STR Tracking for Sonoma County
Things to Note:

  • 49 of the county’s 112 hotels report to STR
  • 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 . 
Today's Takeaways
From SCT's director of marketing systems & insights, Ariane Hiltebrand
This week, Destination Analysts are seeing more steps towards a positive travel sentiment among American travelers. 36.7% of American travelers already have very well-developed travel plans and 39.7% have somewhat developed travel plans. Beaches and resorts still top the list of trip destinations, followed by staying with family and friends, and then visiting rural destinations and parks.

This shows a continuous trend towards wellness-type vacations and reconnecting with family and friends. 49.2% indicate that personal safety plays a major role in destination choice, which makes it important that destinations clearly implement and communicate health and safety protocols. Sonoma County is certainly well-positioned as destination to fulfill those “travel as therapy” needs. This week’s findings also reveal that travelers are now predominantly using provider resources for trip planning, topped by hotel websites, online travel agencies, online review websites, airline and attractions’ websites and official tourism office websites, rather than government sites.

Likely places to stay for next trips are hotels (52.5%), homes of friends/family (33.6%), vacation rentals (15.1%), timeshares (9.8%), and campgrounds (7.6%). These findings indicate that travelers are looking to travel providers to thoughtfully restart their marketing efforts through online channels and popular travel planning websites.
Destination Analysts Key Findings to Know
From the 6/9 Destination Analysts' Coronavirus Travel Sentiment Report
  • American travelers’ feelings about their health, financial and travel safety continue to improve.

  • More Americans report they are already traveling or ready to travel.

  • 70% will take at least one leisure trip in the remainder of 2020.

  • Over three-quarters have a developed sense of where and when their next leisure trip will take place and the majority say there is little chance of cancellation.

  • 40% say their next road trip will take place this Summer.

  • Safety considerations are still important to travelers’ decision-making, from which destination they choose to visit, to the hotels they select.

  • Younger generations are likelier to use a diverse set of social media and digital tools for their trip research, while Baby Boomers are more likely to concentrate their travel research activity on web searches.

  • Four in ten conventions/conference travelers would be happy to attend a convention in the Fall.