Travelhost to Publish Conejo Hotel and Restaurant Guide

Where can I get a bite to eat?

That was the most frequently asked question at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza box office during the performing arts center’s 1994-95 inaugural season, according to ticket sellers.

It’s a question members of the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce are happy to answer.

The chamber received approval from the Thousand Oaks City Council this month to publish the Conejo Valley Hotel & Restaurant Guide beginning in September, the start of the new theater season.

“The idea is for the Chamber of Commerce to work together with the performing arts center to bring more business into the community,” said Ruth Foley, director of sales for the Days Inn Hotel in Newbury Park and a member of the chamber’s economic development committee, which is handling the project.

“When you deal with the hospitality industry, there’s a trickle-down effect,” she said. “Hotels and restaurants get business, gas stations get business, everybody benefits.”

Last year, the chamber published a simple list of accommodations for theatergoers. The new 16- to 24-page guide will provide listings of the more than 200 hotels and restaurants throughout the Conejo Valley, along with a map of Thousand Oaks, a calendar of plaza events, and seating charts for the plaza’s two theaters.

The guide will be published by Travelhost Magazine, which distributes visitor guides to 5,000 hotel rooms between Agoura and Ventura. It will be funded by advertising revenue and donations from corporate sponsors, said Christos Richards, associate publisher of Travelhost. Richards would not estimate the cost of publication.

Richards said the guide will be published quarterly, with a monthly distribution of 5,000 at the box office and 5,000 in hotel rooms.