USA, Santa Monica, California. September 28, 2020

Santa Monica Travel & Tourism (SMTT) announced that more than 90 Santa Monica businesses in the Los Angeles' beachside city have signed up to participate in the Santa Monica Shines COVID-19 Assurance Program and earn the Santa Monica Shines Assurance Seal to display their commitment to public safety during the coronavirus pandemic.

To help Santa Monica Shine during this difficult period and to reaffirm a citywide commitment to safety and cleanliness, the COVID-19 Assurance Program focuses on Pledge and Safety county guidelines and initiatives that were developed in partnership with the City of Santa Monica, Santa Monica Travel & Tourism, ARROW UP, and Santa Monica College in collaboration with the Sustainable Works department.

The free citywide program provides Santa Monica businesses the opportunity to follow a simple four step COVID-19 Assurance Program certification process:

- Designate Safety Lead - Each business designates one Safety Supervisor who is responsible for registering the business location.

- Register The Business - Once registered, the entire business team can sign up and take the online safety and empathy courses and review the customized COVID-19 Safety Protocols Packet.

- Take the Courses - The Santa Monica Shines Pledge Program consists of an online awareness course available at ArrowUpSantamonica.com.

- Assurance Seal Award - Sustainable Works verifies that each location is compliant and awards a Santa Monica Shines Assurance Seal to post in the window of their business, share on social media and websites to show their team-members and the public that they take clean and safe seriously.

"The Santa Monica Shines program is a key initiative for our hotel and the city in our road to recovery from the pandemic," said James Graham, General Manager at Sea Blue Hotel. "It's important for our guests and the community to see by the Santa Monica Shines Assurance Seal that we are doing everything possible to provide a safe, clean and enjoyable experience."

The Santa Monica Shines program is funded by the City of Santa Monica's Economic Recovery Task Force with match funding support provided by Santa Monica College and is available for all Santa Monica businesses including office, retail, food and beverage service, and hotel sectors, among others.

"As our community carefully welcomes responsible travelers to our local businesses and hotels keeping residents, staff and visitors safe remains our number one priority," said Misti Kerns, President/CEO of Santa Monica Travel & Tourism. "Customers can rest assured that the Shines program includes all county guidelines, sensitivity awareness and an overall commitment to safety city-wide. "

The Santa Monica Shines program has been guided by the Economic Recovery Task Force communications and outreach team of residents, community and civic leaders, and supported by the City's local Businesses Improvement Districts, Santa Monica Pier Corporation, Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce and Santa Monica Travel & Tourism to ensure its success.

SMTT invites visitors to travel responsibly to and around Santa Monica while enjoying its sun-drenched beach, outdoor dining and unique shopping. Seize the day and stay the night as many Santa Monica hotels are offering packages with experiences for families. To help visitors explore the beachside city during this unique moment in time, new resources are available on how to travel responsibly, hotel safety measures, discounts at local businesses, a personalized vacation planning tool, a KCRW playlist and more at www.santamonica.com/shines or #SantaMonicaShines.

The Santa Monica Shines COVID-19 Safety Assurance Program serves as a platform for business owners and the citywide communications team to publicly recognize and highlight their compliance of clean and safe practices. Upon completion of implementing protocols, businesses will schedule a visit with a Sustainable Works team member to conduct an online or on-site walk-through. These programs will help to set businesses up for continued success by providing protocol updates and new content through micro-courses and micro-lessons to promote on-going awareness of the evolving pandemic and to keep safety top-of-mind.

The Santa Monica Shines COVID-19 Pledge Assurance Program consists of a modern and effective COVID-19 Safety online course, an industry agnostic option will be available to all business sectors while a restaurant specific option will be available to provide special attention to a higher-risk industry that will be conducted in both Spanish and English. The central course will provide an opportunity for individuals to learn about the virus and best practices on how to ensure that they are being safe while protecting their neighbors, coworkers and customers. The final component in the initiative is an online sensitivity course that remains current and effective. Santa Monica businesses that take the Pledge agree to complete the COVID-19 Safety online course, COVID-19 Safety Protocols Packet, and implement all the required safety measures to receive Santa Monica Shines recognition.