Hoteliers Say 1995 Was a Very Good Year

Hoteliers say they have finally emerged from the economic gloom of recent years in which tourists stayed away because of fire, floods and landslides. For 1995, the city reported a 16% boost in its so-called bed tax.

“Hotel Laguna had the best year ever last year,” said Claes Andersen, owner of the city’s oldest hotel.

The Inn at Laguna, which opened in 1990, also reported that last year was its best. “We anticipated [1995] would be a turnaround year,” general manager Carol Kneubuehl said, “and it seems that was certainly the case for us.”

For several years, Laguna Beach businesses have been battered by both a sluggish economy and natural disasters. In 1995, Kneubuehl said, it helped “to get the disaster for the year out of the way early,” referring to floods in January.

News from the hotels was positive throughout 1995, capped by a 20% bed-tax revenue increase for the final quarter that surprised even the optimists.

“It’s wonderful. I love it,” City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said.

Hotel officials credit postcard-like weather and an aggressive marketing campaign with helping to boost business in 1995.

In 1993, the city began funneling part of the bed tax to the Laguna Beach Visitors Bureau so that it could promote the city nationwide and abroad.

In the early 1990s, would-be visitors typically called with lodging inquiries only on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., officials said. In the past two years, an eight-line phone system with an 800 number has been getting calls around the clock.

Sometimes, Andersen said, it takes time for such efforts to pay off. “A marketing program doesn’t happen in one year,” he said. “It’s a long-term plan.”

Stagnant sales tax figures suggest that other businesses in town might not have turned the corner yet, but “I think everybody is optimistic,” Councilman Wayne J. Baglin said.