San Francisco Travel Association 2013-14 Business Plan

2013–14 Strategic business Plan

Table of Contents

7 who we are

9 what we do

11 how we measure

what we do

5 message from

the chair

6 message from the president

3 our manifesto

13 state of the

industry

19 what we’re up to

39 san francisco

Leadership

Table of Contents

7 who we are

9 what we do

11 how we measure

what we do

5 message from

the chair

6 message from the president

3 our manifesto

13 state of the

industry

19 what we’re up to

39 san francisco

Leadership

22%Callout or toursim fact. pra is

erdu prem ium quas eaquatem dercide rferumqui tora quamus sit imendam, quuntinis molor alicatume sit et mint eum eos

autecum que cuscius nonsecabor aut prat.

4

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

3


Our Manifesto

Why do people visit San Francisco?

The sights and scenery. The one-of-a-kind events and world-class food. The welcoming

people, the diversity and rich history.

It is for all these reasons and others, of course.

But perhaps, more importantly, it has to do with the fact that no other city is as adept at

combining disparate elements to create something new: taking the familiar and marrying

it to the unknown; merging people’s expectations to moments of unpredictability; uniting

long-held notions to startling innovations.

Clearly, the attraction of San Francisco is not any one thing, but the combination of many

different things.

As an organization, we see the city in its entirety – through the eyes of the people who live

here, the people who love it and the people who love to come here.

And as proud as we are to help people arrange their visits to San Francisco, we see our

mission in even broader scope:

We believe our true value lies not just in our ability to sell our city, but in our role as curators

of the most interesting 49 square miles on the planet.

We are the San Francisco Travel Association. And we are the window to the City by the Bay.

22%Callout or toursim fact. pra is

erdu prem ium quas eaquatem dercide rferumqui tora quamus sit imendam, quuntinis molor alicatume sit et mint eum eos

autecum que cuscius nonsecabor aut prat.

4


3


Our Manifesto

Why do people visit San Francisco?

The sights and scenery. The one-of-a-kind events and world-class food. The welcoming

people, the diversity and rich history.

It is for all these reasons and others, of course.

But perhaps, more importantly, it has to do with the fact that no other city is as adept at

combining disparate elements to create something new: taking the familiar and marrying

it to the unknown; merging people’s expectations to moments of unpredictability; uniting

long-held notions to startling innovations.

Clearly, the attraction of San Francisco is not any one thing, but the combination of many

different things.

As an organization, we see the city in its entirety – through the eyes of the people who live

here, the people who love it and the people who love to come here.

And as proud as we are to help people arrange their visits to San Francisco, we see our

mission in even broader scope:

We believe our true value lies not just in our ability to sell our city, but in our role as curators

of the most interesting 49 square miles on the planet.

We are the San Francisco Travel Association. And we are the window to the City by the Bay.

5


6


Some of my fondest memories of

growing up in San Francisco were those

special days as a child when I would get

dressed up and be taken by my “Nonie”

downtown. My grandfather, “Nono,” was

a longshoreman and he would take me to

Golden Gate Park for visits to Steinhart

Aquarium and rowing in Stow Lake.

My whole family still has fond memories

of listening to band concerts in the

Music Concourse.

As you can tell, I’ve spent most of my

life in San Francisco, enjoying what people

come from everywhere to experience. To

lead the organization whose role it is to

share and promote the city to the rest of

the world is such an honor. And although

each of my predecessors has expressed

how fortunate they were to be part of so

many exciting programs and initiatives

during their term, I honestly believe

there has been no greater time to be in

San Francisco than now.

Why, you might ask? Well here’s just a few

reasons to be excited about San Francisco

this year, especially in my neighborhood

along the waterfront. We kick the fiscal

year off with the 34th America’s Cup. The

Bay Lights continue to attract visitors

from near and far. Fisherman’s Wharf is

undergoing significant pedestrian and

public realm improvements. The new

Exploratorium has opened at Pier 15 and

after the America’s Cup we will begin the

final stages of developing a brand new

cruise ship terminal. We’re also excited

about the new SFJAZZ Center in Hayes

Valley. SFMOMA recently began their

expansion in Yerba Buena and I’m looking

forward to their “on the go” programming

throughout the region. And, of course, we

are very excited to be working on plans for

Super Bowl L in 2016.

Thanks in no small measure to the work of

the San Francisco Tourism Improvement

District Management Corporation board

and our City Hall colleagues, we are

moving forward with plans to expand

Moscone Center. The team has conducted

numerous presentations and meetings

to get input from clients, partners and

the local community. These efforts will

help to ensure that Moscone not only

generates greater economic impact, but

also is a beautiful new space with many

amenities that will benefit the community

and residents will enjoy. In addition to the

expansion of Moscone Center, our board

of directors and staff are supporting efforts

to develop a waterfront arena which will

provide a much-needed event space for

attracting clients, and hotel development to

accommodate more convention attendees.

As we head into 2013-14 we have much

to be optimistic about. I want to thank

the San Francisco Travel Association staff

and board of directors for their ongoing

commitment and tireless efforts in ensuring

San Francisco is the most compelling

destination in the world. My Nonie and

Nono would be very proud of all of us.

In advance of writing this letter, I looked

back over previous letters I’ve written

for the last few strategic business plans,

and a common theme has been the

idea of change, and about how we as

an organization are responding to and

preparing for change more than ever in

our history.

But change hasn’t been the only constant;

for all of those 104 years, the San Francisco

Travel Association has been the “window

to the City by the Bay,” providing our

unique perspective to visitors of all kinds,

ensuring that they see our globally-loved

attractions and icons, and also helping

them navigate to the most special and

unique “only in San Francisco” spots.

When we introduced our new window

frame logo two years ago, that aspect of

what we do became more apparent, but

our role in doing that has not changed –

and never will.

Our staff commits themselves to providing

that point-of-view every day, curating

the best possible experience for all our

customers, whether meeting planners

bringing in anywhere from 100 up to

almost 100,000 attendees, or travel trade

guiding visitors from across the oceans

into the most international of all U.S.

cities, or thousands of journalists who are

desperate to learn the latest and greatest

about this city. And of course, for the 16.5+

million visitors who come to experience

the most interesting 49 square miles on

the planet.

One thing we will never do is take our

role for granted – we know we’re blessed

to live here – but we’re also constantly

aware that other destinations are realizing

the power and impact of tourism, and are

ramping up their spending and visibility in

order to get a share of the visitors’ multi-

billion dollar wallets. That makes our job

more difficult – but also more fun, more

interesting, and more rewarding. It means

we have to constantly look for innovative

new ways to bring our message to the

world. Whether via new approaches

in digital media, or through finding

unexpected ways to engage with visitors

while they’re here – we want to ensure

they return home wanting to share their

love of San Francisco with friends, family,

and colleagues.

It also means we can’t just focus on today,

or how the next quarter looks – we have

to be diligent about what’s around the

next corner. That includes the expansion

of Moscone Center, the new Warriors

arena, and a citywide way-finding subway

system that will provide visitors with a

much easier and more efficient way to

reach all of the new things happening at

Fisherman’s Wharf. And of course, a little

game in 2016 called the Super Bowl.

I also want to say thanks – to all of you, our

incredible partners (including those who

still refer to themselves as “members”!),

and with a special shout-out to the hotel

community. More than four years ago you

came together as a group and formed the

foundation that would not only allow us

to continue to do what we do, but you

challenged us to do it better, and you

provided us with the wherewithal to do just

that. Without you, the “window to the City

to the Bay” almost certainly wouldn’t be

as open as it is to all of us today. I’m proud

to look back on the accomplishments of

the last few years, and optimistic about all

that’s ahead. Change, it seems, has been

very good for all of us.

Message from the PresidentMessage from the Chair

Mariann Costello

San Francisco Travel Board Chair 2013-14Vice President, Scoma’s Restaurant

Joe D’Alessandro

President & CEOSan Francisco Travel

5


6


Some of my fondest memories of

growing up in San Francisco were those

special days as a child when I would get

dressed up and be taken by my “Nonie”

downtown. My grandfather, “Nono,” was

a longshoreman and he would take me to

Golden Gate Park for visits to Steinhart

Aquarium and rowing in Stow Lake.

My whole family still has fond memories

of listening to band concerts in the

Music Concourse.

As you can tell, I’ve spent most of my

life in San Francisco, enjoying what people

come from everywhere to experience. To

lead the organization whose role it is to

share and promote the city to the rest of

the world is such an honor. And although

each of my predecessors has expressed

how fortunate they were to be part of so

many exciting programs and initiatives

during their term, I honestly believe

there has been no greater time to be in

San Francisco than now.

Why, you might ask? Well here’s just a few

reasons to be excited about San Francisco

this year, especially in my neighborhood

along the waterfront. We kick the fiscal

year off with the 34th America’s Cup. The

Bay Lights continue to attract visitors

from near and far. Fisherman’s Wharf is

undergoing significant pedestrian and

public realm improvements. The new

Exploratorium has opened at Pier 15 and

after the America’s Cup we will begin the

final stages of developing a brand new

cruise ship terminal. We’re also excited

about the new SFJAZZ Center in Hayes

Valley. SFMOMA recently began their

expansion in Yerba Buena and I’m looking

forward to their “on the go” programming

throughout the region. And, of course, we

are very excited to be working on plans for

Super Bowl L in 2016.

Thanks in no small measure to the work of


District Management Corporation board

and our City Hall colleagues, we are

moving forward with plans to expand

Moscone Center. The team has conducted

numerous presentations and meetings

to get input from clients, partners and

the local community. These efforts will

help to ensure that Moscone not only

generates greater economic impact, but

also is a beautiful new space with many

amenities that will benefit the community

and residents will enjoy. In addition to the

expansion of Moscone Center, our board

of directors and staff are supporting efforts

to develop a waterfront arena which will

provide a much-needed event space for

attracting clients, and hotel development to

accommodate more convention attendees.

As we head into 2013-14 we have much

to be optimistic about. I want to thank

the San Francisco Travel Association staff

and board of directors for their ongoing

commitment and tireless efforts in ensuring

San Francisco is the most compelling

destination in the world. My Nonie and

Nono would be very proud of all of us.

In advance of writing this letter, I looked

back over previous letters I’ve written

for the last few strategic business plans,

and a common theme has been the

idea of change, and about how we as

an organization are responding to and

preparing for change more than ever in

our history.

But change hasn’t been the only constant;

for all of those 104 years, the San Francisco

Travel Association has been the “window

to the City by the Bay,” providing our

unique perspective to visitors of all kinds,

ensuring that they see our globally-loved

attractions and icons, and also helping

them navigate to the most special and

unique “only in San Francisco” spots.

When we introduced our new window

frame logo two years ago, that aspect of

what we do became more apparent, but

our role in doing that has not changed –

and never will.

Our staff commits themselves to providing

that point-of-view every day, curating

the best possible experience for all our

customers, whether meeting planners

bringing in anywhere from 100 up to

almost 100,000 attendees, or travel trade

guiding visitors from across the oceans

into the most international of all U.S.

cities, or thousands of journalists who are

desperate to learn the latest and greatest

about this city. And of course, for the 16.5+

million visitors who come to experience

the most interesting 49 square miles on

the planet.

One thing we will never do is take our

role for granted – we know we’re blessed

to live here – but we’re also constantly

aware that other destinations are realizing

the power and impact of tourism, and are

ramping up their spending and visibility in

order to get a share of the visitors’ multi-

billion dollar wallets. That makes our job

more difficult – but also more fun, more

interesting, and more rewarding. It means

we have to constantly look for innovative

new ways to bring our message to the

world. Whether via new approaches

in digital media, or through finding

unexpected ways to engage with visitors

while they’re here – we want to ensure

they return home wanting to share their

love of San Francisco with friends, family,

and colleagues.

It also means we can’t just focus on today,

or how the next quarter looks – we have

to be diligent about what’s around the

next corner. That includes the expansion

of Moscone Center, the new Warriors

arena, and a citywide way-finding subway

system that will provide visitors with a

much easier and more efficient way to

reach all of the new things happening at

Fisherman’s Wharf. And of course, a little

game in 2016 called the Super Bowl.

I also want to say thanks – to all of you, our

incredible partners (including those who

still refer to themselves as “members”!),

and with a special shout-out to the hotel

community. More than four years ago you

came together as a group and formed the

foundation that would not only allow us

to continue to do what we do, but you

challenged us to do it better, and you

provided us with the wherewithal to do just

that. Without you, the “window to the City

to the Bay” almost certainly wouldn’t be

as open as it is to all of us today. I’m proud

to look back on the accomplishments of

the last few years, and optimistic about all

that’s ahead. Change, it seems, has been

very good for all of us.

Message from the PresidentMessage from the Chair

Mariann Costello

San Francisco Travel Board Chair 2013-14Vice President, Scoma’s Restaurant

Joe D’Alessandro

President & CEOSan Francisco Travel

7


8


Vision

To ensure that San Francisco is the most

compelling destination in the world.

Mission

To enhance the local economy by

marketing San Francisco and the Bay

Area as the premier destination for

conventions, meetings, events and

leisure travel. The San Francisco Travel

Association was founded in 1909 by a

group of hoteliers and merchants in the

wake of the devastating earthquake and

fire just three years earlier in order to bring

visitor business back to the city. Since

then, San Francisco Travel has become the

voice of the visitor for the hospitality and

tourism industry in San Francisco. Acting

as a specialized economic development

agency, San Francisco Travel works to

promote the destination worldwide while

ensuring that tourism, the top generator of

outside revenue into the city’s economy, is

kept in the forefront as citywide decisions

and policies are made.

Governed by a 38-member Board of

Directors made up of San Francisco Travel

members, the Association operates as

a 501(c)(6) private, not-for-profit, mutual

benefit corporation.

Strategic Planning

The stability of the TID funding structure

allows San Francisco Travel to focus

on long-term planning and sales and

marketing programs that may take more

than one year to implement. As a result of

the Centennial Project in 2010, the Board

of Directors created a four-year rolling

strategic plan framework. This four-year

strategic plan serves as a roadmap for a

work plan developed annually, ensuring

the organization is always focused on the

primary objective of driving visitor-related

economic impact in San Francisco and the

Bay Area region. The four-year strategic plan

can be found here, with highlights of new or

significant activity outlined on pages 19-38.

San Francisco Tourism Improvement District

One hundred years after hoteliers

collaborated to form what is now

San Francisco Travel, the hotel industry

once again came to the rescue to help

reshape San Francisco’s tourism industry.

In order to ensure adequate funding for

tourism marketing and for the renovation

and exploration of expansion of Moscone

Center, the local hotel community,

city officials and San Francisco

Travel worked together to create the

San Francisco Tourism Improvement

District Management Corporation

(SFTIDMC) which began collections in

2009. Proceeds from a 1% to 1.5% “TID”

(1.5% TID assessment) on hotel room

revenue is available exclusively for the

sales, marketing and operational programs

of San Francisco Travel for the benefit of

the industry, and to keep Moscone Center,

a major demand generator, competitive.

The SFTIDMC is governed by a separate

Board of Directors and meetings are open

to the public. For additional information,

please visit www.sftid.com.

San Francisco Travel Foundation

Formed in 2003, the San Francisco

Travel Foundation supports hospitality

management programs at Bay Area

colleges and universities. The Foundation

works with the Hotel & Restaurant

Foundation to select the recipient of

the annual John A. Marks Leadership

Scholarship (named for San Francisco

Travel’s President from 1987 to 2006)

and to fund tourism marketing classes at

San Francisco State University and the

University of San Francisco.

The goals noted above are pending approval by the San Francisco Travel Board. The goals noted above are pending approval by the San Francisco Travel Board.

