STR Tracking for Sonoma County
Things to Note:

  • 49 of the county’s 112 hotels report to STR
  • In April, 13 of those 49 hotels were closed
  • The average from other destinations includes: Napa, Palm Springs, Monterey, South Lake Tahoe, and Vallejo/Napa Valley
  • For more information on how data is calculated due to hotel closures, please refer to this document
Smith Travel Research (STR) is the recognized leader in hospitality industry benchmarking around the globe. Powered by the world's largest hotel data sample, they deliver confidential data, accurate and actionable insights, and comprehensive solutions to empower decisions. Discover how STR collects data, how it is calculated, and a glossary of terms, by clicking here . 
Destination Analysts Key Findings to Know
From the 6/1 Destination Analysts' Coronavirus Travel Sentiment Report
  • Americans continue to exhibit greater feelings of safety, including towards travel.

  • One in five are already traveling or ready to travel with no hesitations. These Americans have less concerns surrounding the virus, and are more likely to prioritize having new experiences in their lives.

  • Openness to travel inspiration and excitement to take a getaway in the next month jumped up this week.

  • The proportion of American travelers who have at least tentative trip plans in 2020 grew to nearly seven in 10, and Americans’ next air and road trips will be sooner than they reported last week.

  • Travel is commonly seen as integral to health and wellness.

  • Road trips, staying at a beach resort, and visiting national and other parks are among the highest rated relaxing travel experiences.

  • American travelers are also getting more comfortable with tourists in their own communities.

  • Americans continue to exhibit greater feelings of safety, including in their perceptions of travel activities.
Today's Takeaways
From SCT's director of marketing systems & insights, Ariane Hiltebrand
This week, Destination Analysts are seeing a big step towards a more positive travel sentiment among American travelers following reopening news of hotels and attractions in some parts of the country. As we noted last week, decreasing uncertainty and communicating safety measures around travel is key to attracting travelers back, and this is the biggest priority for travel brands now. Likewise, we are seeing that more travelers are revisiting summer months as early as June and July for getting back to travel. In fact, upcoming travel plans for all remaining months of 2020 have increased markedly over last week. 

Highest travel volume is currently expected for September, October and August, but this can also move up further depending on how quickly we see the rest of the country opening to tourism again. 44% of
American travelers expect to travel in fall, up from 35% last week. While 43% of travelers still agree that road trips will be their preferred trip style in the upcoming months, this numbers seems to have peaked and is now slightly decreasing in favor of air travel picking back up again, too. This indicates that travelers are getting more comfortable flying again soon.
Sonoma County remains ideally positioned as a destination for road trips and for the ever-increasing desire to de-stress and relax in a calming scenic setting with natural attractions like beaches and parks. The longer the lockdowns linger, the more people are craving wellness-type vacations when this is all over. 

A quick look at generations shows a surprising shift this week towards Gen-X (41-55) as the generation most ready to travel now with 41% compared to 38% Boomers and 21% Millennials. In the waiting-to-travel category, Millennials are leading with 42%. These findings indicate, that especially now during the early summer months, Gen-X parents and their families are eager to salvage summer travel.