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Although the cannabis legalization movement in America has spawned many “bud and breakfast” and weed-friendly budget hotels, a handful of boutique hotels are targeting the high-end cannabis traveler — no pun intended.
Brian Applegarth, founder of the Cannabis Travel Association and founder of Cultivar Brands, a strategic marketing agency specializing in the cannabis industry, said the expansion at the more premium end of the sector is due to the growing number of Americans interested in cannabis-related travel.
In the year In early 2020, before the outbreak, Cultivar partnered with MMGY Travel Intelligence to analyze the growing cannabis travel segment. They found that 29% of all active leisure travelers in the US can be identified as part of a growing “cannabis-inspired travel audience.”
In a recent pandemic-era survey, findings released this summer, audience numbers increased to 37% of all active leisure travelers, particularly Gen Z and millennial travelers, who reported a strong desire to attend at least one event. Cannabis-related activity during leisure time.
“There’s also this sophisticated advertiser” that’s emerging, Applegart said. “And the data shows that if you look at the average and the median household income, the cannabis-interested audience has a very compelling profile of disposable income.”
The Scotia Lodge offers a cannabis-infused menu and an outdoor smoking area for hotel guests and restaurant patrons. Photo credit: Leon Villagomez
California leads the way.
The trend is being led by properties in California, both with relaxed marijuana laws and the nation’s top cannabis grower. Among the few hospitality players looking to offer a more elevated cannabis experience is Humboldt Social, which operates several businesses — Oyster Beach Bayford Resort vacation rentals, the four-room Humboldt Bay Social Club Hotel, Papa & Barclays Social Dispensary and Spa, and more — in Humboldt County, California. .
Just over a year ago, Humboldt Social unveiled a second hotel concept, the 22-room Scotia Lodge property near Redwoods State Park in Scotia, Calif., which sports a four-star rating and is open to business with consultants. It doesn’t have a clear weed-related theme. Instead, the hotel will promote a weed-friendly environment with things like a cannabis-serving menu and an outdoor smoking area accessible to hotel and restaurant guests. In the house, smoking of any kind is not allowed, but guests are encouraged to enjoy cannabis edibles or tins in the room.
“Some of the cannabis hospitality companies say, ‘Hey, bring your own cannabis, we’re cannabis-friendly,’ and other places are getting a small bed and breakfast license and have a bong in the lobby,” says O’Connor, Humboldt Social founder and president. We want [interested in those types of establishments]But we want to be a place where their aunt or grandpa can come and stay.
Humboldt Social is looking at further expansion in the hospitality space for next year. According to O’Connor, the company is currently in talks with hotels in the Southern California market and is finalizing negotiations to control food and beverage, distribution, smoking areas and cannabis-infused spa operations at other properties.
“Our cannabis hospitality is like Napa 2.0,” O’Connor said. “Years ago, if you went to Napa Valley, it was a nice bed and breakfast with vintage wallpaper. Now it’s a world-class resort. And we think that’s what Humboldt County can get out of post-national legitimacy.”
Entrance to The Madrones Hotel in Philo, California Photo credit: Courtesy of The Madrones
Like Humboldt Social, the Madrones and the Brambles, two boutique sister properties in Mendocino County just outside of Philo, California, are following the vintage hospitality pattern.
The couple, who have a combined 14 accommodations and work with consultants, have successfully taken advantage of their wine country location to offer guests access to two on-site wine tasting rooms.
More recently, however, co-owners Jim Roberts and Brian Adkinson have opened a dispensary in Madrones called Bohemian Chemist, tapping into Mendocino’s reputation for artisanal cannabis cultivation. The dispensary features its own house brand of cannabis-derived products grown on a nearby farm.
“We’ve had a lot of people come here before and we wanted to promote cannabis in an accessible and tolerable way,” Adkinson said. “And you know, those guests are very curious about cannabis. I think that some four or five-star places are not willing to accept cannabis tourism because they are afraid of alienating their customers. But our experience is that it is not different. Our customers never.”
Encouraged by positive guest feedback, Madrones and Brambles began building strong cannabis tourism programs this summer, including a cannabis farm tour and a cannabis-infused seven-course dinner series. Cannabis.
Later this fall, the properties plan to open a cannabis lounge, which will include a restaurant. Additionally, couples celebrating a wedding at Medrons & Brambles can now book a “budget service” for their big event.
Adkinson added: “We’re finding that more and more young people want to drink at weddings, just as people want to drink at weddings.” “So I think cannabis is becoming more and more mainstream, which is another indicator. The bottom line is, we want it to be normalized.”
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