Who we are

TOTAL

$27.46 MilliOn

TOTAL

$27.46 MilliOn

Visitors spend more than

$8.93 billiOn

in our city annually

Visitors outnumber locals

20:1on an annual basis

Total RevenueFY 2013-14

Total ExpensesFY 2013–14

5% Public Sector Funding 11%

Operating (Non-personnel)

3% Industry Reserve TID

Contingency

30% Private Sector Funding

65% TID Assessments

43% Operating

(Personnel)43% Promotional Programs

http://www.sanfrancisco.travel/strategic-plan.html?c=y&product=&showMain=&cid=

http://www.sftid.com

7


8


Vision

To ensure that San Francisco is the most

compelling destination in the world.

Mission

To enhance the local economy by

marketing San Francisco and the Bay

Area as the premier destination for

conventions, meetings, events and

leisure travel. The San Francisco Travel

Association was founded in 1909 by a

group of hoteliers and merchants in the

wake of the devastating earthquake and

fire just three years earlier in order to bring

visitor business back to the city. Since

then, San Francisco Travel has become the

voice of the visitor for the hospitality and

tourism industry in San Francisco. Acting

as a specialized economic development

agency, San Francisco Travel works to

promote the destination worldwide while

ensuring that tourism, the top generator of

outside revenue into the city’s economy, is

kept in the forefront as citywide decisions

and policies are made.

Governed by a 38-member Board of

Directors made up of San Francisco Travel

members, the Association operates as

a 501(c)(6) private, not-for-profit, mutual

benefit corporation.

Strategic Planning

The stability of the TID funding structure

allows San Francisco Travel to focus

on long-term planning and sales and

marketing programs that may take more

than one year to implement. As a result of

the Centennial Project in 2010, the Board

of Directors created a four-year rolling

strategic plan framework. This four-year

strategic plan serves as a roadmap for a

work plan developed annually, ensuring

the organization is always focused on the

primary objective of driving visitor-related

economic impact in San Francisco and the

Bay Area region. The four-year strategic plan

can be found here, with highlights of new or

significant activity outlined on pages 19-38.

San Francisco Tourism Improvement District

One hundred years after hoteliers

collaborated to form what is now

San Francisco Travel, the hotel industry

once again came to the rescue to help

reshape San Francisco’s tourism industry.

In order to ensure adequate funding for

tourism marketing and for the renovation

and exploration of expansion of Moscone

Center, the local hotel community,

city officials and San Francisco

Travel worked together to create the



(SFTIDMC) which began collections in

2009. Proceeds from a 1% to 1.5% “TID”

(1.5% TID assessment) on hotel room

revenue is available exclusively for the

sales, marketing and operational programs

of San Francisco Travel for the benefit of

the industry, and to keep Moscone Center,

a major demand generator, competitive.

The SFTIDMC is governed by a separate

Board of Directors and meetings are open

to the public. For additional information,

please visit www.sftid.com.

San Francisco Travel Foundation

Formed in 2003, the San Francisco

Travel Foundation supports hospitality

management programs at Bay Area

colleges and universities. The Foundation

works with the Hotel & Restaurant

Foundation to select the recipient of

the annual John A. Marks Leadership

Scholarship (named for San Francisco

Travel’s President from 1987 to 2006)

and to fund tourism marketing classes at

San Francisco State University and the

University of San Francisco.

The goals noted above are pending approval by the San Francisco Travel Board. The goals noted above are pending approval by the San Francisco Travel Board.

Who we are

TOTAL

$27.46 MilliOn

TOTAL

$27.46 MilliOn

Visitors spend more than

$8.93 billiOn

in our city annually

Visitors outnumber locals

20:1on an annual basis

Total RevenueFY 2013-14

Total ExpensesFY 2013–14

5% Public Sector Funding 11%

Operating (Non-personnel)

3% Industry Reserve TID

Contingency

30% Private Sector Funding

65% TID Assessments

43% Operating

(Personnel)43% Promotional Programs

http://www.sanfrancisco.travel/strategic-plan.html?c=y&product=&showMain=&cid=

http://www.sftid.com

9


10


Moved away from SF in 2004 and have been missing it everyday #bestcityworld

Acting as a specialized economic

development agency, The San Francisco

Travel Association works to promote the

destination worldwide while ensuring

that tourism, the top generator of outside

revenue into the city’s economy, is kept in

the forefront as city-wide decisions and

policies are made. With a staff of more

than 85 dedicated San Francisco experts,

the Association promotes the city and

the region through sales and marketing

to meeting and event planners, tour

operators, travel industry professionals,

journalists and individual visitors. As a

membership organization with more than

1,500 partner businesses representing the

visitor industry in San Francisco and the

surrounding region, San Francisco Travel

staff work closely with local businesses,

non-profit organizations and city

government to ensure that visitors have an

exceptional experience in San Francisco,

and that we drive significant economic

value to businesses across the city.

The Visitor Information Center (ViC),

located in Hallidie Plaza at the base of the

Powell Street cable car turnaround, assists

more than 400,000 visitors annually. We

recently completed a significant renovation

to deliver a combined “high touch/high

tech” ViC experience, allowing guests to

find, explore and share information about

San Francisco and the region in the way

that is most relevant to them. San Francisco

Travel will also take the experience of

accessing and using that information

outside the ViC in a variety of forms, from

mobile website/applications to street

teams to kiosks and satellite locations, to

provide relevant information to visitors no

matter where they are, or what stage of

the planning process they are in.

In addition, San Francisco Travel has a

network of 14 representation offices in

13 countries who are responsible for direct

contact and interaction with the travel

trade and media, promoting visitation

to San Francisco. They also promote

San Francisco International Airport as

the premier arrival/departure airport in

the U.S. and identify opportunities for

enhanced air service from major markets.

Key Themes

Those enduring icons that make us known

and loved around the world, such as the

Golden Gate Bridge and the cable cars, will

continue to play a role in attracting visitors

to San Francisco. But San Francisco Travel

will also communicate its diverse product

offerings by continuing to focus on six

key themes:

Ever-Evolving Destination

Since the days of the Gold Rush,

San Francisco has reinvented itself

many times over. The collective spirit of

residents to rebuild after natural disasters,

thought leaders who promote social

change, and visionary architects are all

part of the fabric that make San Francisco,

well, San Francisco. We have just

completed the first significant upgrades to

Moscone Center, and looking forward we

also anticipate an expansion to Moscone

Center, the development of an iconic

Transbay Transit Center, a new waterfront

sports and entertainment arena which will

be home to the Golden State Warriors, a

reinvigorated Metreon, a stunning new

Bay Bridge, waterfront improvements at

Fisherman’s Wharf and along the piers in

support of America’s Cup. San Francisco

Travel will develop strategies to market

and communicate these developments to

trade and consumer audiences.

Watch A Day in the Life: San Francisco

Art & Culture

As one of the only two cities in the country

that has an officially-recognized and

world-class opera, symphony and ballet,

San Francisco has a leading reputation as

a center for both mainstream and cutting-

edge performing and visual arts. In fact,

research placed San Francisco in the top

three cities where arts travelers were

asked to identify cities associated with the

most attractive arts, cultural and historic

institutions and attractions. San Francisco

Travel develops relationships with local

cultural institutions and events to increase

day-trip and overnight visitor traffic.

Food & Wine

Culinary travelers, defined as those

who travel for unique and memorable

eating or drinking experiences, make

up roughly one-fifth of the U.S. leisure

traveling population. Compared to

the average leisure traveler, wine and

culinary travelers are more affluent, better

educated, and take part in more activities

while traveling, making this a large, active

and lucrative market. Known as a mecca

for “foodies,” San Francisco is uniquely

positioned to attract this audience and

San Francisco Travel markets the city and

the region as a “must-see” destination for

culinary travelers.

Diverse Neighborhoods

San Francisco is a city that’s a

kaleidoscope of neighborhoods. Some are

well-known to visitors. Others are not as

widely recognized but offer opportunities

to market the diversity of the city, broaden

its appeal for return visitors, extend length

of stay and increase local spending. Our

public relations, marketing and website

efforts include information encouraging

visitors to discover the city’s diverse

neighborhoods and explore all that

San Francisco has to offer.

LGBT Travel

More than 75 domestic destinations are

actively courting LGBT visitors. Given

the city’s large gay population and history

of civil rights advances, San Francisco is

recognized as the premier destination for

LGBT travelers. San Francisco Travel has

been involved in promoting San Francisco

to LGBT travelers for many years and, in

recent years, has stepped up marketing

efforts to this important segment.

Sustainable Travel

San Francisco is known as a city on

the cutting edge of the environmental

movement, and we were leading the

country well before green became the

new black. Whether banning plastic

shopping bags, hanging eco-friendly and

non-toxic street banners or diverting

nearly two million square feet of materials

from landfills each year at Moscone

Center, the collective commitment

to sustainability by the City and by

business makes San Francisco an

attractive destination to those who are

concerned with environmental issues.

What we do

2013 LGBT Ad

“San Francisco has a leading reputation as a center for both mainstream & cutting-edge performing and visual arts”

During an average day in San Francisco, there are

131,128 viSiTOrS

San Francisco’s tourism industry equates to more than

74,000 jObS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1UZMHWVmuoQ

9


10


Moved away from SF in 2004 and have been missing it everyday #bestcityworld

Acting as a specialized economic

development agency, The San Francisco

Travel Association works to promote the

destination worldwide while ensuring

that tourism, the top generator of outside

revenue into the city’s economy, is kept in

the forefront as city-wide decisions and

policies are made. With a staff of more

than 85 dedicated San Francisco experts,

the Association promotes the city and

the region through sales and marketing

to meeting and event planners, tour

operators, travel industry professionals,

journalists and individual visitors. As a

membership organization with more than

1,500 partner businesses representing the

visitor industry in San Francisco and the

surrounding region, San Francisco Travel

staff work closely with local businesses,

non-profit organizations and city

government to ensure that visitors have an

exceptional experience in San Francisco,

and that we drive significant economic

value to businesses across the city.

The Visitor Information Center (ViC),

located in Hallidie Plaza at the base of the

Powell Street cable car turnaround, assists

more than 400,000 visitors annually. We

recently completed a significant renovation

to deliver a combined “high touch/high

tech” ViC experience, allowing guests to

find, explore and share information about

San Francisco and the region in the way

that is most relevant to them. San Francisco

Travel will also take the experience of

accessing and using that information

outside the ViC in a variety of forms, from

mobile website/applications to street

teams to kiosks and satellite locations, to

provide relevant information to visitors no

matter where they are, or what stage of

the planning process they are in.

In addition, San Francisco Travel has a

network of 14 representation offices in

13 countries who are responsible for direct

contact and interaction with the travel

trade and media, promoting visitation

to San Francisco. They also promote

San Francisco International Airport as

the premier arrival/departure airport in

the U.S. and identify opportunities for

enhanced air service from major markets.

Key Themes

Those enduring icons that make us known

and loved around the world, such as the

Golden Gate Bridge and the cable cars, will

continue to play a role in attracting visitors

to San Francisco. But San Francisco Travel

will also communicate its diverse product

offerings by continuing to focus on six

key themes:

Ever-Evolving Destination

Since the days of the Gold Rush,

San Francisco has reinvented itself

many times over. The collective spirit of

residents to rebuild after natural disasters,

thought leaders who promote social

change, and visionary architects are all

part of the fabric that make San Francisco,

well, San Francisco. We have just

completed the first significant upgrades to

Moscone Center, and looking forward we

also anticipate an expansion to Moscone

Center, the development of an iconic

Transbay Transit Center, a new waterfront

sports and entertainment arena which will

be home to the Golden State Warriors, a

reinvigorated Metreon, a stunning new

Bay Bridge, waterfront improvements at

Fisherman’s Wharf and along the piers in

support of America’s Cup. San Francisco

Travel will develop strategies to market

and communicate these developments to

trade and consumer audiences.

Watch A Day in the Life: San Francisco

Art & Culture

As one of the only two cities in the country

that has an officially-recognized and

world-class opera, symphony and ballet,

San Francisco has a leading reputation as

a center for both mainstream and cutting-

edge performing and visual arts. In fact,

research placed San Francisco in the top

three cities where arts travelers were

asked to identify cities associated with the

most attractive arts, cultural and historic

institutions and attractions. San Francisco

Travel develops relationships with local

cultural institutions and events to increase

day-trip and overnight visitor traffic.

Food & Wine

Culinary travelers, defined as those

who travel for unique and memorable

eating or drinking experiences, make

up roughly one-fifth of the U.S. leisure

traveling population. Compared to

the average leisure traveler, wine and

culinary travelers are more affluent, better

educated, and take part in more activities

while traveling, making this a large, active

and lucrative market. Known as a mecca

for “foodies,” San Francisco is uniquely

positioned to attract this audience and

San Francisco Travel markets the city and

the region as a “must-see” destination for

culinary travelers.

Diverse Neighborhoods

San Francisco is a city that’s a

kaleidoscope of neighborhoods. Some are

well-known to visitors. Others are not as

widely recognized but offer opportunities

to market the diversity of the city, broaden

its appeal for return visitors, extend length

of stay and increase local spending. Our

public relations, marketing and website

efforts include information encouraging

visitors to discover the city’s diverse

neighborhoods and explore all that

San Francisco has to offer.

LGBT Travel

More than 75 domestic destinations are

actively courting LGBT visitors. Given

the city’s large gay population and history

of civil rights advances, San Francisco is

recognized as the premier destination for

LGBT travelers. San Francisco Travel has

been involved in promoting San Francisco

to LGBT travelers for many years and, in

recent years, has stepped up marketing

efforts to this important segment.

Sustainable Travel

San Francisco is known as a city on

the cutting edge of the environmental

movement, and we were leading the

country well before green became the

new black. Whether banning plastic

shopping bags, hanging eco-friendly and

non-toxic street banners or diverting

nearly two million square feet of materials

from landfills each year at Moscone

Center, the collective commitment

to sustainability by the City and by

business makes San Francisco an

attractive destination to those who are

concerned with environmental issues.

What we do

2013 LGBT Ad

“San Francisco has a leading reputation as a center for both mainstream & cutting-edge performing and visual arts”

During an average day in San Francisco, there are

131,128 viSiTOrS

San Francisco’s tourism industry equates to more than

74,000 jObS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1UZMHWVmuoQ

11


12


I will never leave my heart in San Francisco, my heart is in San Francisco

Convention Room Nights – Bookings

San Francisco Travel bases its room

bookings on expected total room nights as

estimated by the customer and supported

by meeting history which, for meetings

many years into the future, may include

escalation or reduction based on actual

attendance trends.

* San Francisco Travel limits booking credit against goals

to groups with a starting meeting date no more than 15

years from the end of a fiscal year, June 30, 2028.

Convention Room Nights – Leads

Convention lead room nights are the total

number of hotel rooms in play for potential

business for San Francisco. Leads

represent the pipeline for future booked

business, which could confirm during

2013-14 or subsequent years.

* San Francisco Travel limits lead credit to groups with

a starting meeting date no more than 20 years from the

end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2034.

Note: Groups can hold confirmed meeting

dates beyond that window but no

sales credit will be given. This booking

window keeps San Francisco Travel’s

sales cycle in line with that of the hotel

stakeholders and pushes business into

the near and mid-term rather than the

long-term, making it most useful to the

local community.

Tourism – New Programs

Unlike the convention sales product,

which has industry-wide accepted room

night and economic impact tracking

processes, Tourism does not have

a uniform methodology for tracking

destination marketing organization

(DMO) productivity. Tour products are

sold through a wide variety of channels-

tour operators, receptive operators, retail

travel agents, airline subsidiaries, “brick

and mortar” outlets and online-and the

channels interact and cross-sell. In the

Strategic Plan, San Francisco Travel

is working with peer organization

to establish a standard industry

methodology. Until such a methodology

is established, San Francisco Travel tracks

Tourism productivity via Incremental

Group Tour Programs (when room nights

are generated).

Tourism – SFO International Passenger Traffic Volume

San Francisco Travel also works to

expand international passenger volume

at SFO. This is via ongoing sales calls and

meetings with tour operators and travel

agents, who are encouraged to utilize SFO

as the premier gateway to the US. During

2013, we expect international passenger

volume to increase 4% from 9,546,145 to

9,927,990.

