Local moms feel the lure of fishing

As seen in The Ventura County Star

 

Bonding activity also helps introduce kids to the outdoors

By Betsy Crowfoot, Correspondent


Logan Kovarick, 10, was eager to catch his first fish.

Standing on the dock at Lake Casitas, the Carpinteria boy proved a tenacious angler, repeatedly throwing his line against the wind into the choppy green water — pausing only to gasp at the outstretched wings of a great blue heron soaring overhead.

An hour into the outing, Logan had nearly perfected the art of casting, unlike Rebecca Crowley, 14, of Thousand Oaks, whose last furious pitch dislodged the bait from the hook, launching it back in her face.

"Ewww!" she squealed, peeling a six-inch nightcrawler off her cheek.

"Rebecca got worm-slapped!" roared Coco Crowfoot, also 14, of Carpinteria, and the whole group crumbled in laughter.

Welcome to the unpredictable world of moms, kids and the great outdoors.

Fishing and camping have traditionally been Dad's realm. But today, nearly one-quarter of America's children are being raised by single moms. And with that shift has come a disruption in tradition.
Without fathers or grandfathers to bait the hook or set up the tent, more and more children are missing the boat — literally and figuratively — on the great outdoors.

Studies, such as a 2002 report from the University of Florida, have indicated that exposing children to the "complex and dynamic" natural world helps them grow up to be stronger, more flexible adults; with a keen sense of stewardship for the environment.

Author Richard Louv called current trends toward sterile, controlled play, the source of "nature-deficit disorder" in his book, "Last Child in the Woods." Reuniting youngsters with their natural surroundings, he said, is therapeutic for both kids and Mother Earth.

So a handful of intrepid moms and youngsters recently set off for Lake Casitas in search of fish, adventure and a new legacy.

Just 10 minutes north of Ventura, the 2,500-acre reservoir was close, convenient and accommodating. Park Services Officer Rob Weinerth met the group, introducing himself to the youngsters as "Ranger Rob," and helped select the menu for the day: a buffet of nightcrawlers, mealy worms and mackerel.
With the aid of several park hosts, he showed the kids how to attach hooks and bait to a cache of loaned rods and reels, then advanced to the tricky art of casting, and intermittent checking of nibbled-off worms, rebaiting and recasting.

"For kids, fishing can be hard because they're impatient," admitted Jan Kovarick, Logan's mother. "But this is one of those situations when you've got a lot of time for things to come to the surface. If parents and kids have anything to talk about, this is the time to do it."

'The cool factor'
 
While Jan was looking to connect with her son, Connie Crowley was seeking to "increase the cool factor."

Her teenage daughter Rebecca, and her son Maxx and his friend Harrison Merritt, both 12, "got a kick out of the idea of me taking them fishing because it's out of the general mom mode," she said. "I want them to know that certain activities are not gender-based."

Although no one was catching, the group wasn't deterred. The boys alternately fished or skateboarded along a roadway edged with poppies and lupine. The girls giggled as an overly curious mallard tried to steal Coco's lure. Fast-moving clouds decorated the sky, and the lake turned a frothy green.

Despite the idyllic setting, there were few visitors. Attendance at Lake Casitas has steadily declined over the past decade, said Ranger Rob, who identified competition from extracurricular sports and activities as the culprits.

"Parents aren't taking their kids fishing anymore," he observed.

Concurrently the fishing industry has bemoaned a decline in the sport, as reflected in sales of licenses. Thirty years ago, more than one in 10 Californians carried a sportfishing license; nowadays it's less than 3 percent, with just 1.4 million issued in 2005. License fees have increased $10 in the past decade to $34.90, prompting more people to opt for an $11.30 day pass.

The promise of fish
 
To encourage residents to try their hands at fishing, the California Department of Fish and Game sponsors two license-free days each year (June 10 and Sept. 23 in 2006). And private recreational entities like Lake Casitas continue to lure anglers with the promise of fish, fish and more fish.
In addition to trout and bass, Lake Casitas is regularly stocked with Florida bluegill, black crappie and catfish, according to Ranger Rob, that the average person can catch with ease.

"It doesn't really matter what you catch," explained young Harrison. "You can catch anything, and you feel really proud of yourself."

"It's an adrenaline rush," Coco said, recalling her initiation as an angler.

