Be a Tourist in Your Own Town
How local experiences can enrich your winery's hospitality program
For years, I’ve worked with Visit the Santa Ynez Valley, photographing the communities, hotels, events, and activities that make this area so special. One of my favorite things about these projects is that they’ve given me the opportunity to experience my own backyard through the eyes of a visitor.
Like many who live in a tourist-driven area, I have my favorite haunts—frequenting the same restaurants, wineries, and hiking trails while often overlooking the experiences that draw thousands of visitors to this region every year.
But thanks to my work with Visit SYV, I’ve had the chance to step outside my regular spots and engage with the area as if I were seeing it for the first time. Feeding the ostriches in Buellton is not something I would have thought to do on my own, but it was wildly entertaining. And attending the Chumash InterTribal Pow Wow was a powerful experience that deepened my understanding of the valley’s cultural heritage.
I didn’t grow up here. I moved to San Luis Obispo from Pasadena in 2009, then spent a couple of years in Corvallis, Oregon, before settling in the Santa Ynez Valley in 2015, so these moments of exploration have been especially enriching for me. I also believe they have made me a better marketer, photographer, and resource for my clients in the wine industry.
Why You Should Experience Your Region Like a Tourist
If you haven’t stepped outside your routine to explore your area with fresh eyes, you’re missing a huge opportunity to build better, more holistic experiences for your guests.
This matters because…
1. Your Guests Aren’t Just Visiting You
As great as your winery is, people aren’t (usually) only visiting you.
They’re also looking for great food, unique activities, and dope places to stay. If you can recommend where to have breakfast before their tasting or what to do after they leave your winery, making their trip better while building trust and strengthening their connection to your brand.
2. You’ll Understand Your Place in the Bigger Picture
It’s easy to focus exclusively on your winery’s experience, but when you start seeing your region through the eyes of a visitor, you gain insight into how your brand fits into the broader landscape.
What kind of experiences do other wineries in your area offer?
How does your tasting room vibe compare to others?
What unique elements set your winery apart?
Experiencing what’s out there helps you refine your offerings and elevate your hospitality program so it meets (or exceeds) what guests are experiencing elsewhere.
3. You’ll Find Opportunities for Collaboration
Local businesses aren’t your competition—they’re potential partners.
If you’re visiting a restaurant that serves local wines, is your wine on the list? If not, why?
If you’re doing a staycation at a boutique hotel, do they offer any wine country packages? Can you drop off two-for-one tasting coupons if the hotel’s guests fit your target demographic?
Could you collaborate with local tour companies or museums to create unique experiences?
The more you immerse yourself in your local hospitality scene, the easier it is to find ways to cross-promote and build stronger community ties.
4. You’ll Gain a Better Sense of What Guests Need
Put yourself in the shoes of a visitor. If you were coming to your region for the first time, what questions would you have? What’s confusing or overwhelming about navigating your region? Are there clear signs and directions to key destinations? Are there hidden gems that most tourists don’t know about?
Experiencing your town like a first-time guest allows you to identify gaps in the visitor experience and allows you to provide better recommendationsand to adjust your own hospitality approach based on what you’ve learned.
5. You’ll Time Your Own Events More Strategically
If you’re not paying attention to what other events are happening in your region, you might unintentionally compete with major local events—or worse, miss out on opportunities to tap into built-in visitor traffic.
The wineries that plan with the bigger picture in mind see higher attendance, better engagement, and an overall stronger ROI for their events.
For example, one of my clients recently scheduled their wine club pickup party for the day after the Women Winemakers and Culinarians Celebration for International Women's Day. Instead of making their members choose between attending a major industry event or their pickup party, they turned it into a full weekend experience—giving members an extra reason to visit and stay longer.
When planning your next event, think like a tourist and ask:
What’s already happening that weekend? Don’t make guests choose—time your event so they can do both.
Are there big tourism draws bringing people into town? Food & wine festivals, concerts, car shows, seasonal celebrations—can you align your event with these to capture more visitors?
What’s happening outside of wine? Maybe a cycling race attracts athletes, or a film festival draws creatives. Could you tailor an offering to these audiences?
The best hospitality thinks beyond the tasting room. Planning with your guests’ full itinerary in mind can turn your event into a must-attend experience rather than just another option.
How to Experience Your Region Like a Tourist
This idea builds on what I wrote in Make Your Hospitality Better by Visiting Other Wineries, where I encouraged wine professionals to take R&D trips and experience other tasting rooms firsthand. If you want to see your region like a guest, try this:
Go wine tasting at a neighboring winery. What does their hospitality experience look like? Would you recommend them to your guests? Could you bring a wine to trade with them so that they are more likely to recommend your winery?
Do a staycation at a hotel or inn. What kind of guests are staying there? What do they want out of their visit?
Sign up for a local tour or activity. What’s available beyond wine? How do these experiences complement what you offer?
Talk to concierges, shop owners, and restaurant staff. What are they recommending to visitors? How does your winery fit into the bigger picture of the local experience?
Visit during different times of the year. What’s different in the off-season? How does the energy shift with the seasons?
The TL;DR
You can’t create the best possible experience for your guests if you don’t fully understand what their trip looks like beyond your tasting room. The more you engage with your region as a visitor, the better you’ll be at positioning your winery within the broader travel experience.
So, when was the last time you played tourist in your own town? If it’s been a while, consider this your sign to get out there and explore. It might just change the way you think about your hospitality program.
What’s Next?
If this post got you thinking about how your winery fits into the bigger picture of your region’s hospitality scene, you’re already ahead of the curve, my friend. The best wineries are creating experiences that keep people coming back.
I’m considering offering hospitality training and consulting to help wineries refine their guest experience, improve service, complement their other marketing strategies, and strengthen their connection with visitors. But before I launch anything, I want to hear from you. Take this short survey to let me know what kind of hospitality support would be most valuable to you. Your feedback will help shape this offer.