Website Visitor Economic Impact & Website Visits

Of all the different channels that our

visitors and customers use to interact with

us, from sales missions and trade shows

to publications and public relations, none

plays as prominent a role as our website,

www.sanfrancisco.travel, and our affiliated

partner sites. A recent conversion study

indicated that every 1,000 unique visitors

to the website generated an incremental

$15,850 in visitor spending for the city of

San Francisco – with more than 4 million

unique visits to the site in our 2012-13 fiscal

year, that means the site contributed to

upwards of $63 million of economic impact

to San Francisco. Our site plays a critical

role with all audiences – consumers, travel

industry, meeting planners and partners –

and its ultimate goal is to drive customers

to San Francisco, whether they book on

the site or are delivered to staff or our

partners through it.

Private Revenue

The San Francisco Travel private revenue

goal includes funds produced through

partnerships, premium placement in

publications and on our website, co-op

advertising, co-op trade shows, collateral

material sales, commission from online

reservations, and partner and Foundation

programs. It also reflects in-kind

contributions of services from partners,

which reduce program expenses.

Budget

San Francisco Travel will again work

throughout the year to complete 2013-14

with a balanced budget, plus or minus

0.5% gross.

How we measure what we do

2013–14 Key Goals

fy2012-13 goaL fy2013-14 goaL % change

Convention Room Nights Bookings 2,105,500 1,900,000 -10%

Convention Room Nights (Leads)

6,204,700 5,550,000 -11%

Travel Industry Sales (New Programs)

105 110 4%

SFO International Passenger Traffic Volume

9,546,145* 9,927,990 4%

Website Visitor Economic Impact $57,655,120 $80,472,828 23%

Website Visits 3,637,550 5,077,150 40%

Private Revenue $7,547,100 $8,338,900 11%

Budget End year with balanced budget (+/- 0.5% gross)

End year with balanced budget (+/- 0.5% gross)

N/A

“San Francisco’s reputation as one of the world’s great destinations helps draw what is often record-breaking attendance to meetings”

“Travelers expect a consistent brand experience with their mobile, online and social media activity”

Tourism generates

$562 MilliOn

in tax and fee revenue

The goals noted above are pending approval by the San Francisco Travel Board.

*New goal for 2013-14; number shown is 2012-13 actual.

www.sanfrancisco.travel

11


12


I will never leave my heart in San Francisco, my heart is in San Francisco

Convention Room Nights – Bookings

San Francisco Travel bases its room

bookings on expected total room nights as

estimated by the customer and supported

by meeting history which, for meetings

many years into the future, may include

escalation or reduction based on actual

attendance trends.

* San Francisco Travel limits booking credit against goals

to groups with a starting meeting date no more than 15

years from the end of a fiscal year, June 30, 2028.

Convention Room Nights – Leads

Convention lead room nights are the total

number of hotel rooms in play for potential

business for San Francisco. Leads

represent the pipeline for future booked

business, which could confirm during

2013-14 or subsequent years.

* San Francisco Travel limits lead credit to groups with

a starting meeting date no more than 20 years from the

end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2034.

Note: Groups can hold confirmed meeting

dates beyond that window but no

sales credit will be given. This booking

window keeps San Francisco Travel’s

sales cycle in line with that of the hotel

stakeholders and pushes business into

the near and mid-term rather than the

long-term, making it most useful to the

local community.

Tourism – New Programs

Unlike the convention sales product,

which has industry-wide accepted room

night and economic impact tracking

processes, Tourism does not have

a uniform methodology for tracking

destination marketing organization

(DMO) productivity. Tour products are

sold through a wide variety of channels-

tour operators, receptive operators, retail

travel agents, airline subsidiaries, “brick

and mortar” outlets and online-and the

channels interact and cross-sell. In the

Strategic Plan, San Francisco Travel

is working with peer organization

to establish a standard industry

methodology. Until such a methodology

is established, San Francisco Travel tracks

Tourism productivity via Incremental

Group Tour Programs (when room nights

are generated).

Tourism – SFO International Passenger Traffic Volume

San Francisco Travel also works to

expand international passenger volume

at SFO. This is via ongoing sales calls and

meetings with tour operators and travel

agents, who are encouraged to utilize SFO

as the premier gateway to the US. During

2013, we expect international passenger

volume to increase 4% from 9,546,145 to

9,927,990.

Website Visitor Economic Impact & Website Visits

Of all the different channels that our

visitors and customers use to interact with

us, from sales missions and trade shows

to publications and public relations, none

plays as prominent a role as our website,

www.sanfrancisco.travel, and our affiliated

partner sites. A recent conversion study

indicated that every 1,000 unique visitors

to the website generated an incremental

$15,850 in visitor spending for the city of

San Francisco – with more than 4 million

unique visits to the site in our 2012-13 fiscal

year, that means the site contributed to

upwards of $63 million of economic impact

to San Francisco. Our site plays a critical

role with all audiences – consumers, travel

industry, meeting planners and partners –

and its ultimate goal is to drive customers

to San Francisco, whether they book on

the site or are delivered to staff or our

partners through it.

Private Revenue

The San Francisco Travel private revenue

goal includes funds produced through

partnerships, premium placement in

publications and on our website, co-op

advertising, co-op trade shows, collateral

material sales, commission from online

reservations, and partner and Foundation

programs. It also reflects in-kind

contributions of services from partners,

which reduce program expenses.

Budget

San Francisco Travel will again work

throughout the year to complete 2013-14

with a balanced budget, plus or minus

0.5% gross.

How we measure what we do

2013–14 Key Goals

fy2012-13 goaL fy2013-14 goaL % change

Convention Room Nights Bookings 2,105,500 1,900,000 -10%

Convention Room Nights (Leads)

6,204,700 5,550,000 -11%

Travel Industry Sales (New Programs)

105 110 4%

SFO International Passenger Traffic Volume

9,546,145* 9,927,990 4%

Website Visitor Economic Impact $57,655,120 $80,472,828 23%

Website Visits 3,637,550 5,077,150 40%

Private Revenue $7,547,100 $8,338,900 11%

Budget End year with balanced budget (+/- 0.5% gross)

End year with balanced budget (+/- 0.5% gross)

N/A

“San Francisco’s reputation as one of the world’s great destinations helps draw what is often record-breaking attendance to meetings”

“Travelers expect a consistent brand experience with their mobile, online and social media activity”

Tourism generates

$562 MilliOn

in tax and fee revenue

The goals noted above are pending approval by the San Francisco Travel Board.

*New goal for 2013-14; number shown is 2012-13 actual.


13


14


First visit to SF end of April. Missing it so much already. Amazing city. #dolorespark

Overview

After the uncertainty of the last few

years, San Francisco is clearly on the

road to recovery; and as one of the city’s

largest industries, tourism continues to

play a key role in driving that recovery.

The year 2012 saw increases in visitation

and visitor numbers across the board,

in the areas that reflect the health of the

industry: visitor spending, hotel activity,

conventions and air traffic.

San Francisco’s Market Mix

San Francisco’s balanced mix of

convention/meetings travel, leisure/

consumer travel and business travel

means that the city isn’t as vulnerable

to swings in any one market as some

other destinations. Although the industry

has seen economic uncertainty impact

discretionary leisure travel, business

travel (the most lucrative segment) and

corporate meetings (which can book – and

cancel – inside very short timeframes),

San Francisco is starting to see growth in

all of these areas.

Visitor Spending

During 2012, San Francisco continued to

see increased visitor volume and spending,

hosting an estimated 16.5 million visitors

accounting for $8.9 billion in spending. The

visitor industry in San Francisco supported

more than 74,000 local jobs in 2012.

State of the industry

2012 Market Mix

16% Group

21.3% Commercial

57.6% Leisure

5.1% Other

Based on PFK Data

2012 San Francisco Annual Visitor Volume & Spending

pLace of stay 2011 2012 % change

VISITOR VOLuME (Number of visitors to San Francisco in millions)

San Francisco Hotel 5.04 5.08 0.8%

Private Home in San Francisco 1.09 1.11 1.8%

Other Bay Area Locations 5.88 5.95 1.2%

Bay Area Residents on Leisure Trip 4.33 4.37 0.9%

Total 16.35 16.51 1.0%

VISITOR SPENDING (Number of visitors to San Francisco in billion dollars)

San Francisco Hotel $5.20 $5.54 6.5%

Private Home in San Francisco* $0.75 $0.78 4.0%

Other Bay Area Locations* $1.14 $1.18 3.5%

Bay Area Residents on Leisure Trip $1.38 $1.43 3.6%

Total $8.46 $8.93 5.6%

OThER KEy VISITOR INDuSTRy STATISTICS

Taxes generated for City of San Francisco (millions) $526 $562 6.8%

Jobs supported in San Francisco 71,403 74,009 3.6%

Total payroll (billions) $2.06 $2.18 5.8%

Visitors in San Francisco on an average day 129,499 131,128 1.3%

Visitor spending in San Francisco on an average day (millions) $23.19 $24.46 5.5%

Annual visitor spending per San Franciscan $10,411 $10,985 5.5%

Source: San Francisco Travel Association, Economics Research Associates, Destination Analysts, Inc.

98%of San Francisco residents

believe tourism is important or very important to the vitality of

the city’s economy

Each year, more than 16.5

MilliOnpeople visit San Francisco

13


14



Overview

After the uncertainty of the last few

years, San Francisco is clearly on the

road to recovery; and as one of the city’s

largest industries, tourism continues to

play a key role in driving that recovery.

The year 2012 saw increases in visitation

and visitor numbers across the board,

in the areas that reflect the health of the

industry: visitor spending, hotel activity,

conventions and air traffic.

San Francisco’s Market Mix

San Francisco’s balanced mix of

convention/meetings travel, leisure/

consumer travel and business travel

means that the city isn’t as vulnerable

to swings in any one market as some

other destinations. Although the industry

has seen economic uncertainty impact

discretionary leisure travel, business

travel (the most lucrative segment) and

corporate meetings (which can book – and

cancel – inside very short timeframes),

San Francisco is starting to see growth in

all of these areas.

Visitor Spending

During 2012, San Francisco continued to

see increased visitor volume and spending,

hosting an estimated 16.5 million visitors

accounting for $8.9 billion in spending. The

visitor industry in San Francisco supported

more than 74,000 local jobs in 2012.

State of the industry

2012 Market Mix

16% Group

21.3% Commercial

57.6% Leisure

5.1% Other

Based on PFK Data

2012 San Francisco Annual Visitor Volume & Spending

pLace of stay 2011 2012 % change

VISITOR VOLuME (Number of visitors to San Francisco in millions)

San Francisco Hotel 5.04 5.08 0.8%

Private Home in San Francisco 1.09 1.11 1.8%

Other Bay Area Locations 5.88 5.95 1.2%

Bay Area Residents on Leisure Trip 4.33 4.37 0.9%

Total 16.35 16.51 1.0%

VISITOR SPENDING (Number of visitors to San Francisco in billion dollars)

San Francisco Hotel $5.20 $5.54 6.5%

Private Home in San Francisco* $0.75 $0.78 4.0%

Other Bay Area Locations* $1.14 $1.18 3.5%

Bay Area Residents on Leisure Trip $1.38 $1.43 3.6%

Total $8.46 $8.93 5.6%

OThER KEy VISITOR INDuSTRy STATISTICS

Taxes generated for City of San Francisco (millions) $526 $562 6.8%

Jobs supported in San Francisco 71,403 74,009 3.6%

Total payroll (billions) $2.06 $2.18 5.8%

Visitors in San Francisco on an average day 129,499 131,128 1.3%

Visitor spending in San Francisco on an average day (millions) $23.19 $24.46 5.5%

Annual visitor spending per San Franciscan $10,411 $10,985 5.5%

Source: San Francisco Travel Association, Economics Research Associates, Destination Analysts, Inc.

98%of San Francisco residents

believe tourism is important or very important to the vitality of

the city’s economy

Each year, more than 16.5

MilliOnpeople visit San Francisco

15


16


hotel Industry

Preliminary numbers show that hotels in

San Francisco experienced occupancy of

82.6% in 2012. Average Daily Rate (ADR)

for the year reached $207, an increase of

9.8 % over 2011, (Source: PKF Consulting)

PKF projects continued growth in the area

of lodging demand as personal incomes

and business profit also grow; however,

the high level of growth may start to

slow as demand nears practical capacity.

Many hotels in San Francisco have used

the slower periods to complete room and

meeting space renovations, and guests

continue to focus on value, reliability

and service.

Convention Facilities

San Francisco’s convention facilities,

Moscone South, North and West, operate

at more than 70% of capacity, nearly full

when factoring in move-in and move-out

days and maintenance. San Francisco’s

reputation as one of the world’s great

destinations helps draw what is often

record-breaking attendance to meetings

held at the center. Exciting plans include

the approval for the Moscone Center

Expansion to be completed by 2018.

Arrivals by Air

San Francisco International Airport

(SFO) is a vital partner in San Francisco

Travel’s efforts to attract visitors. Air lift

(service) is one of the critical factors to a

destination’s success. In 2012, SFO set an

all-time record for passenger traffic, with

44.5 million using the facility, representing

an 8.5% increase of 2011, when 41 million

traveled through SFO. SFO offers non-stop

flights with more than 31 international

destinations on 30 international carriers

and connects non-stop with 74 cities in

the U.S. on 15 domestic airlines.

SFO has welcomed additional inter-

national service in 2013 from SAS-

Scandinavian Airlines with service to

Copenhagen, China Eastern Airlines with

service to Shanghai and United Airlines

with service to Paris. The successful

opening of Terminal 2 in April 2011

brought an additional 14 gates to SFO

and became the first U.S. Terminal to be

certified LEED Gold. With new luxury

lounges from Cathay Pacific and Emirates,

continual upgrades to infrastructure and

inclusion in the Global Entry program,

SFO has created a product that makes

it a top airport choice for passengers,

and particularly the lucrative business

traveler. During FY13/14, SFO will

continue with the renovation of sections

of Terminal 3 as well as construction of an

iconic control tower.

Annual Total Visitor Volumein miLLiOnS bY YEAr

Annual Visitor Spendingin biLLiOnS bY YEAr

Citywide Room Nights Booked by San Francisco Travel

AS OF junE 2013

Based on PFK Data Bar graph: Based on PFK Data Chart: Moscone North, South & West

Lodging MarketADr($) VS OCCupAnCY(%)

80.7

%

80.3

%

64.8

%

61%

62.7

%

67.8

%

71.4

% 72.7

%

74.9

%

75%

71.2

%

75.1

% 78.9

% 80.3

%

yEARNuMBER OF GROuPS

TOTAL BOOKEDNIGhTS

2007 59 755,898

2008 56 755,898

2009 52 992,843

2010 57 788,004

2011 60 830,482

2012 53 892,181

2013 50 928,787

2014 47 980,181

2015 38 934,970

2016 36 849,015

Already dreaming of my trip to San Francisco #sf #travel #traveltuesday

YEAr YEAr YEAr

99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

16.6 17

.6

15.7

13.7 14

.3 15.1 15

.7

15.8 16

.1

16.4

15.4 15

.9

16.3

16.5

99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

20

15

10

5

0

$200

$150

$100

$50

$0

$6.6

$7.6

$6.5

$5.9

$6.0

$6.7

$7.4 $7

.7 $8.2 $8

.5

$7.8

$7.7

$8.5 $8

.9

99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

$10

$8

$6

$4

$2

$0

15


16


hotel Industry

Preliminary numbers show that hotels in

San Francisco experienced occupancy of

82.6% in 2012. Average Daily Rate (ADR)

for the year reached $207, an increase of

9.8 % over 2011, (Source: PKF Consulting)

PKF projects continued growth in the area

of lodging demand as personal incomes

and business profit also grow; however,

the high level of growth may start to

slow as demand nears practical capacity.

Many hotels in San Francisco have used

the slower periods to complete room and

meeting space renovations, and guests

continue to focus on value, reliability

and service.