"At 30-something, I still remember my first fish," Ranger Rob said. "I was 4 years old, fishing off a pier in San Luis, and I caught a big cabazon. My dad helped me bring it up because it was too big.
"It's still exciting to catch fish, and be with friends and family when you do it," he continued. "I've made it out on the water 60 to 90 days a year since I was 12. For our family it's a lifestyle; we'll probably be fishing until we die."

Predictably, Ranger Rob was the driving force behind annual Kids Fishing Days at Lake Casitas. Free events aimed at getting kids hooked on fishing included casting games, prizes and ponds jam-packed with Trout. Most of the 333 youngster who attended March 25 caught their first fish ever.

Eric's Tackle Shop in Ventura provided hooks, line and sinkers for the event. "I love to see kids fish," said proprietor Eric Huff. "I don't know too many kids who go out there, who don't end up loving it once they catch a fish. They go berserk!"

For youngsters like Logan, still awaiting that sweet moment of success, the payoff is worth the wait.
"I bet it'll feel cool," he whispered shyly, looking forward to that rite of passage.

"Just being out here, letting Logan cast a few times, has been worthwhile," his mom added.

"Anything that gives kids a little more confidence in handling something they've never done before is just awesome."

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Reprinted courtesy of Ventura County Star.

 Copyright 2006, Ventura County Star. All Rights Reserved.

Baiting the hook: Sportfishing needs to lure new followers

As seen in Pacific Coast Business Times  Outdoor Recreation

By Betsy Crowfoot Special to the Business Times Bordered by ocean on two sides, speckled with lakes in between, the tri-county region is an angler’s paradise.  But there’s trouble in paradise, according to some area businesses, which have reported a declining interest in recreational fishing. Sales of fishing licenses—the leading barometer—have continued in a 20-year downslide. And the backlash is being felt by related businesses, forcing the industry into an upstream battle for survival. Nationwide, California ranks second only to Florida in the economic impact of fishing, according to a 2002 analysis by the American Sportfishing Association. Almost $1.3 billion in salaries and wages—43,000 jobs—are attributed to recreational fishing statewide, with related retail sales of $2.4 billion, plus $62 million in state taxes. But the number of ‘a-fish-ianados’ is slipping. In 2005, 1.2 million residents purchased fishing licenses, as opposed to two million, 30 years ago. “Back in the 1960s we established our name for Halibut fishing, White Seabass, White Sharks ... fish you’d consider rare now,” said Channel Islands Sportfishing, or CIS, Assistant Manager Jeff Morgan. The company, which has operated for five decades under various names, has relied on repeat business from both outside of the region and within, to keep revenue up as customers and fish populations waned. “There’s less fishing now than there was,” Morgan said, with “aggressive advertising” helping to weather the storm. “We’re putting it out there quite a bit.” Recently CIS exhibited at the Fred Hall Fishing Tackle and Boat Show, and began radio and billboard advertising. Expanding to whale watching has also helped keep their business afloat. Saltwater fishing accounts for about 60 percent of sales at Eric’s Tackle Shop in Ventura, where owner Eric Huff said he too has taken a hit as a result of tighter governmental restrictions on species and habitat, including the Channel Islands Marine Protected Areas. “Things have gotten tougher with all the closures. The season shuts down; we have practically two months of inactivity,” Huff said. They have expanded into bird hunting ammunition, and begun more robust marketing, including more industry shows and advertising. Another factor Huff observed is a marked decline in the number of young anglers. “Fishing isn’t cool anymore. Kids are into extreme sports: they want a quick thrill, something that doesn’t require patience.” In response, Huff supports children’s fishing programs, including the mid-March Kids Fishing Day at Lake Casitas. He supplied all the hooks, lines and sinkers for the free daylong angling event. “I don’t know too many kids who can go out there and not end up loving it. Once they catch a fish they go berserk.” “I love to see kids fish,” Huff said. “It’s fun, and it’s the future of my business.” Getting kids hooked on fishing is a key focus for Lake Casitas Park Services Officer Rob Weinerth too. “Parents aren’t taking their kids fishing anymore,” he said, blaming extra-curricular activities and the hectic pace of family life. As a result, Weinerth has spearheaded children’s fishing days, and increased the number of easy-to-catch, self-sustaining fish species at Lake Casitas. “Western Florida Blue Gill, Black Crappie and Catfish are fish the average person is able to catch,” he said, increasing the level of excitement that will lure future anglers. In addition, Weinerth said they’re dedicated to maintaining the world-class bass fishing that keeps them on the front page of the fishing news, and a prime destination for tournaments. “We run as a private enterprise, so we don’t get tax money per se,” Weinerth said. “All the money we spend comes from user fees, so if we don’t make it, we don’t stay open.” He hoped current programs would continue to attract newcomers to the sport, despite continually increasing license fees. Even as the number of licensees has decreased, California’s Department of Fish and Game has upped fees annually. The current cost is $34.90: a far cry from the $3 annual fee 30 years ago—when one-in-10 Californians carried a license. Huff insisted the requirement for fishing licenses is a case of detrimental double dipping. “There’s a 10 percent excise tax built into anything fishing-related manufactured in the U.S.,” Huff explained. “When you buy a pack of sinkers, 10 percent is supposed to go to the fisheries.” One fishing manufacturer who’s found a niche that hasn’t lost its luster is MacDaddy’s Lures. The Shell Beach company, founded by retired jewelry designer ‘Mac’ McBurney and Teri Conrad, produces luxury lures of precious metals and gems. “The fish just love diamonds and rubies,” announced McBurney, who said the company’s solid gold, engraved and jewel-encrusted lures and flies are meant to be fished with. “They’re lucky.” Prices start at $20 and skyrocket to $1 million and, “orders are pouring in,” McBurney said. “Holy Mackerel!” he said. “The response surpassed our wildest dreams.” Regardless of the level of interest people have in fishing; the fish are biting. According to United Anglers of Southern California President Tom Raftican, “The fishing is pretty good out there now.” Raftican pointed to record halibut and largemouth bass, landed in California waters recently. “We’ve got great fisheries going on. You can’t judge fishing overall by one species or one region. Are some areas hurting financially? Yeah. But there are more people out there saltwater fishing, overall in California, and the fishing is great.” For tri-county businesses, the challenge will remain getting the word out, and luring a pool of new anglers in years to come.

