Hotel Californian steps up during community crisis

For most hoteliers opening a new property, getting the word out and ramping up are their biggest concerns in the first few months after the doors open.

At the Hotel Californian in Santa Barbara, California, however, management had unique challenges just a few months after its September 2017 opening: The city and surrounding regions were affected by California’s Thomas Fire wildfire in December, and then the Montecito mudslides in January.

The new-build Hotel Californian, which occupies several buildings just blocks from the ocean and in the heart of Santa Barbara’s bustling beachfront, escaped damage, but found itself in prime position to lend assistance to a region affected by back-to-back disasters.

“Our hearts go out to all our neighbors that lost family and homes through those times; it was heartbreaking” said Hotel Californian GM Warren Nocon. “But it was also uplifting to see how the members of the Santa Barbara community came together to help those devastated by these disasters.”

Nocon said the disasters meant “the hotel went from busy to bursting at the seams,” which meant staff—many of whom were still new to the job—had to mobilize.

“Throughout the fire and mudslide disasters, everyone pitched in to help in any way they could,” he said. “All of our team members jumped in without hesitation, … providing shelter, finding clothes and basic necessities for those who had lost everything, taking care of pets and doing whatever possible to support our neighbors and the community.”

Many of the region’s biggest thoroughfares were shut down because of the disasters, but that didn’t stop the service the Hotel Californian team needed to provide to its guests, many of whom were displaced from their own homes.

“With the 101 Freeway shut down, we paid for people to take the ferry or train just to get to work,” he said. “For employees who worked in the evenings, we set aside rooms in the hotel to enable them to get the working hours they needed and also to ensure our guests were taken care of.”

With the immediate impact of those disasters in the rearview mirror, Nocon said it’s time to make sure “the rest of the country and the world knows that Santa Barbara is still here, still beautiful and remains a world-class travel destination.”