Dear Industry Partners,
Maybe the most helpful update I get each week comes from Visit California’s Industry Relations team, which moves around California talking to you, the industry, about issues you’re experiencing.
Business owners and managers provide real-life situations, offer suggestions on how to resolve issues and sometimes reach out for help. It is invaluable information for Visit California staff.
I was particularly struck by the most recent accounting, which described the struggle a Pacific Beach hotel was having enforcing face-covering policies. The General Manager reported that an increasing number of guests from Nevada and Arizona are refusing to wear masks, and that the property has lost business by enforcing it. The guests make a lot of excuses, he said, even after hotel staff offers them a mask for free. Meanwhile, the cost of masks is increasing, and some guests are abusing the free mask policy by asking for multiple masks each day. He noted that some businesses in San Diego are assessing a COVID-19 surcharge to keep up with rising costs of doing business during the pandemic.
I admire the General Manager’s insistence on enforcing mask policies at the property. Visit California supports Gov. Newsom’s recent
face-covering order, and I encourage all industry partners to do the same.
Masks are now required in any high-risk situation, including anywhere indoors or standing in line to go inside. Employees must wear face coverings when:
- Interacting with members of the public.
- Working in any space visited by the public.
- Working around food preparation, packaging or distribution.
- Working in or walking through common areas such as hallways, elevators and stairwells.
Study after study have shown that face coverings reduce the risk of transmitting or receiving coronavirus. Combined with proper social distancing, enhanced sanitation protocols and avoidance of group events outside your household, face coverings will reduce the coronavirus spread. Moreover, wearing masks and seeing workers and others masked extends a measure of comfort to consumers when they arrive at a restaurant, hotel or other tourism property.
It is no fun turning away customers or policing their behavior because they refuse to follow a simple safety policy. And there is a cost involved in implementing most of the safety protocols triggered by the pandemic. These are tough moves to make, especially when occupancy is down, restaurant volume has been reduced and margins are thin.
But they are necessary and common-sense illustrations of respect, emphasized in Visit California’s
responsible travel code. Our research could not be clearer: Californians will venture out during this period if they feel safe. We should do whatever we can do to keep them safe and continue the recovery.
As always, thank you for your support and resilience during this time.
Dream Big!