Glass firm has clear view to successful future

As seen in Pacific Coast Business Times

By BetsyCrowfoot

One year after their acquisition of Bob’s Glass in Santa Barbara, two Ventura couples have demonstrated the path to success is crystal clear. 

Robert and Deanna Quintanilla Jr. and Enrique and Michele Padron acquired Bob’s Glass – a producer of high end custom glass doors, windows, skylights and mirrors – one year ago. By March 2004 the firm had cracked $300,000 in sales, “the biggest month ever in the history of the company,” said Mrs. Quintanilla, who attributed impeccable quality, customer service, and a sharp eye on the bottom line.

Bob’s Glass was founded 35 years ago and operated by John Rowbottam for the last quarter century. Quintanilla and Padron were the lead glaziers for the successful Gutierrez Street facility when Rowbottam sold the business to out-of-town management. “They didn’t have a handle on the level of quality and kind of custom work that was done in Santa Barbara,” explained Mrs. Quintanilla, and shortly the business was back on the block.

The Quintanillas and Padrons soon found themselves in the drivers seat. With the purchase of the company the men were suddenly employers, supervising people who had only recently been friends and co-workers. Their homes were leveraged. They spent nights cramming CAL/OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) laws and contractor licensing board requirements. 

 “Robert and Enrique were always perfectionists, but now they were financially motivated to be master craftsmen and master estimators,” said Mrs. Quintanilla. It was an obvious shift in dynamics, she added, but they both stepped up to the plate.

And in stepped Mrs. Quintanilla and Mrs. Padron, too. Mrs. Quintanilla had experience as a senior financial analyst and owned a Carpinteria-based eatery for four years. She joined Bob’s Glass as full-time chief financial officer.

Mrs. Padron had enjoyed a longstanding career in law and administration until 1997 when she became a bilingual educator. She was enlisted as corporate secretary.

 “We weren’t apprehensive about taking on the role as business owners because we were already in that mindset,” said Mrs. Quintanilla. Messrs. Padron and Quintanilla had been in the process of forming their own glassworks during the interim owner phase.

“This just jump-started us ten years.”

The quartet purchased Bob’s Glass though a buy-out of shares of the existing business, Mrs. Quintanilla noted, against the counsel of their legal and financial advisers. “It was risky, but strategic. We acquired all the assets of the corporation: a $60,000 Italian polishing machine; a fleet of trucks; all the inventory; a facility that was already set up for glass.”

