Santa Monica has mass appeal for Canadian travellers
BOB MOWAT
If you’re looking for a way to describe Santa Monica to your client, the most succinct description is ‘laid back luxury.’
As Michael Gurrieri, Chief Marketing Officer for Santa Monica Travel & Tourism (SMTT), explains it, Santa Monica appeals to everyone – families, luxury travellers, multi-generational travellers, arts & culture, outdoorsy, culinary, etc.
And his message to travel agents is “Tell us who your client is and we can curate a vacation for them.”
Gurrieri, along with a delegation of SMTT and hotel representatives, was on a mission to several Canadian cities at the beginning of April, telling travel trade types attending the events that things are going well these days as the city sees its tourism industry booming.
He points out that before the pandemic, 51% of Santa Monica visitors were international and Canada was one of its strongest markets, accounting for between 10% and 12% of its visitors.
Gurrieri’s message to the Canadian trade and their customers is pretty simple – “Come and visit, we’re open.”
In terms of its tourism business, 60% is leisure although that grows to 80% in the summer, but the MICE market does make an impact on the destinations tourism economy.”
Ozzie Otero, National Sales Manager, Global Business Development notes that things have been ‘really busy’ for Santa Monica’s MICE business, telling Travel Courier that RFPs are up between 10% to 12% with a lot of short-term business coming in and it’s a 2-year timeline for business coming in.
Gurrieri describes Santa Monica as Los Angeles’ beach, pointing out that those staying in Santa Monica can get to most L.A. landmarks really easily and it’s also the closest major to LAX.
And while Santa Monica is a beach city, Gurrieri emphasized that it offers an urban scene as well. It’s also a walkable destination, with Gurrieri explaining that historically, 80% of Santa Monica’s visitors don’t use a car while they’re in the destination
The beach city also has a diverse food scene – with close to 500 restaurants and 41 hotels in 8.3 sq. miles – but Gurrieri emphasized it’s a ‘casual dining’ atmosphere, observing that Santa Monica is all about ‘laid back luxury.’
Santa Monica is also a city that’s all about sustainability. The famous Santa Monica Ferris Wheel is solar operated and Santa Monica itself is a LEED Platinum City. So, naturally, it encourages visitors to travel responsibly and when they are there, they should treat it like they’d treat their own city.”
Where to stay? Gurrieri was accompanied by three Santa Monica hoteliers on the recent Canadian sales mission and they offer travel trade types updates on their properties.
Regent Santa Monica Beach
Santa Monica is eagerly awaiting the opening of the Regent Santa Monica Beach this fall and the propety’s Director of Sales and Business Development, Angel De Lara-Hamel provided an update on what to expect when it opens for business.
Renovations at the property began on March 4 and the opening is scheduled for the end of November or early December of 2023.
De Lara-Hamel said that originally the property had 347 rooms, but plans will see rooms combined so that once it opens it will have 200 rooms and they’ll be big — with an entry level room being 720 sq ft. Oceanfront rooms will feature firepits and the hotel will be adding three townhouses starting from 2700 sq ft.
As for food & beverage, De Lara-Hamel said the property will be bringing in a Michelin starred chef and it will be announcing who that chef will be shortly.
Casa del Mar and Shutters on the Beach
Melissa Perez – Director of East Coast Leisure Sales – Casa del Mar & Shutters on the Beach (both 5 star properties), explains that these are two separate properties located right next to each and with the same owner.
She describes Shutters as a New England, Cape Cod Beach House style property that is like staying at a friend’s house in the Hamptons. It’s intimate, cozy and ‘feels like a boutique hotel, but it’s not.’
As for Casa del Mar, Perez says it is in the style of a Mediterranean beach resort — it’s grand with an airy, relaxed, fun vibe and it has a great bar scene and compared to Shutters, there’s a little more energy at the property.
For Canadian agents, Perez pointed out that the hotels cater to every type of traveller with the focus on the leisure market, although she said the properties do some small group and corporate traveller business and they get lots of repeat guests.
During the recent trip to Canada, Perez told the trade here that Canada is one of the properties’ key markets… and the recent visit to Canada was all about reminding Canadian agents that Santa Monica is there ‘waiting for their clients.’
Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows
Located four blocks north of the famous Santa Monica pier, the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows sits on five acres and the property’s Director of Leisure Sales, Danielle Gambardella describes it as an urban resort with a boutique ambience inside.
She also makes it clear that the property ‘definitely has a vibe’ all its own,’ pointing out that because of its location, it gets a lot of locals as well as the visitors that it welcomes from all over the world, ‘so, we’re always busy,” but don’t worry about feeling crowded ‘because we’re on five acres, there’s always plenty of space.’
The Fairmont is also unique as it has 31 bungalows ranging in size from one- to three-bedrooms offering guests a more private experience.
The property recently celebrated its 100th anniversary and has renovated its lobby and lounge spaces, as well as adding a new sushi restaurant called Soko Sushi and it has also created Wellness and Fitness suites — something unique for a hotel.
Before COVID, Gambardella said that Canada was its largest market and with the lifting of restrictions on Canadian travel, she’s anticipating that Canadians will return to the property.
