Local hotels had steady increases in occupancies and room rates this year, reflecting national upward trends as the industry continued to climb out of post-recession declines.
The Hilton Anaheim provided a local bellwether this summer when it said it was nearing pre-2008 levels in both numbers.
Several properties—including the Hilton, Westin South Coast Plaza, two Irvine Company properties, the Hotel Irvine, and the Island Hotel—continued renovations to take advantage of the upturn.
The strong market also led to a number of sales, ranging from boutiques in Laguna Beach to a recent deal for the decades-old, 300-room Anaheim Plaza Hotel & Suites across the street from the Disneyland Resort.
Local travel and tourism groups increased their attention to details.
The Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau is in the midst of a rebranding effort to burnish its image.
Leisure and hospitality accounts for 14% of county employment, or about 210,000 jobs, according to figures from the state Economic Development Department.
People to Watch
YouTubers
Not the viral video viewer of yore but the growing gaggle of stars born on the Google-owned online video website, and the crush of fans who follow them.
The local link is the VidCon trade show in Anaheim. The June 2014 event drew 18,000 attendees—up from 1,400 at its Los Angeles inaugural event in 2010.
The 2015 event is scheduled for July 23 to 25.
The hubbub has grown as YouTube has developed “channels.” The mostly young content creators have seized center stage on computers, tablets and smartphones. Hollywood began to take notice as stars such as PewDiePie and Jenna Marbles garnered millions of subscribers, as well as agents and conventional TV and movie deals.
YouTube is now seeking to sign long-term deals with its biggest names. Other sites—including Facebook and a startup called Vessel—want to snag some stars of their own.
Look for the competition to come together in Anaheim, where VidCon could see another significant boost in attendance for its three-day run.
Company to Watch
Montage Hotels & Resorts
The resorts manager had a busy 2014, beginning with a move to a new HQ from Laguna Beach to Irvine.
It had been running operations out of its flagship Montage Laguna Beach resort. The company now has about 50 people at its Irvine office.
The biggest splash was October’s groundbreaking on a $100 million boutique project in San Diego called The Pendry, part of a new Montage division overseen by Michael Fuerstman, son of company founder Alan Fuerstman.
The current and future Pendrys aren’t resorts but urban “lifestyle” hotels connected to hospitality industry efforts to nab hip and well-heeled Millennial guests.
This year Montage went transcontinental: It added duties of managing resorts in Hawaii and South Carolina. A Cabo San Lucas resort also remains in the works. n