They computerized operations, reducing estimating and production times. “Production is running at a higher level and a lot more efficiently,” said Quintanilla.

But it did take nearly one year for the company to recover from the “hiccup” which occurred when the previous short-term owner was in place; and get old contractors back on board and line up bigger volume and commercial projects.

Said Mrs. Quintanilla, “The contractors who knew Robert and Enrique as craftsmen already had respect for them and their reputation,” – a reputation built on nothing less than 100 percent perfection.  

Their typical installation is the Montecito home designed by a world-class architect, with glass windbreaks, sand-blasted artwork, all the bells and whistles. “It’s all custom, high end work. There’s nothing standard about it,” said Mrs. Quintanilla. “They’re not replacing a shower with a $300 door from Home Depot.”

But with that big ticket comes an expectation of impeccable quality and service.

“Glass has to be installed just right, or else you eat it,” Quintanilla added. “There’s no forgiveness in the material.” Once glass is tempered (a heat process) it cannot be cut or modified.

While Bob’s Glass established a quality reputation in the estates of Montecito, Mrs. Quintanilla said they don’t want to be thought of as “so high end we can’t service our friends next door.“

“We’ve added variety and branched out in numerous different fields,” Quintanilla said, eyeing a goal of $2-million in sales in 2004.

One thing you won’t see at Bob’s Glass though is automobile or stained glass. “We think it’s wise to stay focused, be good at what you’re doing,” said Mrs. Quintanilla, while her husband added the company may endeavor to expand geographically in to Ventura and northern Santa Barbara counties.

Additionally, the company hopes to gain further inroads with contractors: currently 70 percent of their business is to end users. But the large inventory of glass, custom capability, and possession of the only sand-blasting booth on premise at a glass company locally, make Bob’s Glass a unique and viable supplier for the building trade.

Bob’s Glass is a unique employer too. After the acquisition the entire staff chose to stay on board. Since then the company has more than doubled in size to embrace 11 full time employees, plus the four principals. “We are very concerned with our business atmosphere,” Mrs. Quintanilla said. “We treat our employees as very important assets of the business too.”

Bob’s Glass

Brief Desc:                   High end and custom glass and mirror designs and installation, including tempered, and annealed glass; plate glass, obscure glass, mirror and plexiglass; glass block and custom sandblasted designs, for windows, commercial storefronts, shower, tabletop, skylight, patio and other installations.

Headquarters:               717 East Gutierrez St., Santa Barbara, CA 93105

                                    (805) 966-4134 www.bobsglass.net

Annual Revenue:           $1.5-million sales in 2003

Employees:                  15 full time employees located at the company’s 4,500 sq ft facility

President:                     Robert Quintanilla Jr.

Vice President:              Enrique Padron

CFO:                            Deanna Quintanilla

Secretary:                     Michele Padron

Tri-County ranchers have a beef with market closures

As seen in Pacific Coast Business Times

By Betsy Crowfoot 

Domestic sales of beef and cattle have withstood the aftermath of the December 2003 discovery of Mad Cow Disease within the U.S. border, but area cattle ranchers are still awaiting the re-opening of lucrative overseas markets – a closure which has driven prices down nearly 15 percent.

All told, recovery from the detection of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in a Washington state cow has been slow but, “not nearly as bad as what we might have anticipated,” said Roger Miller, a north San Luis Obispo County rancher who runs about 600 beef cows out of his Parkfield ranch.

Evidence of BSE was discovered in a cow harvested December 9, 2003, via government testing programs enacted in 1990. The U.S. has had a “triple firewall strategy” to prevent the spread of BSE according to Ben Higgins, Executive Director of the California Cattlemen’s Association, since the consumption of beef with BSE was linked to cases of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease in Great Britain – a finding which turned British ranchers into paupers and outcasts.

Domestic restrictions began in 1989 and within a year the U.S. had begun a strict testing policy of any animal showing symptoms of neurological disorder. “We were the first country to have this in place, without actually having the disease within our borders,” Higgins said, noting that, “hundreds of thousands of samples have been taken and there has been just this one positive case.”

Higgins was quick to reveal the diseased cow had been born in Canada, and prior to 1997 restrictions prohibiting the feeding of ruminant animals (those with a four-chambered stomach: cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo, deer and elk) with proteins derived from other mammals (i.e. meat byproducts and bone meal). BSE is spread through contaminated feed, particularly that made with brain, spinal cord and other neural tissue.

