Amid the most devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County history, hotels are pulling double duty, providing emergency shelter for evacuees while working to keep vital business on the books.
And according to Hotel Association of Los Angeles CEO Jackie Filla, hotels are prioritizing both groups, with the region's pipeline of future meetings and events critical to recovery.
Jackie Filla
"We can do both -- one is not at the exclusion of the other," Filla said. "We haven't said no to a single request that we've gotten from officials or nonprofits, and that's one of the really great things about the hospitality industry: We're problem solvers."
As of Jan. 14, Filla estimated, more than 300 properties across Los Angeles and other parts of Southern California had stepped up to offer discounted rates for Angelenos in need, with many hotels also discounting or waiving pet, parking and other fees.
In the city of West Hollywood, many properties have mobilized to support those displaced by the fires.
"More than half of our hotels have done really steep discounts and deals for people affected by the fires," said Jeff Morris, chief marketing officer for the West Hollywood Travel + Tourism Board. "They're offering everything from percentages off room rates to allowing pets to waiving parking fees."
Hotels in neighboring markets, such as San Diego, Palm Springs and Santa Barbara, Calif., and even as far as Las Vegas, have also joined the relief efforts.
Fred Tayco
Fred Tayco, executive director of the San Diego County Lodging Association, reported that local properties began receiving evacuees almost immediately after the fires broke out on Jan. 7.
"We started getting notifications from members that they were getting displaced L.A. residents in our downtown area, and we quickly realized [the situation] was significant," Tayco said. "Unfortunately, Southern California has gotten very used to things like this, but because of that, our community knows how to respond to an emergency. We've done very well at coming together and helping our neighbors to the north."
The Hotel Association of Los Angeles is also working on possible long-term options, Filla said, citing the success of programs like Inside Safe, which has utilized hotels to help address housing needs in Los Angeles.
Keeping business on the books
While supporting evacuees remains crucial, retaining existing business is also important -- particularly for downtown Los Angeles properties preparing to host major conferences and other events.
"Hotels are the single largest generator of tax [in Los Angeles] outside of property tax," Filla said. "Our message is, as long as it's safe, we need people to come. We want people to come. Don't cancel your meetings, don't cancel your business, don't cancel your leisure travel, because a lot of Los Angeles will be ready to host."
Last week, the BHN Group by Northstar (Northstar Travel Group is the parent company of Travel Weekly) said that the Americas Lodging Investment Summit and its two companion events -- ALIS Law and ALIS Design+ -- will proceed as scheduled the week of Jan. 27 at downtown's JW Marriott/Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles L.A. Live and Courtyard/Residence Inn Los Angeles L.A. Live hotels.
Likewise, the Los Angeles Convention Center said it continues to operate, with scheduled events proceeding as planned.
"Being able to welcome guests is going to be really vital to our recovery effort, to make sure that people keep their jobs and that we're able to collect revenue for the city," Filla said.
Tourism leaders are also keeping a close eye on the entertainment sector, another crucial economic engine for the region.
"Right now, we're in what we call awards season, with things like the Grammys and Oscars coming up," said Morris. "The entertainment business is really important and critical to West Hollywood. Obviously, things will look different this year, and some surrounding events have already been canceled, so we're going to continue to have to monitor that."