Convention Facilities


Moscone South, North and West, operate

at more than 70% of capacity, nearly full

when factoring in move-in and move-out

days and maintenance. San Francisco’s

reputation as one of the world’s great

destinations helps draw what is often

record-breaking attendance to meetings

held at the center. Exciting plans include

the approval for the Moscone Center

Expansion to be completed by 2018.

Arrivals by Air

San Francisco International Airport

(SFO) is a vital partner in San Francisco

Travel’s efforts to attract visitors. Air lift

(service) is one of the critical factors to a

destination’s success. In 2012, SFO set an

all-time record for passenger traffic, with

44.5 million using the facility, representing

an 8.5% increase of 2011, when 41 million

traveled through SFO. SFO offers non-stop

flights with more than 31 international

destinations on 30 international carriers

and connects non-stop with 74 cities in

the U.S. on 15 domestic airlines.

SFO has welcomed additional inter-

national service in 2013 from SAS-

Scandinavian Airlines with service to

Copenhagen, China Eastern Airlines with

service to Shanghai and United Airlines

with service to Paris. The successful

opening of Terminal 2 in April 2011

brought an additional 14 gates to SFO

and became the first U.S. Terminal to be

certified LEED Gold. With new luxury

lounges from Cathay Pacific and Emirates,

continual upgrades to infrastructure and

inclusion in the Global Entry program,

SFO has created a product that makes

it a top airport choice for passengers,

and particularly the lucrative business

traveler. During FY13/14, SFO will

continue with the renovation of sections

of Terminal 3 as well as construction of an

iconic control tower.

Annual Total Visitor Volumein miLLiOnS bY YEAr

Annual Visitor Spendingin biLLiOnS bY YEAr

Citywide Room Nights Booked by San Francisco Travel

AS OF junE 2013

Based on PFK Data Bar graph: Based on PFK Data Chart: Moscone North, South & West

Lodging MarketADr($) VS OCCupAnCY(%)

80.7

%

80.3

%

64.8

%

61%

62.7

%

67.8

%

71.4

% 72.7

%

74.9

%

75%

71.2

%

75.1

% 78.9

% 80.3

%

yEARNuMBER OF GROuPS

TOTAL BOOKEDNIGhTS

2007 59 755,898

2008 56 755,898

2009 52 992,843

2010 57 788,004

2011 60 830,482

2012 53 892,181

2013 50 928,787

2014 47 980,181

2015 38 934,970

2016 36 849,015

Already dreaming of my trip to San Francisco #sf #travel #traveltuesday

YEAr YEAr YEAr

99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

16.6 17

.6

15.7

13.7 14

.3 15.1 15

.7

15.8 16

.1

16.4

15.4 15

.9

16.3

16.5

99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

20

15

10

5

0

$200

$150

$100

$50

$0

$6.6

$7.6

$6.5

$5.9

$6.0

$6.7

$7.4 $7

.7 $8.2 $8

.5

$7.8

$7.7

$8.5 $8

.9

99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

$10

$8

$6

$4

$2

$0

18


17


International Activity

In 2010, at the urging of the industry, the

U.S. Congress established the Corporation

for Travel Promotion (CTP) as a partnership

between the travel industry and the

federal government, in order to create a

marketing and promotion program that

would help the U.S. compete for visitors.

This organization is now called Brand USA

and has set into motion marketing and

sales efforts in key countries worldwide

to regain market share the U.S. has been

losing since September 11, 2001. The

establishment of Brand USA is designed

to address the competitive shortcoming

the U.S. has been under compared to

other destinations worldwide. During

2012, Brand USA began consumer direct

efforts in Japan, United Kingdom, and

Canada, and during 2013 these efforts will

expand into Brazil, as well as key western

European and Asian markets.

San Francisco’s primary international

markets of Canada, Germany, France,

Australia, China, and Japan all saw growth

in visitation in 2012, while our largest

overseas market, United Kingdom, saw a

slight decrease due to the 2012 Olympics

taking place in London.

Consumer Behavior

Along with what we’re seeing as

increasingly optimistic economic signs

overall – save a few regions/countries

around the world that remain challenged

economically and politically – we see

leisure visitors around the world returning

to travel in significant numbers. As the

world around them continues to change,

travelers remain adaptable to those

changes, constantly seeking new and

renewed experiences, open to what the

wide world throws their way.

We’re seeing trends that include the

continued increase in utilization of mobile

devices across the entire travel process,

from researching to purchasing, and

from enhancing their experience while

traveling to sharing about it afterward.

And speaking of sharing, we expect to

see increased reliance on and leveraging

of companies in the “sharing economy,”

such as Airbnb, Zipcar, and others. We

also see more last-minute hotel booking

(something we’re taking advantage of

at our visitor information center) and

also the blurring of business and leisure

travel, as more visitors extend their stays

on business trips, or bring their spouses

and partners along. And finally, visitors of

all kind and from all countries are seeking

increasingly personalized experiences,

looking for the unique and special things

that they can’t do anywhere else.

Summary

San Francisco has much to be optimistic

about in 2013-14. Tourism indicators

project steady growth over the next few

years, and the outlook for San Francisco

in general appears positive, with key

infrastructural developments in progress,

City colleagues focused on job creation

and strong residential support of the

visitor industry. As always, San Francisco

Travel will monitor and review economic

trends and impacts of unknown factors

that can affect the industry’s growth such

as the impact of oil prices and uncertainty

in world markets. In general, the outlook

for California and the Bay Area is positive.

In addition, by maintaining a strong voice

and presence in public policy movements,

San Francisco Travel will do everything

possible to ensure the city is ready to

handle an increasing visitor flow.

San Francisco, my beautiful hometown... I can’t wait to see you this summer!

On an average day in San Francisco,

visitors are spending

$23.19 MilliOn

18


17


International Activity

In 2010, at the urging of the industry, the

U.S. Congress established the Corporation

for Travel Promotion (CTP) as a partnership

between the travel industry and the

federal government, in order to create a

marketing and promotion program that

would help the U.S. compete for visitors.

This organization is now called Brand USA

and has set into motion marketing and

sales efforts in key countries worldwide

to regain market share the U.S. has been

losing since September 11, 2001. The

establishment of Brand USA is designed

to address the competitive shortcoming

the U.S. has been under compared to

other destinations worldwide. During

2012, Brand USA began consumer direct

efforts in Japan, United Kingdom, and

Canada, and during 2013 these efforts will

expand into Brazil, as well as key western

European and Asian markets.

San Francisco’s primary international

markets of Canada, Germany, France,

Australia, China, and Japan all saw growth

in visitation in 2012, while our largest

overseas market, United Kingdom, saw a

slight decrease due to the 2012 Olympics

taking place in London.

Consumer Behavior

Along with what we’re seeing as

increasingly optimistic economic signs

overall – save a few regions/countries

around the world that remain challenged

economically and politically – we see

leisure visitors around the world returning

to travel in significant numbers. As the

world around them continues to change,

travelers remain adaptable to those

changes, constantly seeking new and

renewed experiences, open to what the

wide world throws their way.

We’re seeing trends that include the

continued increase in utilization of mobile

devices across the entire travel process,

from researching to purchasing, and

from enhancing their experience while

traveling to sharing about it afterward.

And speaking of sharing, we expect to

see increased reliance on and leveraging

of companies in the “sharing economy,”

such as Airbnb, Zipcar, and others. We

also see more last-minute hotel booking

(something we’re taking advantage of

at our visitor information center) and

also the blurring of business and leisure

travel, as more visitors extend their stays

on business trips, or bring their spouses

and partners along. And finally, visitors of

all kind and from all countries are seeking

increasingly personalized experiences,

looking for the unique and special things

that they can’t do anywhere else.

Summary

San Francisco has much to be optimistic

about in 2013-14. Tourism indicators

project steady growth over the next few

years, and the outlook for San Francisco

in general appears positive, with key

infrastructural developments in progress,

City colleagues focused on job creation

and strong residential support of the

visitor industry. As always, San Francisco

Travel will monitor and review economic

trends and impacts of unknown factors

that can affect the industry’s growth such

as the impact of oil prices and uncertainty

in world markets. In general, the outlook

for California and the Bay Area is positive.

In addition, by maintaining a strong voice

and presence in public policy movements,

San Francisco Travel will do everything

possible to ensure the city is ready to

handle an increasing visitor flow.

San Francisco, my beautiful hometown... I can’t wait to see you this summer!

On an average day in San Francisco,

visitors are spending

$23.19 MilliOn

19


20


I get little kid happy when I cross the Bay Bridge into San Francisco #ilovethiscity

About the four-year strategic plan

Developed annually, the four-year strategic

plan retains San Francisco Travel’s five core

objectives established by the Board, and

adds, under each objective, key strategies for

achieving those objectives in the upcoming

years. Each strategy is displayed under the

year it will be completed, understanding

that work may begin in previous years as

some strategies may require analysis and

development prior to implementation. By

developing long-term goals and strategies,

San Francisco Travel can remain focused

on driving visitor-related economic impact

to the city and Bay Area region.

2013-14 Core Objectives and Key Strategies

San Francisco Travel uses an objective-

based work plan to ensure that programs

and activities meet at least one of five core

objectives. The following are highlights of

this year’s Program of Work that fit within

the four-year plan and are categorized

by objective.

primary Objective: Generate Visitor-related Economic impact for the

San Francisco region

San Francisco Travel is a specialized

economic development agency whose

primary task is to market and sell three

San Francisco “products” in order to

drive more significant visitor volume,

and greater spending in the city and

surrounding areas:

■ Convention/meeting product ■ Tourism product ■ Leisure travel product

The following strategies are designed

to ensure that San Francisco Travel is

clearly focused on bringing all visitors

– and the added economic benefit – to

San Francisco and the surrounding areas.

For specific details about the current state

of the industry, see pages 13-16.

CONVENTION/MEETING PRODuCT

Staff Contact john reyes, Executive Vice president &

Chief Sales Officer

Board Oversight meetings & Conventions Council

Industry Input Convention Customer

Advisory Council, Self-Contained Advisory Council

San Francisco Travel’s Convention division

is responsible for booking citywide

meetings at Moscone Center and self-

contained meetings at hotels throughout

the San Francisco region. The Convention

staff works with current and new meeting

planners to assist with site selection, hotel

and venue selection, and attendance

building tools.

Four-year Vision ■ Redesign Convention Sales structure ■ Implement agreed upon recommend-

ations from Convention Sales bench-

marking and process assessment

■ Integrate “Key Themes” (see pages 9-10)

that support brand strategies into sales

and marketing messaging ■ Leverage digital and social media

technology and programs to drive sales/

visitor engagement ■ Implement a Citywide Sales Strategy that

reviews key end-to-end processes, defines

what a successful citywide year looks like,

reviews and evaluates citywide accounts

for best placement, and establishes an

effective and efficient collaboration with

key citywide hotel partners

Four-year Strategic Goals and Measures of Success

■ Continue to meet and exceed annual

goals ■ Review key sales process checklists for

improvements ■ Continue to survey meeting and

convention planners to develop effective

customer-centric sales processes ■ Improve overall communication with

stakeholders, and internal and external

customers to summarize value

and results ■ Refine Moscone Center booking

guidelines in both the short- and long-

term to include flexibility in convention

center pricing based on number of

events, peak room night production and

seasonality for each future year ■ Market, promote and sell San Francisco

as a global brand emphasizing its

unique sales proposition to the

domestic/overseas meetings and

conventions market

■ Increase use of technology to leverage

sales efforts and results

Convention Sales and Services Cycle ■ PLAN for sales success ■ FIND convention and meeting business ■ WIN convention and meeting business ■ KEEP convention and meeting business ■ REPORT on sales successes and

challenges

2013-14 highlights and Priorities

While these five areas encompass many

strategies and tactics, the following have

been identified by San Francisco Travel’s

Meetings & Conventions Council as

strategic priorities: ■ Execute new citywide sales strategy. The

new citywide strategy will benchmark

what a successful citywide year looks

like, defined by number of events, total

room night production and seasonality.

Strategic placement of citywide

business will be achieved through

strategic account management to place

the proper number of events by year

and peak room nights. Flexible booking

guidelines will be connected to calendar

year seasonality. ■ Cont inue the success o f the

Meetings, Incentives, Conventions

and Exhibitions (MICE) Program. The

MICE effort is to generate international

meetings, incentive, congresses

(conventions) and exhibitions (trade

shows) sits in the Tourism division.

The MICE sales director develops

new business leads and will liaison

with the Convention Sales team who

is responsible for booking. ■ Establish total account management

responsibilities via new Self-Contained

Redeployment introduced in FY 2013-14.

Total account management is defined

as being assigned to both lead and

book goals for business generated for

San Francisco in their assigned territories. ■ Increase awareness of San Francisco

as a premier meeting and convention

d e s t i n a t i o n v i a k e y i n d u s t r y

sponsorships: MPI, GMIC, PCMA,

SITE, MILO and IAEE. ■ Schedule a FY 2013-14 self-contained

customer advisory council meeting

to continue to provide customer-

centric recommendations to improve

and processes that will strengthen

San Francisco’s attractiveness and

increase self-contained lead and definite

room night opportunities.

What we’re up to

Convention Sales & Services Areas of Focus

Plan, Find, Win, Keep, Report

Findconvention & meeting business

Win convention & meeting business

Planfor sales success

Reportsales successes

& challenges

Keepconvention & meeting

business

bottom line

Maximize hotel room revenue

Maximize meeting-relatedeconomic impact

19


20


I get little kid happy when I cross the Bay Bridge into San Francisco #ilovethiscity

About the four-year strategic plan

Developed annually, the four-year strategic

plan retains San Francisco Travel’s five core

objectives established by the Board, and

adds, under each objective, key strategies for

achieving those objectives in the upcoming

years. Each strategy is displayed under the

year it will be completed, understanding

that work may begin in previous years as

some strategies may require analysis and

development prior to implementation. By

developing long-term goals and strategies,

San Francisco Travel can remain focused

on driving visitor-related economic impact

to the city and Bay Area region.

2013-14 Core Objectives and Key Strategies

San Francisco Travel uses an objective-

based work plan to ensure that programs

and activities meet at least one of five core

objectives. The following are highlights of

this year’s Program of Work that fit within

the four-year plan and are categorized

by objective.

primary Objective: Generate Visitor-related Economic impact for the

San Francisco region

San Francisco Travel is a specialized

economic development agency whose

primary task is to market and sell three

San Francisco “products” in order to

drive more significant visitor volume,

and greater spending in the city and

surrounding areas:

■ Convention/meeting product ■ Tourism product ■ Leisure travel product

The following strategies are designed

to ensure that San Francisco Travel is

clearly focused on bringing all visitors

– and the added economic benefit – to

San Francisco and the surrounding areas.

For specific details about the current state

of the industry, see pages 13-16.


Staff Contact john reyes, Executive Vice president &

Chief Sales Officer

Board Oversight meetings & Conventions Council

Industry Input Convention Customer

Advisory Council, Self-Contained Advisory Council

San Francisco Travel’s Convention division

is responsible for booking citywide

meetings at Moscone Center and self-

contained meetings at hotels throughout

the San Francisco region. The Convention

staff works with current and new meeting

planners to assist with site selection, hotel

and venue selection, and attendance

building tools.

Four-year Vision ■ Redesign Convention Sales structure ■ Implement agreed upon recommend-

ations from Convention Sales bench-

marking and process assessment

■ Integrate “Key Themes” (see pages 9-10)

that support brand strategies into sales

and marketing messaging ■ Leverage digital and social media

technology and programs to drive sales/

visitor engagement ■ Implement a Citywide Sales Strategy that

reviews key end-to-end processes, defines

what a successful citywide year looks like,

reviews and evaluates citywide accounts

for best placement, and establishes an

effective and efficient collaboration with

key citywide hotel partners


■ Continue to meet and exceed annual

goals ■ Review key sales process checklists for

improvements ■ Continue to survey meeting and

convention planners to develop effective

customer-centric sales processes ■ Improve overall communication with

stakeholders, and internal and external

customers to summarize value

and results ■ Refine Moscone Center booking

guidelines in both the short- and long-

term to include flexibility in convention

center pricing based on number of

events, peak room night production and

seasonality for each future year ■ Market, promote and sell San Francisco

as a global brand emphasizing its

unique sales proposition to the

domestic/overseas meetings and

conventions market

■ Increase use of technology to leverage

sales efforts and results

Convention Sales and Services Cycle ■ PLAN for sales success ■ FIND convention and meeting business ■ WIN convention and meeting business ■ KEEP convention and meeting business ■ REPORT on sales successes and

challenges


While these five areas encompass many

strategies and tactics, the following have

been identified by San Francisco Travel’s

Meetings & Conventions Council as

strategic priorities: ■ Execute new citywide sales strategy. The

new citywide strategy will benchmark

what a successful citywide year looks

like, defined by number of events, total

room night production and seasonality.