Despite these measures, in December 2003, “we saw countries representing 95 to 100 percent of our beef export market shut down overnight. It had significant impact,” said Higgins. The U.S. exports $3-billion in beef and cattle annually; $170-million from California. Beef is one of State’s top ten agricultural exports and within the Tri-County area, nearly 4.4-million acres are grazed by roughly 165,000 head of cattle annually.

“There was some effect, right after it was discovered,” said Miller, who also serves as president of the San Luis Obispo chapter of the California Cattlemen’s Association. The discovery of BSE chopped 20 to 25 cents a pound off the price of cattle ready for harvest. Still, Miller credited industry-wide education programs with keeping consumer confidence high, saying, “It’s not nearly as bad as the European or Canadian market.” 

And he noted that prior to December’s Mad Cow Disease scare, the price of beef had been at record levels. “It was higher than it had been in a long time,” said Miller. The discovery of BSE, “knocked the market down some, but it’s still better than what we were used to for quite a few years.”

But Higgins pointed out that cattle ranching is a business where profit margins are typically, “slim to none.”

“This is just one more issue causing strain on the rancher’s bottom line,” said Higgins, adding that the lack of available grazing land is one of the primary issues affecting ranchers. “Competition for grazing leases can be cut-throat.

“The large tracts of land necessary to run a viable cattle operation are being bought up by private individuals or environmental groups that limit their viability for use for cattle.”

Recently California Department of Fish and Game acquired 13,000 acres of San Luis Obispo County property, Miller said, and is eyeing 13,000 more. “This limits the amount of grazing land … and whenever a State Agency purchases land it takes that property off the tax rolls and the county loses revenue. It is one of the worse things that hurts us, county-wide.”

“These are much greater issues for most of these guys, than BSE,” noted Higgins – issues which may drive ranchers out of the region.

Compounding these factors is the anticipation of a dry season, according to Richard Nock, another Tri-County rancher, who said, “We are looking into the barrel of a drought.”  Many regional ranchers are cow-calf operators, he noted, selling the calves to farms in the Midwest and elsewhere. If drought conditions persist, local ranches will be forced to move the cows sooner – reaping a much lower per-pound price for the younger, smaller cattle.

Although rainfall is out of anyone’s hands, some relief is in sight.

On March 3 the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) announced Mexico would start to allow imports of  boneless beef products from animals of less than 30 months of age, as a first step in new agreements with the U.S. 

Philip Seng, USMEF president and CEO, said, “The initial agreement allowing boneless beef covers an estimated 75 to 80 percent of what the U.S. exports to Mexico.”  While this represented a small margin for area ranchers, it offered a promise of things to come.

“The bulk of our exports go to Japan, South Korea and the Pacific Rim,” – roughly 10 to 15 percent of California’s beef production, according to Higgins. The reopening of the Mexican border has provided “optimism about the critically important Asian market.”

For Tri-county ranchers, those borders cannot open too soon. 

“We want to be selling our calves in May, June and July,” said Miller, “and I hope it will all have blown over by then.”

Corporations tighten belts for lean and mean meetings and conferences

As seen in Pacific Coast Business Times

By Betsy Crowfoot

After a capricious two years, conference and business meeting facilities are seeing an increase in business. But don’t be misled: this industry has experienced a dramatic change. Lead times are shorter, stays are briefer, and a general “belt-tightening” has taken place.

“These trends are the most noticeable things about 2003 that we did not see in prior years,” said Ed Galsterer, Director of Marketing at the Four Seasons Resort (Biltmore) Santa Barbara. “There is a general belt-tightening going on. There are fewer attendees, the length of stay is reduced from five days to three, there are not as many spouse programs.”

Galsterer attributed the “weakened economy and the war” to soft sales until recently. “We came out of the gate slower than anticipated in early 2003. But the third and fourth quarter have been excellent.”

A new spa with pool and fitness center helped the 213-room property’s leisure sales make up the shortfall in group business, Galsterer said. “And all that pent-up business has really came on strong in the months of September, October and November,” drawing on 15,000 sq. feet of meeting space.

Still, Galsterer indicated, “Lead time is very short. Which tells us it is still a wary situation. So they’re not giving us the advance notice that was typical of the whole resort industry. We have to react a lot quicker; it requires a lot of quick work on behalf of our catering and banquet teams.”

