Could warm weather bring tourism uptick on Central Coast?

Shaelyn Latronica and her friends ventured to the beach on Monday to cool off. Originally planning to spend the day, they decided last minute to stay the night.

“We were thinking about it at first, so we brought our stuff just in case, but then we just decided you know what yeah we’ll stay, it’s really nice out here,” said Shaelyn, visiting from the Central Valley.

This is something Pacific Gardens Inn owner Robert Boerner sees whenever the heat turns up. This year’s temperatures inland were about 10-degrees above normal to start summer.

“They enjoy it so much, they decide they’re not going back,” said Boerner, “they’ll come down right after leaving the beach, down the street and check into the hotel.”

Over at the Jabberwock Inn in Monterey, owner Rick Weichert said if there’s rooms available they’ll usually be booked by the end of the day. These last minute reservations are for people from around the state, according to Weichert, typically people traveling down from San Francisco or from the Central Valley.

“60-70% are from California, this time of year summer starts, inland temperatures are on the rise, and people are looking for a bit of relief,” said Weichert.

To prepare, Boerner said he’ll bring in extra staff and always have an eye on the weather.

“Usually you’d be getting 6 months in advance for a booking, or even a few months in advance. So I can tell when the weather is getting hot there because they’re booking just a couple of days out,” said Boerner.

And with the heat continuing through the next few days, local hotels plan on staying busy.