Coronavirus Toolkit

• California / Napa County

Additional Resources

• Lodging
  • Cal OSHA - Covid-19 Guidance for Hotels & Lodging
  • Covid-19 General Checklist for Hotels & Lodging Employers
• Restaurants
  • National Restaurant Association - Ready to Reopen Guide for Restaurateurs
• Wineries
  • Wine Institute - California Winery Tasting Rooms Reopening Protocols

Suggested Talking Points for Guests and Employees

It is important to manage expectations and be transparent about the modified guest experience, while continuing to provide warm hospitality.

• Napa Valley’s tourism businesses are proud to be responsibly reopening, adhering to and exceeding industry best practices for safety, cleanliness and hygiene to protect visitors, employees and community members.
• Social distancing, indoor and outdoor mask use, limited occupancies, advanced reservations, and other health protocols are required by the Napa County Public Health Officer.
• On June 18, 2020, the State of California issued new face covering requirements. In general, face coverings are required inside all buildings that are open to the public, when waiting in line to access an indoor public space, including restaurants, wineries, and retail shops, or when outside and six feet of distance cannot be maintained from those not in your household. Masks may be removed when eating and drinking, or when engaged in outdoor activities.
• Napa Valley’s rural, agricultural setting and spacious landscapes naturally allow for a socially distanced experience while still enjoying all that Napa Valley has to offer.
• The California Department of Health published additional industry sector guidelines, allowing Napa County to open hotels, wineries, and tasting rooms, in addition to restaurants and retail shops.
• Not all businesses are open. Please make and/or confirm reservations directly, as individual businesses will open on their own timeline.
• All orders are subject to public health conditions and may be revised at any time.
• Napa Valley is committed to the highest safety standards by going above and beyond mandated requirements in order to protect the health and welfare of employees, guests, and our community while providing world-class hospitality.
  • *When asked, be prepared to provide examples of newly established health & safety standards to protect the health & safety of both guests and employees. For example:
    • Sanitizer stations are located in all public spaces; and guest areas are fully sanitized with UV light sterilizers prior to each guest arrival and after each guest departure.
    • All guest contact points - including restrooms; countertops; chairs; tables; and door handles are sanitized on an on-going basis using CDS/OSHA approved cleaning supplies.
    • Employees will receive temperature checks before each shift and wear face coverings/protection at all times.
    • All guest seating will be outdoors and include appropriate social distancing practices.

Phased Approach

Previous:
Phase I — Loyalists, March–May ‘#WFH Wine From Home’

Phase II — Local, June–July ‘Napa Valley Spirit’

In-Market:
Phase II — Drive Market, June–August ‘Better With Time’

• Video
• With the continued rise of COVID-19 cases in Napa County and throughout California, and wavering consumer sentiment towards travel, we have extended the Better With Time messaging through August.
• We encourage you to utilize Better With Time messaging in your social media, email and other communications. You can view copy examples in the deck above, and download graphics to use with your own images.

Future:
Phase III — California, September–December ‘Raise a Glass’

• Tentatively scheduled for September 1, the transition from Better With Time messaging will depend on business operation and consumer sentiment to travel.

Travel Forecast

The latest forecast prepared for the U.S. Travel Association by Tourism Economics projects visitation and travel spending (both domestic and international).

• Through the end of 2020, the report estimates $505 billion in losses for the travel industry for a total of $81 billion in lost federal, state and local taxes by the end of 2020. The travel industry is not expected to recover until 2024.

New analysis by Tourism Economics shows a week-by-week outlook on travel spending in the U.S. including a look at regional and state-by-state breakdown. Findings from the July 23 report:

• The recovery in the travel industry plateaued last week, and national weekly travel spending equaled that of the prior week.
• Air Passenger Forecast - Short & Long Term

Consumer Sentiment

• Destinations International - Resident Sentiment Towards Tourism
• ADARA - daily
• Arrivalist - daily
• Destination Analysts - 7/20
• Harris Poll - 7/26

Direct

Travel Trade:

• 6/10 - Overton Travel Webinar - Napa Valley education for 20 travel agents in the south east
• 6/24 - Visit Napa Valley Webinar - 30 travel agents from Strong Travel, Valerie Wilson, ProTravel etc.
• 7/17 - Visit California CA Connections Virtual Event for Domestic Travel Agents
• 7/22 - TravPro Media - Virtual Trade Show for Domestic Travel Agents
• 7/20-24 - Date a Destination with Gate 7 - Virtual Event for Tour Operators in Australia
• 7/28 - DeltaVacations Webinar - Educate Travel Agents on Napa Valley
   

Group:

