TOURISM INDUSTRY NEWS & RESOURCES |
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This partner communication exists to provide timely information on Sonoma County’s tourism and hospitality industry, along with resources to help partners navigate through the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. |
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As travel intentions continue to grow, we’re working to help ensure Sonoma County gains the benefits of travelers, but that we balance our invitation with messages around responsible travel and water conservation. We know the importance of getting customers back into our businesses, but also the critical need to ensure travelers respect our resources and heed the requests to be very careful with water use. While a drought isn’t new to California, the combination of the drought with people’s pent up demand for freedom will make for a challenging summer.
In the next few weeks, please watch for additional resources SCT will provide to our partners incorporating the messages disseminated from the Sonoma County Water Agency. These, along with the Leave No Trace 7 Principles will aim to welcome visitors who want to travel responsibly and respectfully.
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Claudia Vecchio
President and CEO
Sonoma County Tourism
707-522-5804
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Water Conservation/Drought Support
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Sonoma Water Messaging & Resources
In response to the local drought emergency in Sonoma County, Sonoma Water is launching a “Drought is Here. Save Water.” campaign to raise awareness of our increasingly precarious water supply conditions.
Sonoma Water plans to provide businesses with water conservation messaging and resources. These may include: graphics for digital displays, table tents, 8 ½ x 11 signage, mirror clings for restrooms, faucet aerators, low flow shower heads, landscape signage (to explain underwatered landscapes or brown grass), and drought tolerant plants.
Sonoma Water needs your help in determining the items to offer. Please take a moment to select the items you think would prove useful for conserving water at your business by taking our poll below.
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Note: this is not an order form, but rather, data that will be used to decide what to eventually make available. Instructions on how to order available items will be provided in the next few weeks. Questions can be directed to Kelly Bass Seibel at kseibel@sonomacounty.com. Thank you in advance for your help.
Share Your Water Conservation Efforts
Sonoma County Tourism will be crafting its own messaging regarding the drought to communicate to visitors. We kindly ask our partners to share water conservation actions you are either currently practicing or plan to practice in the near future. Your responses will help SCT in its messaging development. Please share your water conservation efforts with marketing@sonomacounty.com.
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Partner Advertising Opportunity
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We’re excited to share a unique paid Co-Op advertising opportunity for partners, with Travelzoo, as part of Sonoma County Tourism’s summer advertising campaign to drive visitation and overnight bookings. Sonoma County Tourism will be hosting a custom landing page on Travelzoo.com for eight weeks during June and July. SCT will leverage emails, social media, and other placements to drive traffic to this dedicated landing page that will feature special offers from Sonoma County hospitality businesses.
If you’re interested in participating in this paid advertising opportunity, ($1,750 investment delivering an estimated 13 million impressions) and have a special offer, submit your offer through this Google form for consideration. All offers must be received by May 17.
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Restaurant Revitalization Fund
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The American Rescue Plan Act established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to provide funding to help restaurants and other eligible businesses keep their doors open. This program will provide restaurants with funding equal to its pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is awarding funding through the Restaurant Revitalization Program to restaurants, bars, and other similar places of business that serve food or drink. The purpose of this funding is to provide support to eligible entities that suffered revenue losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), and appropriated $28.6 billion for SBA to award funds. These appropriations remain available until expended. SBA will continue accepting applications subject to availability of funds. Fund must be used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023. Access SBA’s webpage on the Restaurant Revitalization program here.
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National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW) was May 2-8, and Sonoma County Tourism developed a number of initiatives in appreciation of this important week for our industry. The resiliency of our local tourism industry was commemorated through a series of video interviews and artwork. You can view them in our Resiliency Showcase here.
Sonoma County Tourism also invited local students to submit poetry, paintings, digital drawings, and coloring pages to showcase travel in their own “backyard.” You can enjoy a collage of their work commemorating the Power of Travel here.
Sonoma County Tourism ran an ad in The Press Democrat, The Argus Courier, and The Sonoma Index-Tribune recognizing the workers who represented our industry through 2020. You can view the full-page ad here.
In a show of strength and resolve, Sonoma County Tourism worked with our partners to illuminate properties in “Pinot Purple,” the official color of the hospitality industry, for NTTW. We sincerely thank the following for their participation in this wonderful display of industry unity:
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Anaba Wines
Auteur Wines
Breathless Wines
Encore Events Rentals
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa
Flamingo Resort
Francis Ford Coppola Winery
Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Rohnert Park
Hotel E
Kenwood Inn & Spa
Kunde Family Winery
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Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
Old Courthouse Square
Papa's Pizza Café
Paradise Ridge Winery
Petaluma Village Premium Outlets
Redwood Credit Union
The Sandman Hotel
Town of Windsor - Town Green
Viansa | Vintage Wine Estates
Westwood Estate Wines
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You can view Sonoma County's businesses lit in purple here.
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Environmental Health COVID-19 Fee Offset Program
Businesses permitted through Environmental Health are amongst the many throughout our entire region that have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these businesses have been required to close completely and/or operate in a limited capacity in accordance with both local and state health orders. In evaluating the various Environmental Health programs and limitations placed upon those businesses, some of the most impacted businesses include (1) Restaurants, (2) Body Art, and (3) Pools (Recreational Health).
The criteria used to determine the most impacted businesses were: 1) The business was closed or required to significantly modify operations through a local or state health order; and, 2) The facility permit is issued annually and not on an as-needed basis.
In an effort to provide relief for the fiscal year 2020-2021 annual fees for these specific businesses (which includes lodging properties that have obtained permits for its pools and spas), the Department of Health Services, Environmental Health has proposed a fee offset program for each of the business types listed above.
Review and approval of the proposed program will occur at the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors meeting on May 25, 2021. Please provide feedback directly to the team at Environmental Health by emailing EconRecovery@sonoma-county.org. The deadline to provide feedback is Friday, May 21, 2021.
You can learn more about the Program Offset Proposal here.
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County Supervisors Virtual Corridor Walks
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As part of the 2021 Sonoma County Economic Development Week, the Sonoma County Economic Development Board organized a series of virtual corridor walks with the County Board of Supervisors. Each Supervisor discussed economic development projects and updates in their district. Supervisors were joined by the EDB Business Assistance Team to discuss recovery and resiliency resources available to businesses.
You can view the virtual corridor walks, via YouTube, below:
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Sonoma County Tourism has a Coronavirus Partner Toolkit regularly updated here.
The Sonoma County Economic Development Board has compiled a comprehensive list of local, state, and government resources (including financing options) for businesses at their SoCo Launch website here.
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Get tested and help Sonoma County eliminate the coronavirus. Broad COVID-19 viral testing is now available. Learn more here.
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