Strategic placement of citywide

business will be achieved through

strategic account management to place

the proper number of events by year

and peak room nights. Flexible booking

guidelines will be connected to calendar

year seasonality. ■ Cont inue the success o f the

Meetings, Incentives, Conventions

and Exhibitions (MICE) Program. The

MICE effort is to generate international

meetings, incentive, congresses

(conventions) and exhibitions (trade

shows) sits in the Tourism division.

The MICE sales director develops

new business leads and will liaison

with the Convention Sales team who

is responsible for booking. ■ Establish total account management

responsibilities via new Self-Contained

Redeployment introduced in FY 2013-14.

Total account management is defined

as being assigned to both lead and

book goals for business generated for

San Francisco in their assigned territories. ■ Increase awareness of San Francisco

as a premier meeting and convention

d e s t i n a t i o n v i a k e y i n d u s t r y

sponsorships: MPI, GMIC, PCMA,

SITE, MILO and IAEE. ■ Schedule a FY 2013-14 self-contained

customer advisory council meeting

to continue to provide customer-

centric recommendations to improve

and processes that will strengthen

San Francisco’s attractiveness and

increase self-contained lead and definite

room night opportunities.

What we’re up to

Convention Sales & Services Areas of Focus

Plan, Find, Win, Keep, Report

Findconvention & meeting business

Win convention & meeting business

Planfor sales success

Reportsales successes

& challenges

Keepconvention & meeting

business

bottom line

Maximize hotel room revenue

Maximize meeting-relatedeconomic impact

21


22


■ Continue to review all Moscone

tentatives inside eight years and develop

strategies to close. San Francisco Travel

will review all current tentative business

holding dates and space in Moscone

Center to develop better strategies

to close the most desirable business

as well as make decisions to move

definite and/or tentative groups into

more appropriate dates. ■ Deploy the Director, Convention Strategy

position to improve strategic placement

of current and future citywide business.

− Overseeing and regularly refining the Moscone Center business optimization analysis

− Producing a monthly convention/meetings market intelligence report for staff and stakeholders

− Identifying resources to assist sales managers with prospecting and business development

− Overseeing annual account evaluation to ensure time and resources are being most effectively allocated

− Developing recommendations to

executive team and Marketing division

for product positioning and messaging

based on market intelligence

− Supporting San Francisco Travel’s efforts on the Moscone Expansion

TOuRISM PRODuCT

Staff Contact Tom Kiely, Executive Vice president &

Chief Tourism Officer

Industry Input Tourism Advisory Council

(San Francisco Travel partners)

San Francisco Travel’s Tourism division

markets the city and the region to the

domestic and international travel industry,

including travel agents, tour wholesalers,

receptive operators and airlines. The goal

is to increase the number of visitors by

creating new tour programs and help the

travel industry increase sales of existing

programs. During the last fiscal year, the

Tourism group significantly increased

its sales activities via sales calls and

trade missions in all key and emerging

markets. Additionally, San Francisco

Travel launched dedicated sales missions

to Canada and Australia, two of our top

markets. Approximately 17 partners

joined each mission and we expect to

continue these types of missions in the

future. Media Relations-International has

effectively promoted San Francisco as

a “must visit” destination via trade and

consumer media.

Four-year Vision ■ Define a program of work that balances

marketing, direct sales and servicing ■ Implement a clear international market

growth strategy ■ Continue to leverage the annual IPW

(International Pow Wow) trade show

achieve maximum impact and results ■ Follow-up on a bid submitted to U.S.

Travel for hosting IPW-International

Pow Wow in 2020 or 2021, to maintain

international visitor momentum. ■ Integrate marketing programs, with

measurable results, with airline and

travel industry partners ■ Create an industry standard to track the

economic impact of Tourism sales efforts ■ Continue the Tourism Advisory Council,

comprised of key tourism professionals

from throughout the region, to provide

strategic input to Tourism’s overall efforts. ■ Leverage relationships with key partners

including Visit California, San Francisco

International Airport (SFO), the U.S. Travel

Association (sponsor IPW-International

Pow Wow), Brand USA (the new public/

private organization tasked with promoting

international tourism to the U.S.), and

non-traditional corporate partners.


■ Articulate and execute a scope of

work between Tourism and Marketing

divisions ■ Sustain growth in international visitor

volume and spending, built upon an

aggressive sales strategy

■ Expand international airline service

to SFO from key and secondary

inbound markets ■ Implement an industry standard tracking

system, effectively gauging program

results and direct economic impact of

Tourism’s efforts

Tourism division 2013-14 highlights and Priorities

During the Centennial Project, the Tourism

division identified key factors that will

greatly assist in the ability to operate more

effectively, strategically and concisely: ■ Achieve maximum impact from hosting

International Pow Wow 2011. Following

what the U.S. Travel Association called

“the most successful Pow Wow ever,”

San Francisco Travel leveraged this

event to grow international visitation

by executing an aggressive sales call

schedule worldwide. During FY 2012-13,

Tourism Leads goal was increased to 850

– a growth of 11%. Tourism Programs goal

was increased to 105 – a 15% growth. To

leverage the scheduling of back-to-back

Pow Wows in California, San Francisco

Travel worked closely with the U.S. Travel

Association, Brand USA, Los Angeles

Tourism and Convention Board, and Visit

California to maximize San Francisco’s

presence at IPW 2012 in Los Angeles.

For this fiscal year, the Tourism staff will

further expand sales efforts from IPW

2013 by increasing the number of new

programs operated by existing clients,

expand the total number of new tour

operator clients, and ensure more visitors

arrive via all tourism channels. During

FY 2013-14, Tourism will host the popular

Receptive Tour Operator events in both

New York and Los A ngeles, plus execute

an exclusive client event in our largest

overseas market, the United Kingdom. ■ Refine Tourism Strategy. During

FY 2011-12, Tourism created a

comprehensive scope of work that

outlined responsibilities for everyone

in the department. Each position

was evaluated to ensure efforts were

prioritized to maximize sales results.

This realignment of responsibilities

continues to produce positive results as

both Tourism Leads and Programs have

increased 28% in two years. We expect

this rate of growth to slow somewhat in

FY 2013-14 due to lack of adequate hotel

availability. Tourism also partnered with

Marketing to develop a clear scope of

work between the two departments that

details how they interact with tourism

entities worldwide. Our quarterly

Tourism meetings were replaced with

the creation of the Tourism Advisory

Council, although twice yearly status

updates will still be offered to all partners.

In the upcoming fiscal year, Tourism

will further evaluate the international

representation offices and increase or

maintain funding to key and emerging

markets, while downsizing or closing

non-essential offices. During FY 2012-13,

San Francisco Travel opened its 14th

international office in Copenhagen,

Denmark, in support of the new service

from SAS-Scandinavian Airlines.

■ Enhance partnership with SFO. During

FY 2012-13, San Francisco Travel

renewed its comprehensive Scope of

Work agreement with SFO, the entry

point for 80% of visitors arriving by air.

Joint sales calls to airlines were executed

to influence their decision to expand

international air service to SFO, including

Brazil. Joint calls were conducted to

tour operators to establish strong sales

channels, ensuring new and existing

international flights were full. During

this fiscal year, Tourism will continue

this strategy to gain additional airline

service from markets such as Asia and

Europe. SFO will be a key component of

sales messaging, promoting important

topics as jointly identified by SFO and

San Francisco Travel. ■ Measure results. During FY 2011-12,

Tourism integrated the USI CRM system

into operations. This system is utilized

by all departments of San Francisco

Travel, but Tourism was lagging in its

implementation. Now fully up-to-speed,

Tourism is able to track sales efforts and

results and will share this information with

partners, the board of directors and staff.

Tourism will provide a compelling picture

of the results, from both visitor numbers

and a financial perspective. Using

established visitation numbers generated

by USI and CIC Research, the department

will overlay tourism gains with average

spend by market, showing how efforts

have contributed to the local economy. ■ Implement MICE position. In FY 2012-13

Christophe Ley joined San Francisco

What a wonderful time we had here!

“After the uncertainty of the last few years, San Francisco is clearly on the road to recovery”

21


22


■ Continue to review all Moscone

tentatives inside eight years and develop

strategies to close. San Francisco Travel

will review all current tentative business

holding dates and space in Moscone

Center to develop better strategies

to close the most desirable business

as well as make decisions to move

definite and/or tentative groups into

more appropriate dates. ■ Deploy the Director, Convention Strategy

position to improve strategic placement

of current and future citywide business.

− Overseeing and regularly refining the Moscone Center business optimization analysis

− Producing a monthly convention/meetings market intelligence report for staff and stakeholders

− Identifying resources to assist sales managers with prospecting and business development

− Overseeing annual account evaluation to ensure time and resources are being most effectively allocated

− Developing recommendations to

executive team and Marketing division

for product positioning and messaging

based on market intelligence

− Supporting San Francisco Travel’s efforts on the Moscone Expansion

TOuRISM PRODuCT

Staff Contact Tom Kiely, Executive Vice president &

Chief Tourism Officer

Industry Input Tourism Advisory Council

(San Francisco Travel partners)

San Francisco Travel’s Tourism division

markets the city and the region to the

domestic and international travel industry,

including travel agents, tour wholesalers,

receptive operators and airlines. The goal

is to increase the number of visitors by

creating new tour programs and help the

travel industry increase sales of existing

programs. During the last fiscal year, the

Tourism group significantly increased

its sales activities via sales calls and

trade missions in all key and emerging

markets. Additionally, San Francisco

Travel launched dedicated sales missions

to Canada and Australia, two of our top

markets. Approximately 17 partners

joined each mission and we expect to

continue these types of missions in the

future. Media Relations-International has

effectively promoted San Francisco as

a “must visit” destination via trade and

consumer media.

Four-year Vision ■ Define a program of work that balances

marketing, direct sales and servicing ■ Implement a clear international market

growth strategy ■ Continue to leverage the annual IPW

(International Pow Wow) trade show

achieve maximum impact and results ■ Follow-up on a bid submitted to U.S.

Travel for hosting IPW-International

Pow Wow in 2020 or 2021, to maintain

international visitor momentum. ■ Integrate marketing programs, with

measurable results, with airline and

travel industry partners ■ Create an industry standard to track the

economic impact of Tourism sales efforts ■ Continue the Tourism Advisory Council,

comprised of key tourism professionals

from throughout the region, to provide

strategic input to Tourism’s overall efforts. ■ Leverage relationships with key partners

including Visit California, San Francisco

International Airport (SFO), the U.S. Travel

Association (sponsor IPW-International

Pow Wow), Brand USA (the new public/

private organization tasked with promoting

international tourism to the U.S.), and

non-traditional corporate partners.


■ Articulate and execute a scope of

work between Tourism and Marketing

divisions ■ Sustain growth in international visitor

volume and spending, built upon an

aggressive sales strategy

■ Expand international airline service

to SFO from key and secondary

inbound markets ■ Implement an industry standard tracking

system, effectively gauging program

results and direct economic impact of

Tourism’s efforts

Tourism division 2013-14 highlights and Priorities

During the Centennial Project, the Tourism

division identified key factors that will

greatly assist in the ability to operate more

effectively, strategically and concisely: ■ Achieve maximum impact from hosting

International Pow Wow 2011. Following

what the U.S. Travel Association called

“the most successful Pow Wow ever,”

San Francisco Travel leveraged this

event to grow international visitation

by executing an aggressive sales call

schedule worldwide. During FY 2012-13,

Tourism Leads goal was increased to 850

– a growth of 11%. Tourism Programs goal

was increased to 105 – a 15% growth. To

leverage the scheduling of back-to-back

Pow Wows in California, San Francisco

Travel worked closely with the U.S. Travel

Association, Brand USA, Los Angeles

Tourism and Convention Board, and Visit

California to maximize San Francisco’s

presence at IPW 2012 in Los Angeles.

For this fiscal year, the Tourism staff will

further expand sales efforts from IPW

2013 by increasing the number of new

programs operated by existing clients,

expand the total number of new tour

operator clients, and ensure more visitors

arrive via all tourism channels. During

FY 2013-14, Tourism will host the popular

Receptive Tour Operator events in both

New York and Los A ngeles, plus execute

an exclusive client event in our largest

overseas market, the United Kingdom. ■ Refine Tourism Strategy. During

FY 2011-12, Tourism created a

comprehensive scope of work that

outlined responsibilities for everyone

in the department. Each position

was evaluated to ensure efforts were

prioritized to maximize sales results.

This realignment of responsibilities

continues to produce positive results as

both Tourism Leads and Programs have

increased 28% in two years. We expect

this rate of growth to slow somewhat in

FY 2013-14 due to lack of adequate hotel

availability. Tourism also partnered with

Marketing to develop a clear scope of

work between the two departments that

details how they interact with tourism

entities worldwide. Our quarterly

Tourism meetings were replaced with

the creation of the Tourism Advisory

Council, although twice yearly status

updates will still be offered to all partners.

In the upcoming fiscal year, Tourism

will further evaluate the international

representation offices and increase or

maintain funding to key and emerging

markets, while downsizing or closing

non-essential offices. During FY 2012-13,

San Francisco Travel opened its 14th

international office in Copenhagen,

Denmark, in support of the new service

from SAS-Scandinavian Airlines.

■ Enhance partnership with SFO. During

FY 2012-13, San Francisco Travel

renewed its comprehensive Scope of

Work agreement with SFO, the entry

point for 80% of visitors arriving by air.

Joint sales calls to airlines were executed

to influence their decision to expand

international air service to SFO, including

Brazil. Joint calls were conducted to

tour operators to establish strong sales

channels, ensuring new and existing

international flights were full. During

this fiscal year, Tourism will continue

this strategy to gain additional airline

service from markets such as Asia and

Europe. SFO will be a key component of

sales messaging, promoting important

topics as jointly identified by SFO and

San Francisco Travel. ■ Measure results. During FY 2011-12,

Tourism integrated the USI CRM system

into operations. This system is utilized

by all departments of San Francisco

Travel, but Tourism was lagging in its

implementation. Now fully up-to-speed,

Tourism is able to track sales efforts and

results and will share this information with

partners, the board of directors and staff.

Tourism will provide a compelling picture

of the results, from both visitor numbers

and a financial perspective. Using

established visitation numbers generated

by USI and CIC Research, the department

will overlay tourism gains with average

spend by market, showing how efforts

have contributed to the local economy. ■ Implement MICE position. In FY 2012-13

Christophe Ley joined San Francisco

What a wonderful time we had here!

“After the uncertainty of the last few years, San Francisco is clearly on the road to recovery”

24


23


Travel as the new Director of MICE.

Originally Christophe was part of the

Tourism group, but his skills and job

responsibilities made this position a

better fit in the Convention Sales area.

Christophe joined Convention Sales in

late summer, 2012.

LEISuRE TRAVEL PRODuCT

Staff Contact: matt Stiker, Executive Vice president &

Chief marketing Officer

Board Oversight: Consumer Promotions Council

San Francisco benefits tremendously

from having vibrant products across all

sectors, but the fact that leisure visitors

comprise 75% of all trips to San Francisco

means that although people visit for a

variety of reasons, “staying and playing”

and exploring the rich diversity of all the

city has to offer remains paramount. Our

leisure marketing team works across many

partner categories to invite, convert and

welcome potential and existing visitors to

San Francisco, and we never forget that

98% of our visitors say they want to come

back – so we constantly try to provide

them with reasons to do so, and encourage

our partners to do the same.

