January is usually an easy month to book a hotel room in Southern California. Not this year.
Fueled by fires that have uprooted hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles County residents, legions of displaced families and individuals are taking up quarters in surrounding counties, especially along the coast and in the desert. Beyond those under mandatory evacuation, many more, including many anxious families and pet owners, have left due to poor air quality or general misgivings about the county's precarious state.
“It's been crazy,” said Marie Corbett, group sales manager for the 14 West boutique hotel in Laguna Beach. “I've had people cry… You can see their emotions are so raw. And then they have their animals. There was a lady whose dog was biting her hand. “Stress.”
Corbett said that as of 2 p.m. on Friday, all 70 hotel rooms at 14 West were “pretty much booked” for the night. He guessed that 80% or more of the guests had come from Los Angeles in the last few days.
Because the region's hotel inventory is so large and January is typically so slow along the coast, many lodging establishments say they still have rooms to offer, in many cases with emergency discounts. And some Angelenos who left the city during the week are starting to return.
For information on available hotels, Discover Los Angeles has compiled a list that includes dozens of Los Angeles County properties. The city of Anaheim has a list of 39 hotels. The San Diego Tourism Authority has a list with more than 40 others. VisitGreaterPalmSprings.com lists more than 30 hotels. There is also a list for Santa Barbara. Some of these lists include detailed rate information and all are subject to change as rooms fill. Meanwhile, Airbnb is partnering with the group 211LA to provide free emergency housing to many displaced people and first responders.
After evacuating their home in the Hollywood Hills, Ansgar, Julia Friemel and their children ended up on Ocean Avenue in Laguna Beach.
(Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times)
The sudden diaspora in Los Angeles has already filled many accommodations and sent occupancy rates skyrocketing. And in desert communities like Palm Springs and Joshua Tree, this was already a busy season. The result is a flood of reluctant travelers: people who are lucky enough to be able to book hotels on short notice but would still prefer to be at home.
“We couldn't really get out,” said Mike Muney, 33, of Mar Vista, explaining his family's departure Friday.
“We feel very lucky. We know a lot of people who lost their homes,” said his wife, Libby Muney, 35.
As they spoke, they were with their 1-year-old son Nate and their yellow Labrador, Winnie, near the entrance to the Marriott Laguna Cliffs Resort in Dana Point. The sky was bright blue, with no helicopters or ash. Inside the hotel, staff had converted a conference room into a children's play area, with “Bluey” on a large screen and a Twister game on the floor.
The hotel's marketing director, Andrew Sutrisno, said this was supposed to be a slow weekend, with occupancy likely below 50%. But the exodus sparked by the fire essentially filled all of the property's 378 rooms over the weekend. Sutrisno estimated that most of the hotel's guests are from Los Angeles. Hotel rates in January typically start around $300.
“Wednesday night was the biggest jump,” Sutrisno said. “Until you see it in person, you see your hotel suddenly full, it's hard to imagine.”
“This hotel has been amazing,” Mike Muney said later.
“Two people I know went to Palm Springs. Another friend is coming here,” Libby Muney said.
On Ocean Avenue in Laguna Beach, Ansgar Fremiel, 27, and Julia Fremiel, 32, and their children: Emely, 7; Liam, 3; and Hailey, 2, may have looked like any other family wandering to the beach on a Friday afternoon. But they were only in town, Ansgar said, because “we were evacuated from the Hollywood Hills,” about 60 miles north.
“We just distanced ourselves as much as we could,” Ansgar Fremiel said. “With three kids, we're not so quick to get in the car.”
The Fremiels, relieved that the Sunset Fire was out, hoped to return home over the weekend. But many families will stay away for longer. As these emergency travelers make short-notice decisions about when to go, where to stay, and when to return, hoteliers are juggling more variables than usual.
Hoteliers are also subject to state anti-abuse laws, which limit price increases to 10% more than rates in effect before a state or local emergency was declared. Even if there is an emergency in one county and a hotel in another, that law can apply, California Hotel & Lodging Assn. officials said. saying.
Orange County has attracted many of those fleeing the fires in Los Angeles County. Here, three guests from Los Angeles sit by a fire pit at El Caminante Bar & Bungalows on Capistrano Beach in Dana Point.
(Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times)
At the 120-room Pacific Edge hotel, also in Laguna Beach, a front desk clerk reported Friday that “we were at 18% occupancy on Tuesday. We have been 100% the last two nights.” Guests displaced by the fire, the employee said, typically pay 25% of regular rates, excluding resort fees and pet fees.
For Fairfax Buchanan Banks, 36, who lives near USC and West Adams, the decision to leave “was because of the air quality… It was raining ashes.”
And pets were a factor. Buchanan Banks has a dog and a 16-year-old male cat (named Dad) who are battling viral bronchitis. Her best friend had two dogs. Both pet owners liked the idea of clean air and open spaces. They had concerns about occupying a friend's house indefinitely, and as Buchanan Banks noted, “we are fortunate to have the means to relocate.”
They tried Joshua Tree and couldn't find anything that fit their situation. But in nearby 29 Palms, they got an Airbnb rental with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a washer, dryer and a fenced yard. On Thursday they made plans.
On Friday they headed out, dealing with pet accidents as they went. Still, Buchanan Banks said, “as we passed through Redlands, I noticed my sinuses and throat were clearing.”