Beth Olson, Director of Sales and Marketing at Fess Parker Doubletree Resort in Santa Barbara, agreed. “Meetings that used to book two years out, now book one month, even one day. Lead time and planning has been shortened. People don’t decide until their quarterly reports come out.”

 “A lot of fluff has gone out,” Olson continued. “There is still some fun, like beach parties. And the guests are more sophisticated with their food; they want a restaurant quality event.” Nearly 50-percent of Fess Parker’s business is in corporate group sales, tapping 23,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, 360 guest rooms and three restaurants.

“But what used to be a national meeting is now smaller more frequent regional meetings,” Olson said. “And we’ve seen our customers raise the bar with regard to educational content. Now, there has to be a return on investment.”

Sycamore Mineral Spring Resort in San Luis Obispo saw a surge in travel shortly after the terrorist attacks of 2001. “It mostly came from the fact that people didn’t want to fly,” said Gabriel Rivas, Head of Group Sales for the century-old resort, with meeting space for 100 and 74 guest rooms. 

But by December 2001, “People who were able to alter their plans just stopped traveling. It has been pretty slow,” said Rivas, “lower than we’ve seen in the years before September 11.”

Rivas also attributed the decline to the California budget crunch, noting, “A lot of regional groups were tied in to the State budget, and that has been a big blow to us.” 

Partly as a result of this, and new ownership, the Resort recently beefed up its’ health and wellness facilities. “We have a new yoga dome and retreat center; we are shifting the focus to pull in new people,” Rivas said.

Mandalay Beach Resort has been able to weather peaks and valleys by building good will, while banking on a prime location.

“Immediately after September 11 our corporate office (Hilton) worked with customers to forego penalties on the groups we did lose immediately, and encouraged them to come back,” said Susan Koehler, Director of Sales and Marketing.

“They were appreciative of the stance we took and all but one rebooked by the end of a year.”

Koehler said Mandalay Beach Resort also benefits from an “offshore experience without the air travel.” The beachfront property has 248 two-room suites and continental breakfast. “Many attendees bring their families. Tying together business and pleasure is a growing trend, and as a result we have a high percentage of materialization at conferences here.”

“There has been a little bit of change, there are other modes of communication,” Koehler said. “But it’s still important to bring people together to network and disseminate information successfully.”

Even the smaller venues are gearing up for what they hope will be an upswing in business as they enter the holiday season and fourth quarter. Sage and Onion recently added a separate boardroom dining facility to their upscale Santa Barbara restaurant.

“I’ve increasingly seen a demand for this from our area businesses,” said proprietor Steven Giles. His “Table For Twelve” seats 12 to 20 in a subdued 360 sq. ft. private room, suitable for breakfast meetings, sales presentations or client parties. “In lieu of meeting out-of-town, they’ll have their meeting at their facility, but top it off with a special dinner here.”

And the potential rebound holds so much promise, the city of Grover Beach has reincarnated a task force assigned to lure a major hotel or conference center to Pismo Beach.

The idea, originally conceived in the early 1980s, had been, “a very agonizingly slow process,” said Ronald Anderson, Grover Beach City Manager. But recently the City adopted 17 goals and at the top of the list was the conference center, Anderson said. “Our goal is to facilitate it to the fullest extent of the city’s ability and accomplish this as soon as possible.”

As a member of the San Luis Obispo County Visitor and Conference Bureau, Anderson has been monitoring travel industry trends. “When we analyzed the post-September 11 situation and looked at what happened to San Francisco and Los Angeles, who rely on visitors flying in, we held our own.”

Adding a facility of 150 or more guest rooms and roughly 80,000 sq. ft. of meeting and conference space, would increase tourism, jobs and tax revenue, he said.

 “There are a number of state-wide and regional conferences that don’t even consider this part of the Central Coast, because there is not sufficient meeting space. We could easily be in that rotation,” said Anderson. “Where other areas may not be as attractive weather wise, we have that and other attractions: Hearst Castle, the beach, Wine country. And we could be very competitive.”

In fact, most properties indicated their confidence in the Tri-Counties’ strong regional market, rich in industry, that does not rely on customers who fly in.

“We really don’t anticipate a dramatic decrease in occupancy,” said Four Seasons’ Galsterer, “because we still have the country’s number two market base only 90 miles down the road.”