Four-year Vision ■ Drive development of a ground-breaking

sustainable cooperative brand campaign

targeting leisure travelers (extendable to

other audiences)

■ Leverage relationships with Visit

California, the U.S. Travel Association and

Brand USA to improve San Francisco’s

visibility in the global marketplace ■ Integrate key themes (see pages 9-10) into

cross-divisional marketing messaging ■ Leverage digital and social media

technology and programs to drive sales

and deepen visitor engagement with

San Francisco’s visitor product ■ Work with partners to create/deploy new

industry standard to track economic

impact of consumer travel sales ■ Develop and implement research

programs to better understand the

visitor experience ■ Develop programs to enhance and

improve the visitor experience ■ Harness innovative and non-traditional

non-endemic partnerships to allow

for increased awareness with visitor

audiences and also build additional

revenue streams that allow for greatly

enhanced media outreach programs ■ Four-Year Strategic Goals and Measures

of Success ■ Increase the number of leisure visitors

annually ■ Deepen the relationships with leisure

visitors by increasing the number

of engaged customer touch points

(e-newsletter database, Visitor

Information Center, Facebook, Twitter

and other social media, website

visits), tracking brand/destination

awareness and desirability, and better

understanding visitor motivations and

intent to visit San Francisco

2013-14 highlights and Priorities ■ Drive development of a ground-breaking


targeting leisure travelers (extendable

to other audiences). Now in its third

successful year, the “49 Hours of SF”

brand campaign has reinforced what

those of us who live her know – there’s

always something new to see, taste,

and do in San Francisco, and that

takes longer than a weekend. The

campaign, which won multiple industry

awards (including “Best Full Marketing

Campaign” at US Travel’s ESTO Awards)

has proven to be an effective platform in

communicating the kaleidoscopic Arts

& Culture experience, the welcoming

LGBT experience, the crazy joy of San

Francisco’s holidays, and even how to

extend stays after your convention. In

the 2013-14 fiscal year, we will continue

to drive against this retail-oriented

message to generate incremental hotel

room nights as well as extend stays of

visitors already coming to San Francisco

– and for the first time, with guidance

from our Board of Directors, we will be

running the campaign in emerging

markets to test its viability there. Finally,

the platform will also continue to be one

in which we experiment with new and

innovative media opportunities. ■ Create the industry standard for

delivering a seamless visitor experience

across a variety of channels, methods and

locations. With the Visitor Information

Center fully renovated, including its new

retail store to invite visitors to take home


24


23


Travel as the new Director of MICE.

Originally Christophe was part of the

Tourism group, but his skills and job

responsibilities made this position a

better fit in the Convention Sales area.

Christophe joined Convention Sales in

late summer, 2012.


Staff Contact: matt Stiker, Executive Vice president &

Chief marketing Officer

Board Oversight: Consumer Promotions Council

San Francisco benefits tremendously

from having vibrant products across all

sectors, but the fact that leisure visitors

comprise 75% of all trips to San Francisco

means that although people visit for a

variety of reasons, “staying and playing”

and exploring the rich diversity of all the

city has to offer remains paramount. Our

leisure marketing team works across many

partner categories to invite, convert and

welcome potential and existing visitors to

San Francisco, and we never forget that

98% of our visitors say they want to come

back – so we constantly try to provide

them with reasons to do so, and encourage

our partners to do the same.

Four-year Vision ■ Drive development of a ground-breaking


targeting leisure travelers (extendable to

other audiences)

■ Leverage relationships with Visit

California, the U.S. Travel Association and

Brand USA to improve San Francisco’s

visibility in the global marketplace ■ Integrate key themes (see pages 9-10) into

cross-divisional marketing messaging ■ Leverage digital and social media

technology and programs to drive sales

and deepen visitor engagement with

San Francisco’s visitor product ■ Work with partners to create/deploy new


impact of consumer travel sales ■ Develop and implement research

programs to better understand the

visitor experience ■ Develop programs to enhance and

improve the visitor experience ■ Harness innovative and non-traditional



audiences and also build additional


enhanced media outreach programs ■ Four-Year Strategic Goals and Measures

of Success ■ Increase the number of leisure visitors

annually ■ Deepen the relationships with leisure

visitors by increasing the number

of engaged customer touch points

(e-newsletter database, Visitor

Information Center, Facebook, Twitter

and other social media, website

visits), tracking brand/destination

awareness and desirability, and better

understanding visitor motivations and

intent to visit San Francisco

2013-14 highlights and Priorities ■ Drive development of a ground-breaking


targeting leisure travelers (extendable

to other audiences). Now in its third

successful year, the “49 Hours of SF”

brand campaign has reinforced what

those of us who live her know – there’s

always something new to see, taste,

and do in San Francisco, and that

takes longer than a weekend. The

campaign, which won multiple industry

awards (including “Best Full Marketing

Campaign” at US Travel’s ESTO Awards)

has proven to be an effective platform in

communicating the kaleidoscopic Arts

& Culture experience, the welcoming

LGBT experience, the crazy joy of San

Francisco’s holidays, and even how to

extend stays after your convention. In

the 2013-14 fiscal year, we will continue

to drive against this retail-oriented

message to generate incremental hotel

room nights as well as extend stays of

visitors already coming to San Francisco

– and for the first time, with guidance

from our Board of Directors, we will be

running the campaign in emerging

markets to test its viability there. Finally,

the platform will also continue to be one

in which we experiment with new and

innovative media opportunities. ■ Create the industry standard for

delivering a seamless visitor experience

across a variety of channels, methods and

locations. With the Visitor Information

Center fully renovated, including its new

retail store to invite visitors to take home


25


26


I love San Francisco! Greetings from Italy!

a piece of San Francisco as gifts that

will encourage others to visit, we will

continue to push the visitor information

experience outside of our Hallidie

Plaza location. With the success of the

Moscone Center information kiosks as a

guide, we will work with the Port of San

Francisco and other partners to provide

our waterfront visitors with the best

possible information about our city as

they enjoy the America’s Cup, the new

Exploratorium, the new Cruise Terminal,

and all of the other great things to see

and do along the water. ■ Work with partners to create/deploy new


impact of consumer travel sales. The

effective tracking of leisure visitor

marketing remains as elusive for us

as it does for other DMOs and other

consumer products companies, but

we’re encouraged by new technologies

that are being created, tested, and

made available constantly – recently,

we’ve seen great success from our

travel partner Sojern in this area. We

will continue to work with our research

partner to follow up on current industry

“best practices” that we can leverage,

and continually work to improve on our

ability to measure this. ■ Harness innovation and non-traditional,



audiences and build additional


enhanced media outreach programs.

Our partnerships with airlines, hotels,

attractions, restaurants and others will

continue to be our “bread and butter,” and

clearly have tremendous mutual benefits.

Partnership with companies not directly

affiliated with the visitor industry such

as Levi’s, American Express, Wells Fargo

and others, create a completely different

“value exchange,” and can extend the

San Francisco brand to new audiences,

open up new channels for our content,

and generate revenue streams previously

untapped by the visitor industry. They

can also create local evangelists for the

industry including residents who share

the greatness of San Francisco with

friends, family and colleagues. We will

continue to expand our reach and value

to new partners outside the industry,

to demonstrate the significance of our

work and prove the effectiveness of our

channels and relationships with key

visitor-related audiences.

Objective 2: Exceed Customer Expectations

San Francisco Travel seeks to provide

excellent customer service throughout

the organization by providing a variety of

services to customers (such as meeting

and convention planners and leisure

travelers) to deliver on sales and marketing

promises and to generate repeat business

and positive word-of-mouth referrals.

San Francisco Travel-managed programs

include convention services and housing,

a Visitor Information Center (ViC), visitor

guides and other publications, information

specialists, website information, and

online hotel/attraction bookings.

Four-year Vision ■ Be recognized as the experts on

San Francisco and set the standard

for best practices in customer service

in the industry ■ Expand the use of technology to support

customer service programs ■ Create compelling reasons for customers

and visitors to use San Francisco Travel

and evangelize its efforts ■ Develop and implement research

programs to better understand customer

needs and the visitor experience ■ Develop programs to enhance the

branded visitor experience


■ Identify key San Francisco Travel value

chain activities (operations, sales/

services, marketing, communication, and

members) that benchmark customer value ■ Generate top scores on customer service

surveys ■ Earn meetings industry awards, such

as “Successful Meetings” magazine’s

Pinnacle Award ■ Develop a “Visitor Experience Index” to

measure leisure travelers’ satisfaction

with their San Francisco visit (including

use of San Francisco Travel and member

services, and city infrastructure

and services)



■ Ensure consistent messaging between

hotels and San Francisco Travel on

labor issues. As long as hotel and/

or venue issues continue to be a

challenge, San Francisco Travel and its

partners must consistently deliver the

message that joint customers will have

a successful meeting in San Francisco. ■ Evaluate current site inspection program.

Benchmark San Francisco Travel

Convention Services Department site

inspection program to our competitors. The

process will compare key competition’s

current site inspections programs to

evaluate how to improve and customize

San Francisco’s site inspection program. ■ Evaluate customer recognition/retention

programs and adjust strategy as needed.

San Francisco Travel will continue to

evaluate its recognition and retention

efforts (sales missions and events,

gifts and awards, experiential lunches,

etc.) to ensure existing customers feel

valued and continue to book business in

San Francisco. ■ Measure sales manager follow-up of

traces, with increased emphasis on

traces of definite (booked) groups.

San Francisco Travel will evaluate sales

managers not only on their follow-up of

traces with tentative groups but also on

their ongoing relationship-building with

definite groups.

■ Improve post-convention communica-

tion process with meeting planners

to ensure any issues are effectively

addressed. San Francisco Travel will

evaluate and make improvements to

the current process of communicating

issues that arose/were identified during

citywide conventions to San Francisco

Travel hotel, venue and other partners

as applicable. ■ Implement customer appreciation events

in key feeder markets. Washington,

D.C., and Chicago are home to many of

the national associations that choose

San Francisco for their meetings.

This fiscal year, San Francisco Travel

will explore other important markets

(such as New York, for the corporate

meetings market) in which to hold

customer appreciation events to thank

and recognize important customers

for their past, present and future

meetings business. ■ Reintroduce customer education trips.

While many customers are familiar

with San Francisco as a meeting

destination, others have not visited

recently to see the latest additions to

the visitor infrastructure. This fiscal

year, San Francisco Travel will schedule

educational trips for such planners to

re-familiarize them with the city.


■ Serve the customer with an emphasis

on surprising and delighting them

through our programs, promotions and

interactions. With the media landscape

changing fundamentally over the last few

years – and with it the way consumers

interact with brands – San Francisco

remains a brand that people want to

engage with in order to find out not just

what’s going on in the city, but what the

city is going to do next. A world-class

and world-record-holding art exhibit, a

hands-on science museum that’s also

an architectural wonder, a technological

marvel that doubles as a sports arena,

this is a city that brings new meaning

to the idea “surprise and delight.” Our

promotions and programs must reinforce

that notion, so we will continue to create

interest for and attention to San Francisco

as a visitor destination and remind them

of the mosaic of things to do, see, eat,

drink and discover here. ■ Set the industry standard for the creation,

integration and distribution of visitor

information. As an expression of current

marketing principle, “Content is king”

has taken hold, and content is largely

viewed as the be-all and end-all of many

companies’ objectives. San Francisco

Travel will continue to develop world-class

content, but will always recognize that it’s

been created and published as a means

to an end – the goal is about generating

so much interest and enthusiasm for

San Francisco that a trip becomes

inevitable. A recent content partnership

with locally-based “A Bold Italic,” as well

as our new “San Francisco Ambassador”

program in which we’ve invited dozens

25


26


I love San Francisco! Greetings from Italy!

a piece of San Francisco as gifts that

will encourage others to visit, we will

continue to push the visitor information

experience outside of our Hallidie

Plaza location. With the success of the

Moscone Center information kiosks as a

guide, we will work with the Port of San

Francisco and other partners to provide

our waterfront visitors with the best

possible information about our city as

they enjoy the America’s Cup, the new

Exploratorium, the new Cruise Terminal,

and all of the other great things to see

and do along the water. ■ Work with partners to create/deploy new


impact of consumer travel sales. The

effective tracking of leisure visitor

marketing remains as elusive for us

as it does for other DMOs and other

consumer products companies, but

we’re encouraged by new technologies

that are being created, tested, and

made available constantly – recently,

we’ve seen great success from our

travel partner Sojern in this area. We

will continue to work with our research

partner to follow up on current industry

“best practices” that we can leverage,

and continually work to improve on our

ability to measure this. ■ Harness innovation and non-traditional,



audiences and build additional


enhanced media outreach programs.

Our partnerships with airlines, hotels,

attractions, restaurants and others will

continue to be our “bread and butter,” and

clearly have tremendous mutual benefits.

Partnership with companies not directly

affiliated with the visitor industry such

as Levi’s, American Express, Wells Fargo

and others, create a completely different

“value exchange,” and can extend the

San Francisco brand to new audiences,

open up new channels for our content,

and generate revenue streams previously

untapped by the visitor industry. They

can also create local evangelists for the

industry including residents who share

the greatness of San Francisco with

friends, family and colleagues. We will

continue to expand our reach and value

to new partners outside the industry,

to demonstrate the significance of our

work and prove the effectiveness of our

channels and relationships with key

visitor-related audiences.

Objective 2: Exceed Customer Expectations

San Francisco Travel seeks to provide

excellent customer service throughout

the organization by providing a variety of

services to customers (such as meeting

and convention planners and leisure

travelers) to deliver on sales and marketing

promises and to generate repeat business

and positive word-of-mouth referrals.

San Francisco Travel-managed programs

include convention services and housing,

a Visitor Information Center (ViC), visitor

guides and other publications, information

specialists, website information, and

online hotel/attraction bookings.

Four-year Vision ■ Be recognized as the experts on

San Francisco and set the standard

for best practices in customer service

in the industry ■ Expand the use of technology to support

customer service programs ■ Create compelling reasons for customers

and visitors to use San Francisco Travel

and evangelize its efforts ■ Develop and implement research

programs to better understand customer

needs and the visitor experience ■ Develop programs to enhance the

branded visitor experience


■ Identify key San Francisco Travel value

chain activities (operations, sales/

services, marketing, communication, and

members) that benchmark customer value ■ Generate top scores on customer service

surveys ■ Earn meetings industry awards, such

as “Successful Meetings” magazine’s

Pinnacle Award ■ Develop a “Visitor Experience Index” to

measure leisure travelers’ satisfaction

with their San Francisco visit (including

use of San Francisco Travel and member

services, and city infrastructure

and services)



■ Ensure consistent messaging between

hotels and San Francisco Travel on

labor issues. As long as hotel and/

or venue issues continue to be a

challenge, San Francisco Travel and its

partners must consistently deliver the

message that joint customers will have

a successful meeting in San Francisco. ■ Evaluate current site inspection program.

Benchmark San Francisco Travel

Convention Services Department site

inspection program to our competitors. The

process will compare key competition’s

current site inspections programs to

evaluate how to improve and customize

San Francisco’s site inspection program. ■ Evaluate customer recognition/retention

programs and adjust strategy as needed.


evaluate its recognition and retention

efforts (sales missions and events,

gifts and awards, experiential lunches,

etc.) to ensure existing customers feel

valued and continue to book business in

San Francisco. ■ Measure sales manager follow-up of

traces, with increased emphasis on

traces of definite (booked) groups.

San Francisco Travel will evaluate sales

managers not only on their follow-up of

traces with tentative groups but also on

their ongoing relationship-building with

definite groups.

