Farhad, executive director of the Solvang CVB.
In addition to a Wine Passport that encourages visits to the village’s 22 tasting rooms, groups can enjoy wine-pairing dinners, blending seminars at dozens of nearby wineries, including Sunstone Winery and Buttonwood Farm Winery & Vineyard.
“We also offer teambuilding activities that tie into the Danish heritage of Solvang,” Farhad said. “People can learn about making Danish pastry form a fourth-generation baker or decorate gingerbread houses at the Solvang Bakery, which is famous for them. We even have a Danish-style treasure hunt where people explore the town and post what they’ve learned on social media.”
San Luis Obispo County
With expanding flight service, increased marketing dollars and a wealth of new properties ranging from a destination resort to downtown boutique hotels, San Luis Obispo County is in the best position it’s ever been for group business, according to Michael Wambolt, director of travel trade for Visit SLO CAL.
While long thought of as a drive-to destination, the region got a major boost as an air gateway with the opening of a new terminal with food service and other amenities at the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport in November. The terminal comes on the heels of new daily service to Seattle on Alaska Airlines and to Denver on United Airlines. The new service augments existing multiple daily flights to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix.
“We’re very accessible now, which is something we’re emphasizing to planners,” Wambolt said. “A lot of people don’t even know we have an airport, but you can actually connect from all around the country.”
Another boost is coming from the creation of a county-wide marketing district that includes more funding for meetings promotion, he added.
“We have more ability now to penetrate larger markets with promotion, which we’re taking beyond the West Coast, including internationally,” he said. “It’s a little early to know the impact, but our meeting hotels are already seeing an increase in business.”
The county’s upscale hotel product is rapidly expanding, most recently with the debuts of the Inn at the Pier in Pismo Beach and Allegretto Vineyard Resort in Paso Robles. In spring 2018, Pismo Beach will also welcome Vespera on Ocean, a Marriott Autograph Collection property. Slated for downtown San Luis Obispo are Hotel Obispo and Hotel Serra San Luis Obispo, boutique properties offering about 80 guest rooms as well as restaurants and meeting space for small groups.
A further addition to the region may be a conference center. A feasibility study was recently completed that calls for a free-standing facility with a 20,000-square-foot ballroom that accommodates groups of up to 1,000.
“Currently the cities of San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles and Pismo Beach are looking at the study results, so it could be located in either of those cities,” Wambolt said. “It would really be a great addition to our area, providing stable business year-round.”
For teambuilding, Santa Margarita Ranch outside of San Luis Obispo combines both outdoor adventure with wine tasting, with groups able to zipline over the vineyards and then enjoy some of the on-site Ancient Peaks Winery’s signature products. Located on the property is Oyster Ridge, an event venue with mountain and vineyard views that can host up to 250.
“Part of the experience can be learning about how the land has been used for thousands of years,” Wambolt said. “You’ll see an outcropping where prehistoric oysters have been found—it’s their calcium that aids in wine production to this day.”
Along with wine tasting, groups can enjoy tours and tastings at Krobar and Re:Find, distilleries in Paso Robles using locally grown grapes and other fruits for making a variety of liqueurs and spirits. A local company, Breakaway Tours, offers excursions to the distilleries as well as to area wineries.
