The hotel occupies a site at 202 W. Cabrillo Blvd. Among other changes, the renovation will create 22 new junior suites, according to Andrews, who calls the hotel "one of the Santa Barbara's coast's prime destinations." The renovation will include the addition of high-definition plasma TVs, and all new furnishings and accessories in all of the rooms. The renovation project is scheduled to be completed in June.

The Oceana is one of the relatively few hotels along the ocean in Santa Barbara County, where development of new beachfront properties is limited by both local restrictions and California Coastal Commission regulations that developers typically describe as arduous if not impossible. Hotel development throughout the county is limited, according to a recent report by Irvine-based Atlas Hospitality Group, which showed that only one new property opened in 2007—a 98-room Hampton Inn in Goleta. The Atlas report showed only two hotels totaling 217 rooms in the planning stages in all of Santa Barbara County at the end of the year, compared with more than 9,000 rooms under way in L.A. County and more than 15,000 in San Diego Coutny.

The Oceana in Santa Barbara is part of a portfolio owned by JRK Hotel Group, which is a division of JRK Asset Management. The company's properties include the Oceana Santa Monica, the Roger Williams in New York City and the largest Holiday Inn Express in the nation, located in Nashville.