■ Improve post-convention communica-

tion process with meeting planners

to ensure any issues are effectively

addressed. San Francisco Travel will

evaluate and make improvements to

the current process of communicating

issues that arose/were identified during

citywide conventions to San Francisco

Travel hotel, venue and other partners

as applicable. ■ Implement customer appreciation events

in key feeder markets. Washington,

D.C., and Chicago are home to many of

the national associations that choose

San Francisco for their meetings.

This fiscal year, San Francisco Travel

will explore other important markets

(such as New York, for the corporate

meetings market) in which to hold

customer appreciation events to thank

and recognize important customers

for their past, present and future

meetings business. ■ Reintroduce customer education trips.

While many customers are familiar

with San Francisco as a meeting

destination, others have not visited

recently to see the latest additions to

the visitor infrastructure. This fiscal

year, San Francisco Travel will schedule

educational trips for such planners to

re-familiarize them with the city.


■ Serve the customer with an emphasis

on surprising and delighting them

through our programs, promotions and

interactions. With the media landscape

changing fundamentally over the last few

years – and with it the way consumers

interact with brands – San Francisco

remains a brand that people want to

engage with in order to find out not just

what’s going on in the city, but what the

city is going to do next. A world-class

and world-record-holding art exhibit, a

hands-on science museum that’s also

an architectural wonder, a technological

marvel that doubles as a sports arena,

this is a city that brings new meaning

to the idea “surprise and delight.” Our

promotions and programs must reinforce

that notion, so we will continue to create

interest for and attention to San Francisco

as a visitor destination and remind them

of the mosaic of things to do, see, eat,

drink and discover here. ■ Set the industry standard for the creation,

integration and distribution of visitor

information. As an expression of current

marketing principle, “Content is king”

has taken hold, and content is largely

viewed as the be-all and end-all of many

companies’ objectives. San Francisco

Travel will continue to develop world-class

content, but will always recognize that it’s

been created and published as a means

to an end – the goal is about generating

so much interest and enthusiasm for

San Francisco that a trip becomes

inevitable. A recent content partnership

with locally-based “A Bold Italic,” as well

as our new “San Francisco Ambassador”

program in which we’ve invited dozens

28


27


of local writers to provide their views on

the best and most interesting things to

do in San Francisco mean we’re building

a very strong bank of content entirely

geared toward one thing – bringing more

visitors to San Francisco.

Objective 3: Foster positive relationships

With Our Stakeholders

San Francisco Travel serves many

stakeholders. Some of them contribute

directly to San Francisco Travel’s budget

while others impact the organization’s

ability to effectively execute the mission.

Stakeholders include San Francisco

Travel partners and Board of Directors,



(SFTIDMC) Board of Directors, city

government, local industry associations

and business groups, local media and

the community at large. San Francisco

Travel must develop and manage positive

relationships with these stakeholders to

ensure the organization has the resources

and support needed to successfully

execute the San Francisco Travel mission.

The Board of Directors, through its Public

Policy Council, will continue to actively

pursue a Public Policy Program designed

to influence public policy decisions

occurring at the local, state and federal

level that could have an impact on the

San Francisco visitor experience. The

goal of this program is to advocate for our

customers and be the “voice of the visitor.”

The Board of Directors has established

“Policy Guidelines” and prioritized “Key

Issue Areas” to provide direction and

guidance relative to San Francisco Travel’s

legislative and public policy activities in

the coming year. San Francisco Travel

will develop and actively pursue a public

policy and advocacy program that will: ■ Identify and research public policy issues

that can promote or negatively impact

the visitor experience ■ Bring these issues to the attention of

the Board of Directors and suggest

recommended action ■ Pursue advocacy plans and grassroots

efforts aimed at influencing public

policy decisions in such a way as to

protect, enhance or improve the visitor

experience and are in alignment with

the priority issues areas identified by the

Board of Directors

These priority issues include: ■ Addressing bad street behavior ■ Driving Moscone Center expansion ■ Advocating for the development of a

sports and entertainment arena ■ Reducing the impact of the cost of doing

business on the visitor experience ■ Promoting facilities infrastructure

development that enhances the visitor

experience ■ Advocating for expanded international

access opportunities ■ Supporting transportation policies and

programs facilitating travel to and within

the region

The public policy staff also manages

the Community Engagement Council to

pursue projects and programs designed

to increase the residents’ understanding

and recognition of the benefits travel

and tourism bring to neighborhoods and

communities throughout San Francisco.

Four-year Vision ■ Build visibi l ity and strengthen

relationships with elected officials,

government, and key community

stakeholders ■ Communicate and demonstrate to all

San Francisco stakeholders that tourism

is San Francisco’s number one generator

of outside revenue into the economy ■ Ensure San Francisco Travel has

the ability to design and implement

resources and services that drive value

to partners ■ Leverage relationships with key partners

to optimize mutually beneficial outcomes ■ Increase visibility and strengthen

relationships throughout San Francisco

neighborhoods and the greater region ■ Enhance the effectiveness and visibility

of the San Francisco Travel Board

of Directors


■ Create and implement an Annual

Partner Satisfaction Survey to ensure

that relationships with partners remain

current, vital to their business success,

and relative to current economic

conditions and marketing trends

Even on a cloudy day the city looks gorgeous

28


27


of local writers to provide their views on

the best and most interesting things to

do in San Francisco mean we’re building

a very strong bank of content entirely

geared toward one thing – bringing more

visitors to San Francisco.

Objective 3: Foster positive relationships

With Our Stakeholders

San Francisco Travel serves many

stakeholders. Some of them contribute

directly to San Francisco Travel’s budget

while others impact the organization’s

ability to effectively execute the mission.

Stakeholders include San Francisco

Travel partners and Board of Directors,



(SFTIDMC) Board of Directors, city

government, local industry associations

and business groups, local media and

the community at large. San Francisco

Travel must develop and manage positive

relationships with these stakeholders to

ensure the organization has the resources

and support needed to successfully

execute the San Francisco Travel mission.

The Board of Directors, through its Public

Policy Council, will continue to actively

pursue a Public Policy Program designed

to influence public policy decisions

occurring at the local, state and federal

level that could have an impact on the

San Francisco visitor experience. The

goal of this program is to advocate for our

customers and be the “voice of the visitor.”

The Board of Directors has established

“Policy Guidelines” and prioritized “Key

Issue Areas” to provide direction and

guidance relative to San Francisco Travel’s

legislative and public policy activities in

the coming year. San Francisco Travel

will develop and actively pursue a public

policy and advocacy program that will: ■ Identify and research public policy issues

that can promote or negatively impact

the visitor experience ■ Bring these issues to the attention of

the Board of Directors and suggest

recommended action ■ Pursue advocacy plans and grassroots

efforts aimed at influencing public

policy decisions in such a way as to

protect, enhance or improve the visitor

experience and are in alignment with

the priority issues areas identified by the

Board of Directors

These priority issues include: ■ Addressing bad street behavior ■ Driving Moscone Center expansion ■ Advocating for the development of a

sports and entertainment arena ■ Reducing the impact of the cost of doing

business on the visitor experience ■ Promoting facilities infrastructure

development that enhances the visitor

experience ■ Advocating for expanded international

access opportunities ■ Supporting transportation policies and

programs facilitating travel to and within

the region

The public policy staff also manages

the Community Engagement Council to

pursue projects and programs designed

to increase the residents’ understanding

and recognition of the benefits travel

and tourism bring to neighborhoods and

communities throughout San Francisco.

Four-year Vision ■ Build visibi l ity and strengthen

relationships with elected officials,

government, and key community

stakeholders ■ Communicate and demonstrate to all

San Francisco stakeholders that tourism

is San Francisco’s number one generator

of outside revenue into the economy ■ Ensure San Francisco Travel has

the ability to design and implement

resources and services that drive value

to partners ■ Leverage relationships with key partners

to optimize mutually beneficial outcomes ■ Increase visibility and strengthen


neighborhoods and the greater region ■ Enhance the effectiveness and visibility

of the San Francisco Travel Board

of Directors


■ Create and implement an Annual

Partner Satisfaction Survey to ensure

that relationships with partners remain

current, vital to their business success,

and relative to current economic

conditions and marketing trends

Even on a cloudy day the city looks gorgeous

29


30


San Francisco, California: GREATEST city on planet earth

■ Create and implement a Stakeholder

Confidence Index to provide feedback

on San Francisco Travel’s effectiveness

and credibility ■ Create and implement a Neighborhood

Engagement Survey to inform and drive

outreach to San Francisco’s diverse

neighborhoods. Use the data to enhance

the visitor experience and demonstrate

how San Francisco Travel can make an

impact on visitor market revenue.

2013-14 highlights and Priorities ■ Enhance the effectiveness and visibility

of San Francisco Travel Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors are San Francisco

Travel’s key ambassadors and represent

the highest level of leadership in

San Francisco’s travel industry. This

fiscal year, staff will continue to ensure

the Board is engaged and active in

supporting San Francisco Travel and

San Francisco Travel partners’ efforts

to promote San Francisco through the

activity of the Community Engagement

Council and the Public Policy Council.

These two Councils allow the Board

to build relationships with elected

officials and community leaders and

communicate the economic impact of

tourism in San Francisco. ■ Continued pursuit of an aggressive public

policy and advocacy program. Since the

establishment and implementation of

its public policy function in FY 2012-13,

San Francisco Travel has realized

significant success in achieving specific

public policy goals including approval

of the Moscone Expansion District,

defeating tourism taxes and supporting

successful efforts to increase taxi

service. At the same time, the Public

Policy Council will continue to build

upon the momentum it has built towards

pursuing on-going public policy efforts

outlined in the Association’s Public

Policy Program. This provides the

Executive Management team and Public

Policy staff with the flexibility needed to

pursue Board-established legislative and

administrative goals and to expeditiously

respond to unanticipated opportunities

the dynamic political and policy

development processes may present

at the federal, state and local level that

include the following elements:

− Address bad street behavior. Bad street behavior continues to be the most cited complaint received from visitors and the number one concern of convention and meeting planners. Future conventions and meetings have been lost due to this issue. San Francisco Travel will promote and actively pursue legislative efforts and administrative actions that will reduce incidents of bad street behavior through increasing individual and City department accountability to existing laws, rules and regulations addressing these types of behaviors and by addressing the underlying causes leading to these behaviors.

− Drive Moscone Center expansion entitlement process. The expansion of the Moscone Center is one of San Francisco Travel’s key priorities in order to remain competitive and grow the meetings industry. In partnership with the City, the San Francisco Tourism Improvement

District Management Corporation, and the Hotel Council, San Francisco Travel successfully drove the effort to secure the approval of the funding mechanism that will enable the expansion. The next step is successfully navigating the entitlement process and securing the building permits needed for the project. Working with our City and business partners, San Francisco will pursue a robust public outreach effort designed to ensure the public is fully engaged in the Moscone expansion entitlement process.

− Reduce the cost of doing business. Costs associated with unnecessary and burdensome rules, regulations and taxes increase the costs businesses must charge to provide services, attractions and entertainment to San Francisco visitors. This upward price pressure can negatively impact the attractiveness of the city as a destination. San Francisco Travel will oppose measures imposing unnecessary and burdensome rules, regulations and niche taxes that will increase the costs of traveling to the city, and will pursue efforts aimed at reducing the cost impact of rules, regulations and taxes on travel-related services through increased efficiencies, improved effectiveness and elimination of duplication.

− Promote infrastructure development that enhances the visitor experience. San Francisco Travel will support and promote the development of policies, projects and attractions that expand opportunities for business and leisure visitors to engage in a diverse menu of entertainment possibilities and expanded lodging options.

− Advocate for expanded international access opportunities. The international travel market offers the greatest opportunity for San Francisco to capture

new visitors. International travelers also have some of the highest spend rates and tend to stay for longer visits than domestic travelers. San Francisco Travel will support policies and programs facilitating more efficient international travel to the United States and expand awareness of the U.S. as the premier travel destination in the rest of the world.

− Facilitate travel to and within the region. San Francisco Travel will support policies, projects and programs that will facilitate improved and efficient mobility of travelers to and within San Francisco, the Bay Area and California.

− Connect advocacy with neighborhoods. While neighborhoods most directly impacted by visitors understand the job creation and economic benefits derived from visitor spending, a number of communities are unfamiliar with the full economic impact visitor dollars have on the day-to-day life of all San Franciscans. Last year, San Francisco Travel’s Public Policy team developed a “Connecting Tourism with the Neighborhoods” campaign designed to highlight the value tourism provides communities throughout the city and explore opportunities to help drive the benefits of tourism to our neighborhoods. Staff will continue to actively partner with neighborhood associations, community benefit districts, business improvement districts, trade groups and merchant associations to build the foundation of a grassroots advocacy network.

− Create deeper relationships with elected officials, government officials and community stakeholders. As the only organization in the city that can focus solely on representing the 16.5 million visitors who spend $8.9 billion, San Francisco Travel enjoys strong

relationships with stakeholder groups throughout the city. Coordination with business associations, community groups, the labor community and other advocacy-related organizations is beneficial to the success of any public policy advocacy efforts San Francisco Travel pursues. With this in mind, our Public Policy team will actively engage in developing, maintaining and expanding these relationships to successfully achieve public policy objectives established by the Board of Directors.

■ Deliver value to the local business

community. Based on input received

from our Board of Directors, and in

conjunction with a Board-led task

force, San Francisco Travel is in the

process of developing a completely new

membership/partnership structure,

which will be rooted in our need to be

able to fully curate the experience of

San Francisco for all of our visitors and

customers. We expect this to greatly

enhance our ability to promote those

businesses that see value in working

closely with us while still allowing us

to provide information to journalists,

meeting planners, tour operators

and visitors about everything that

San Francisco has to offer. ■ Increase visibility and strengthen


neighborhoods. For the fourth year in

a row, we will award Neighborhood

Partnership Grants to several small or

uniquely San Francisco businesses

(mostly located outside the typical tourist

areas), providing 1-2 year partnership of

membership, attendance at all of our key

events and programs, and a dedicated

support team. This program has also

helped develop greater communication

with neighborhood associations and

cultural groups. This fiscal year, the

grants program will be folded into a

larger “Neighborhood Partners Program,”

which will be focused on utilizing

residents and local neighborhood

businesses to generate neighborhood-

focused stories and content. ■ Leverage relationships with key

partners to optimize mutual outcomes.

San Francisco Travel has a long-standing

and successful record of strategic

alliances with major visitor industry

organizations, such as American

Express, San Francisco International

Airport, BART, Amtrak, PIER 39, Visit

California, Brand USA, CityPASS,

California Academy of Sciences, and

others, including many within the City &

County of San Francisco family. We also

have many partnerships with companies

and organizations such as Pride, SFMade

“San Francisco is known as a city on the cutting edge of the environmental movement”

29


30


San Francisco, California: GREATEST city on planet earth

■ Create and implement a Stakeholder

Confidence Index to provide feedback

on San Francisco Travel’s effectiveness

and credibility ■ Create and implement a Neighborhood

Engagement Survey to inform and drive

outreach to San Francisco’s diverse

neighborhoods. Use the data to enhance

the visitor experience and demonstrate

how San Francisco Travel can make an

impact on visitor market revenue.

2013-14 highlights and Priorities ■ Enhance the effectiveness and visibility

of San Francisco Travel Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors are San Francisco

Travel’s key ambassadors and represent

the highest level of leadership in

San Francisco’s travel industry. This

fiscal year, staff will continue to ensure

the Board is engaged and active in

supporting San Francisco Travel and

San Francisco Travel partners’ efforts

to promote San Francisco through the

activity of the Community Engagement

Council and the Public Policy Council.

