CHLA Lodging News March April 2020

www.calodging.com March/April 2020 11 How California Hotels are Capitalizing on Cannabis The path for reducing risk and realizing revenue. By Brian Applegarth A NEW WAVE OF OPPORTUNITY has arrived for the California hospitality industry. California is now the largest legal cannabis market in the world, forecasted to reach $7.2 billion in sales by 2024 according to Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics. In addition, CBD is a national mainstream wellness trend. A recent report released by Brightfield shows CBD product sales grew by 706% in 2019. In other parts of the world, cannabis has been integrated socially for decades. For example, cannabis in Amsterdam has been available for recreational use in coffee shops since 1976. Recent research conducted by The Dutch Tourist Information Department and the Municipality of Amsterdam revealed that approximately 25% of tourists visit a cannabis coffee shop while in town and 10% willingly cite the coffee shop cannabis experience as a primary reason for choosing Amsterdam as their vacation destination. 2020 marks the third year of legal cannabis in California. Hotels are proactively educating themselves, implementing CBD and cannabis- related strategies that serve their guests, reduce unnecessary risk and drive incremental revenue. Let’s take a deeper look… Educating and Equipping Management and Frontline Staff Responsible hotel owners are educating themselves and their staff on the current CBD and cannabis landscape in California. Hotels are equipping their frontline staff with a basic continues  