Napa Valley hotel spending jumps 15% in 2015

Napa Valley continues to see a steady rise in tourism, with a steep increase in hotel revenues and extended visitor stays, based on details revealed at a major county tourism meeting.

Figures released at the Visit Napa Valley Annual Sales & Marketing Conference on Jan. 15 at the Meritage Hotel & Resort, revealed revenue from hotel stays last year was $357.2 million, up almost 15 percent from 2014.

“It’s far more robust than we had forecast,” said Clay Gregory, president and CEO, Visit Napa Valley. “Things are going really, really well.”

As of November 2015, countywide hotel occupancy was 71.6 percent, up 5.6 percent from the previous year. The average daily room rate in Napa was $290, while Yountville’s 451 rooms had an average rate of $508, with 85 percent occupancy. With transient occupancy tax, or TOT, revenue totaling $6.25 million in 2015, the town expects that number to reach $6.4 million in 2016.

Lodging businesses in Napa County pay TOT based on 12 percent of the room rate and pay a 2 percent assessment for tourism marketing. A quarter of the assessment stays in the local jurisdiction to support and the rest goes for countywide promotion.

Town Manager Steve Rogers noted that Yountville received recognition in Saveur magazine, ranking it second only to Paris for “splurge-worthy” dining.

Yountville also will be hosting six former NFL players during the Super Bowl, with whom guests can watch the Big Game.

American Canyon, the youngest town in Napa County, saw a 20 percent increase in TOT revenue in 2015, rising to $1.5 million.

With 742 hotel rooms, Calistoga’s TOT revenue in 2014 was almost $4.5 million, according to the latest figures. The town also hosted a number of record-breaking events in 2015, including the annual tractor parade, which drew 11,000 people.

“Things are going very well,” said Chris Canning, mayor and executive director of the chamber of commerce.

In 2014, Calistoga issued 3,500 Winter in the Winery “passports,” and already in 2015, 5,000 are booked. Ground has also been broken on a new resort on the former Silver Rose property, which will be managed by the Four Seasons.

St. Helena’s TOT revenue in 2014 from 208 hotel rooms was $1.73 million, an increase of 8 percent from the previous year, despite a marketing budget of only $75,000.

On the marketing side, each city and town in the valley reported developing a new website, which seems needed every two years now, they said.

Total Napa County visitor spending in 2014 was $1.63 billion, up from $1 billion 2005, Visit Napa Valley discussed at the conference, underscoring data first released in May. Total visitor days in 2014 climbed to 5.5 million, compared with 4.7 million in 2005 The average hotel stay was three days.

Napa will continue to host signature events in 2016. Those include Restaurant Week with special promotions at more than 30 restaurants Jan. 24–31, Arts in April, and Flavor! Napa Valley, which was moved to March 16–20 from November. For Super Bowl 50 in early February, Napa Valley wines will be poured at the Host Committee Thank You Party, to be held at the Cruise Ship Terminal, Pier 27, in San Francisco.

In October, the Safeway Open golf tournament will take place at the Silverado Resort & Spa. The eight-day tournament has 30 wineries signed up to sponsor the event so far, and it will be promoted in all 900 Safeway stores across the country.

In other news, the 47-mile-long planned Vine Trail has received a $6 million grant from the state to complete the tail end of the project from St. Helena to Calistoga. Currently, construction is underway on Solano Avenue in Napa with curbs, rest stops and educational signs. By summer, 12.5 miles will be completed, from south Napa to Yountville.

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