• 6/10 - Cliff Lede #WFH Virtual Wine Tasting event - 10 meeting planners from Bay Area Companies ie: Genentech, Veritas, Gilead, ITA Group and Autodesk
• 6/24 - Cakebread - 8 Meeting Planners from LinkedIn, Sutter Health, Bayer, Autodesk
• 6/19 - Bay area DMO Sales Leader Roundtable - Discuss partnership opportunities with Bay Area DMO’s
• 7/30 - American Bar Association virtual trade show
• 8/5 - #WFH with Markham Winery and ITA Group
• 8/14 - Association of Wedding Professionals Webinar
   

Owned - Social Media

• VNV social media channels have reached 7.8 million people through organic posts since the March SIP order.
• As Coronavirus cases continue to climb in California and Napa County, sentiment around tourism on social media is declining.
• VNV is continuing to utilize Better With Time messaging to remind consumers that Napa Valley will be better than ever when the time is right to travel, while also continuing to message health and safety protocols to those who intend to visit during this time.

• Facebook:

   

• Instagram:

  View this post on Instagram

  Are you a B&B person or a full-service hotel kinda traveler? The @whitehouseinnnapa offers the best of both worlds - a resort-style feel with lovely grounds, pool, and hot tub, while also providing quick access to Downtown Napa's best restaurants, shops, and tasting rooms. ⠀ ⠀ 📷@stushigalstyle⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ #nvspirit #visitnapavalley #CALove #californianow #californiawinecountry #napavalley #napa #winecountry #visitcalifornia #beautifuldestination #wonderful_places #tlpicks #traveldeeper #instapassport #virtualvacation #postcardplaces

  A post shared by Napa Valley (@visitnapavalley) on Jul 27, 2020 at 4:44pm PDT

• Instagram:

  View this post on Instagram

  Summertime and the sipping's easy. ☀️🥂⠀ ⠀ 📷@geodesywine⠀ ⠀ ⠀ #nvspirit #visitnapavalley #CALove #californianow #californiawinecountry #napavalley #napa #winecountry #visitcalifornia #beautifuldestination #wonderful_places #tlpicks #traveldeeper #instapassport #virtualvacation #postcardplaces

  A post shared by Napa Valley (@visitnapavalley) on Jul 28, 2020 at 1:24pm PDT

Owned - Website

Website traffic trends since March 19 SIP:

• The week of Mar 19 saw the lowest point in traffic (-77% over last year).
• March - May — Each week saw incremental increases. The geolocation of visitors was overwhelmingly local to Napa, as we were a trusted source for local information. Coronavirus information and Wine From Home virtual content and blog posts were the most popular pages on the site. The DMO industry as a whole saw the same trends in traffic during this time.
• June — The announcement of the wineries opening June 5 caused traffic to spike to levels equal to or better than the same time last year. Open Businesses and Coronavirus info pages were the most popular, as well as pages related to outdoor activities. Paid advertising campaigns began driving traffic to the site. Drive market traffic began to increase, while fly market traffic is generally down overall.
• July — Traffic began to flatten as no new information about the virus was presented and no events occured in the area (especially July 4 events). The most popular pages continue to include virus-related pages, as well as tourism-related pages.

Earned Media

Travel Waiver and Release Form
VNV is requiring all journalists who seek assistance with their travel plans from VNV’s media relations team to sign and return a Travel Waiver and Release form prior to sharing a Media Alert with our partners. This form, which has been reviewed by VNV’s legal counsel, releases VNV and its partners from covering expenses should journalists be quarantined or become ill while visiting.

Download the Travel Waiver and Release Form

Re-opening

Once you decide when to reopen your business and welcome guests, consider the following communication channels to share hours of operation; your reservation policy; as well as health and safety practices and sanitation protocols to mitigate guest concerns:

• On your website home and reservations pages
• On your main phone line
• Storefront signage (printed in an easy-to-read font, not handwritten)
• Signage in public areas
• Social Media Channels

Guest Reservations

Communicate health & safety protocols as part of the reservation process, including encouraging guests to bring and wear face coverings in public areas and respect the practice of social distancing.

Guest Safety

• Clearly display health & safety requirements in multiple locations in all public areas
• Provide hand sanitizer stations in all public areas
• Utilize “contactless” payment methods if possible
• Disinfect areas after each guest experience (countertops; tables; chairs; etc.)
• Post CDC guidance on proper hand washing practices in all restrooms (consider posting this information in multiple languages to broaden guest communication)

Guest Experience

Set expectations about the guest arrival and be transparent about updates or revisions to the guest experience. For example:

• Will you take the temperature of the guests when they arrive?
• Will guests be asked to wear face protection while in public?
• Will valet parking be available or will guests need to self-park?

For hotels and resorts:

• Will spa and Fitness Centers be available and if so, what will be the new protocol? Will in-room dining be offered?
• Will reservations be necessary to swim or sit at the pool?
• Will restaurant reservations be necessary?
• Will housekeeping services be provided/adjusted?