These two Councils allow the Board

to build relationships with elected

officials and community leaders and

communicate the economic impact of

tourism in San Francisco. ■ Continued pursuit of an aggressive public

policy and advocacy program. Since the

establishment and implementation of

its public policy function in FY 2012-13,

San Francisco Travel has realized

significant success in achieving specific

public policy goals including approval

of the Moscone Expansion District,

defeating tourism taxes and supporting

successful efforts to increase taxi

service. At the same time, the Public

Policy Council will continue to build

upon the momentum it has built towards

pursuing on-going public policy efforts

outlined in the Association’s Public

Policy Program. This provides the

Executive Management team and Public

Policy staff with the flexibility needed to

pursue Board-established legislative and

administrative goals and to expeditiously

respond to unanticipated opportunities

the dynamic political and policy

development processes may present

at the federal, state and local level that

include the following elements:

− Address bad street behavior. Bad street behavior continues to be the most cited complaint received from visitors and the number one concern of convention and meeting planners. Future conventions and meetings have been lost due to this issue. San Francisco Travel will promote and actively pursue legislative efforts and administrative actions that will reduce incidents of bad street behavior through increasing individual and City department accountability to existing laws, rules and regulations addressing these types of behaviors and by addressing the underlying causes leading to these behaviors.

− Drive Moscone Center expansion entitlement process. The expansion of the Moscone Center is one of San Francisco Travel’s key priorities in order to remain competitive and grow the meetings industry. In partnership with the City, the San Francisco Tourism Improvement

District Management Corporation, and the Hotel Council, San Francisco Travel successfully drove the effort to secure the approval of the funding mechanism that will enable the expansion. The next step is successfully navigating the entitlement process and securing the building permits needed for the project. Working with our City and business partners, San Francisco will pursue a robust public outreach effort designed to ensure the public is fully engaged in the Moscone expansion entitlement process.

− Reduce the cost of doing business. Costs associated with unnecessary and burdensome rules, regulations and taxes increase the costs businesses must charge to provide services, attractions and entertainment to San Francisco visitors. This upward price pressure can negatively impact the attractiveness of the city as a destination. San Francisco Travel will oppose measures imposing unnecessary and burdensome rules, regulations and niche taxes that will increase the costs of traveling to the city, and will pursue efforts aimed at reducing the cost impact of rules, regulations and taxes on travel-related services through increased efficiencies, improved effectiveness and elimination of duplication.

− Promote infrastructure development that enhances the visitor experience. San Francisco Travel will support and promote the development of policies, projects and attractions that expand opportunities for business and leisure visitors to engage in a diverse menu of entertainment possibilities and expanded lodging options.

− Advocate for expanded international access opportunities. The international travel market offers the greatest opportunity for San Francisco to capture

new visitors. International travelers also have some of the highest spend rates and tend to stay for longer visits than domestic travelers. San Francisco Travel will support policies and programs facilitating more efficient international travel to the United States and expand awareness of the U.S. as the premier travel destination in the rest of the world.

− Facilitate travel to and within the region. San Francisco Travel will support policies, projects and programs that will facilitate improved and efficient mobility of travelers to and within San Francisco, the Bay Area and California.

− Connect advocacy with neighborhoods. While neighborhoods most directly impacted by visitors understand the job creation and economic benefits derived from visitor spending, a number of communities are unfamiliar with the full economic impact visitor dollars have on the day-to-day life of all San Franciscans. Last year, San Francisco Travel’s Public Policy team developed a “Connecting Tourism with the Neighborhoods” campaign designed to highlight the value tourism provides communities throughout the city and explore opportunities to help drive the benefits of tourism to our neighborhoods. Staff will continue to actively partner with neighborhood associations, community benefit districts, business improvement districts, trade groups and merchant associations to build the foundation of a grassroots advocacy network.

− Create deeper relationships with elected officials, government officials and community stakeholders. As the only organization in the city that can focus solely on representing the 16.5 million visitors who spend $8.9 billion, San Francisco Travel enjoys strong

relationships with stakeholder groups throughout the city. Coordination with business associations, community groups, the labor community and other advocacy-related organizations is beneficial to the success of any public policy advocacy efforts San Francisco Travel pursues. With this in mind, our Public Policy team will actively engage in developing, maintaining and expanding these relationships to successfully achieve public policy objectives established by the Board of Directors.

■ Deliver value to the local business

community. Based on input received

from our Board of Directors, and in

conjunction with a Board-led task

force, San Francisco Travel is in the

process of developing a completely new

membership/partnership structure,

which will be rooted in our need to be

able to fully curate the experience of

San Francisco for all of our visitors and

customers. We expect this to greatly

enhance our ability to promote those

businesses that see value in working

closely with us while still allowing us

to provide information to journalists,

meeting planners, tour operators

and visitors about everything that

San Francisco has to offer. ■ Increase visibility and strengthen


neighborhoods. For the fourth year in

a row, we will award Neighborhood

Partnership Grants to several small or

uniquely San Francisco businesses

(mostly located outside the typical tourist

areas), providing 1-2 year partnership of

membership, attendance at all of our key

events and programs, and a dedicated

support team. This program has also

helped develop greater communication

with neighborhood associations and

cultural groups. This fiscal year, the

grants program will be folded into a

larger “Neighborhood Partners Program,”

which will be focused on utilizing

residents and local neighborhood

businesses to generate neighborhood-

focused stories and content. ■ Leverage relationships with key

partners to optimize mutual outcomes.

San Francisco Travel has a long-standing

and successful record of strategic

alliances with major visitor industry

organizations, such as American

Express, San Francisco International

Airport, BART, Amtrak, PIER 39, Visit

California, Brand USA, CityPASS,

California Academy of Sciences, and

others, including many within the City &

County of San Francisco family. We also

have many partnerships with companies

and organizations such as Pride, SFMade

“San Francisco is known as a city on the cutting edge of the environmental movement”

31


32


and others who bring tremendous value

with key constituencies. We’ll continue

to build on our “gateway partnerships,”

the relationships with surrounding areas

and counties who generate a significant

amount of business from visitors who

pass through San Francisco. As always,

San Francisco Travel’s goal is to build

relationships with these partners in

order to provide better information and

experiences for our visitors, and be able

to leverage the collective strength of “the

village” in order to bond the visitors to

our partners.”

Objective 4: run an Effective business

San Francisco Travel, like any other

organization, must effectively manage

its business operations to deliver the

highest possible return on investment to

stakeholders. This includes our financial

management structure and objectives,

office management and administration,

information technology strategies, and

human resources programs and efforts.

Four-year Vision ■ Foster an innovative and unique

culture that uses high standards and

best practices ■ Ensure San Francisco Travel has the right

people, tools, resources, environment and

leadership development to run an effective

business; meet and exceed customer

expectations , and “lead the way”


■ Retain an engaged, highly motivated

staff (as measured by performance

reviews, retention rate and annual

employee survey) through programs

such as:

− Providing competitive and comprehensive compensation

− Work/life integration programs

− Rewards and recognition

− Provide staff with effective tools and resources

− Develop and maintain a high level of professional standards and San Francisco Travel values

− Create training and development programs to increase work capacity and effectiveness

− Increase private revenue through greater stakeholder engagement

Finance and Administration

The San Francisco Travel Association, a

501(c)(6) not-for-profit trade association,

undergoes a comprehensive budget

development process, with staff

developing pre l iminary budget

recommendations and the organization’s

Board of Directors ultimately approving

a final budget. A Finance Committee

oversees the performance of San Francisco

Travel in meeting its revenue and expense

budgets. The Executive Committee

receives regular reports on San Francisco

Travel’s budget performance and

presents that information to the Board

of Directors.

2013-14 highlights and Priorities ■ Maintain high levels of professional

accounting and reporting standards.

San Francisco Travel will ensure complete

and accurate accounting of all transactions,

and report all financial information in

accordance with professional accounting

standards and federal, state and local laws. ■ Provide an enhanced mechanism to

enrich the future of the organization.


review the cash management program

to maximize the Association’s return

on investment. ■ Improve the technology capabilities of the

Finance department to enable increased

productivity. San Francisco Travel will

purchase budgeting software to increase

efficiency and enhanced functionality to

include increased processing speed and

facilitating easy data manipulation for

review and analysis. ■ Enhance customer services by leveraging

technology. San Francisco Travel will

integrate technology to provide our

customers with positive experiences for

their visits to our business office. ■ Identify and implement sustainable

business practice. San Francisco Travel

will seek green business certification. We

will continue to search “green” facilities,

products and supplies and implement

“green” practices wherever possible. ■ Enhance Corporate Office Environment.

San Francisco Travel wil l take

advantage of the office lease that ends in

October 2014 to create a great working

environment for its employees. The goal

My first love and HOME... see you SOON!!

31


32


and others who bring tremendous value

with key constituencies. We’ll continue

to build on our “gateway partnerships,”

the relationships with surrounding areas

and counties who generate a significant

amount of business from visitors who

pass through San Francisco. As always,

San Francisco Travel’s goal is to build

relationships with these partners in

order to provide better information and

experiences for our visitors, and be able

to leverage the collective strength of “the

village” in order to bond the visitors to

our partners.”

Objective 4: run an Effective business

San Francisco Travel, like any other

organization, must effectively manage

its business operations to deliver the

highest possible return on investment to

stakeholders. This includes our financial

management structure and objectives,

office management and administration,

information technology strategies, and

human resources programs and efforts.

Four-year Vision ■ Foster an innovative and unique

culture that uses high standards and

best practices ■ Ensure San Francisco Travel has the right

people, tools, resources, environment and

leadership development to run an effective

business; meet and exceed customer

expectations , and “lead the way”


■ Retain an engaged, highly motivated

staff (as measured by performance

reviews, retention rate and annual

employee survey) through programs

such as:

− Providing competitive and comprehensive compensation

− Work/life integration programs

− Rewards and recognition

− Provide staff with effective tools and resources

− Develop and maintain a high level of professional standards and San Francisco Travel values

− Create training and development programs to increase work capacity and effectiveness

− Increase private revenue through greater stakeholder engagement

Finance and Administration

The San Francisco Travel Association, a

501(c)(6) not-for-profit trade association,

undergoes a comprehensive budget

development process, with staff

developing pre l iminary budget

recommendations and the organization’s

Board of Directors ultimately approving

a final budget. A Finance Committee

oversees the performance of San Francisco

Travel in meeting its revenue and expense

budgets. The Executive Committee

receives regular reports on San Francisco

Travel’s budget performance and

presents that information to the Board

of Directors.

2013-14 highlights and Priorities ■ Maintain high levels of professional

accounting and reporting standards.

San Francisco Travel will ensure complete

and accurate accounting of all transactions,

and report all financial information in

accordance with professional accounting

standards and federal, state and local laws. ■ Provide an enhanced mechanism to

enrich the future of the organization.


review the cash management program

to maximize the Association’s return

on investment. ■ Improve the technology capabilities of the

Finance department to enable increased

productivity. San Francisco Travel will

purchase budgeting software to increase

efficiency and enhanced functionality to

include increased processing speed and

facilitating easy data manipulation for

review and analysis. ■ Enhance customer services by leveraging

technology. San Francisco Travel will

integrate technology to provide our

customers with positive experiences for

their visits to our business office. ■ Identify and implement sustainable

business practice. San Francisco Travel

will seek green business certification. We

will continue to search “green” facilities,

products and supplies and implement

“green” practices wherever possible. ■ Enhance Corporate Office Environment.

San Francisco Travel wil l take

advantage of the office lease that ends in

October 2014 to create a great working

environment for its employees. The goal

My first love and HOME... see you SOON!!

33


34


is to create a spacious open environment

that encourages communications and

collaboration between colleagues –

frequently and spontaneously.

INFORMATION TEChNOLOGy (IT)

The bifurcated focus of IT, in alignment

with the Strategic Plan, using the

Centennial Project as the road map,

has been on creating new tools and

improving existing processes for staff and

partners. In 2012-13 the foundation was

laid for enhancements around mobility,

partner account management and data

transparency. 2013-14 will see more

structure added to these areas.

IT goals are driven by three primary needs: ■ To support overall San Francisco Travel

staff in achieving annual goals ■ To run an effective business through

system improvements ■ To improve stakeholder relationships

through online systems

2013-14 highlights and Priorities ■ Expand the partner and stakeholder

portal. With the release of online

account management and other new

partnership tools, San Francisco Travel

has moved from manual business

process interactions to automated

online interactions. The portal will

be augmented with meeting planner

requests for proposals and increased

access to relevant and strategic data.

■ Expand upon data capture tools that

integrate with business needs. With the

release of the Meeting Planner facility

search tools, San Francisco Travel was

able to couple stakeholder and staff needs

with CRM improvements. San Francisco

Travel will expand upon this by creating

utilities that allow for improvements in

the partner referral process. ■ C o n t i n u e t o m a k e C u s t o m e r

Relationship Management system

(CRM) improvements and expand

use throughout San Francisco Travel.

With the addition of Media Relations

to the CRM system’s user base, the

vast majority of the organization is

using the CRM system for support

of their daily business processes.

This allows for data consolidation

and increases the visibility of the

partner relationship throughout the

organization. San Francisco Travel plans

to enhance this by allowing prospective

partners, visiting journalists and similar

relationships to flow directly into the

CRM system without the need for

manual data entry. ■ Support new partner model rollout efforts.

With the first group of partners moving to

the new structure on July 1, there will be

much continued support by IT to make

the transition for the second group as

smooth as possible, while continuing to

support the first group and enhance the

first release of online systems. ■ Continue to improve processes and

systems to better leverage existing

services and technology. The IT

department will work to reduce

unnecessary redundancy in systems

and processes. The goal is to ensure that

San Francisco Travel is focusing time and

resources judiciously in environments

that are appropriate for the business need.

huMAN RESOuRCES (hR) & CuLTuRE

San Francisco Travel Association’s HR

focus is a talent management program that

supports the acquisition, development,

retention and evaluation of staff that

help reach the objectives outlined in the

strategic plan and meet annual goals,

while moving the Association toward a

workplace environment and culture that

is recognized as an industry model.

2013-14 highlights and Priorities ■ Continue enhancement and focus on

performance management. Regular

productive feedback is essential for

staff satisfaction, performance, morale,

and running an effective business.

San Francisco Travel Association

will continue to use the established

web-based streamlined method that

focuses on both results, against the

key goals established annually, and

relationships with other staff, both

inter- and intra-departmentally. Specific

core competencies will be evaluated

company-wide in a 360-degree format

that align with the core competencies

expected from all staff on the year

end performance appraisal. This will

I’m having one of those moments where all I want to do is be in @onlyinsf. Who am I kidding, I have these moments every day

33


34


is to create a spacious open environment

that encourages communications and

collaboration between colleagues –

frequently and spontaneously.

INFORMATION TEChNOLOGy (IT)

The bifurcated focus of IT, in alignment

with the Strategic Plan, using the

Centennial Project as the road map,

has been on creating new tools and

improving existing processes for staff and

partners. In 2012-13 the foundation was

laid for enhancements around mobility,

partner account management and data

transparency. 2013-14 will see more

structure added to these areas.

IT goals are driven by three primary needs: ■ To support overall San Francisco Travel

staff in achieving annual goals ■ To run an effective business through

system improvements ■ To improve stakeholder relationships

through online systems

2013-14 highlights and Priorities ■ Expand the partner and stakeholder

portal. With the release of online

account management and other new

partnership tools, San Francisco Travel

has moved from manual business

process interactions to automated

online interactions. The portal will

be augmented with meeting planner

requests for proposals and increased

access to relevant and strategic data.

■ Expand upon data capture tools that

integrate with business needs. With the

release of the Meeting Planner facility

search tools, San Francisco Travel was

able to couple stakeholder and staff needs

with CRM improvements. San Francisco

Travel will expand upon this by creating

utilities that allow for improvements in

the partner referral process. ■ C o n t i n u e t o m a k e C u s t o m e r

Relationship Management system

(CRM) improvements and expand

use throughout San Francisco Travel.

With the addition of Media Relations

to the CRM system’s user base, the

vast majority of the organization is

using the CRM system for support

of their daily business processes.

This allows for data consolidation

and increases the visibility of the

partner relationship throughout the

organization. San Francisco Travel plans

to enhance this by allowing prospective

partners, visiting journalists and similar

relationships to flow directly into the

CRM system without the need for

manual data entry. ■ Support new partner model rollout efforts.

With the first group of partners moving to

the new structure on July 1, there will be

much continued support by IT to make

the transition for the second group as

smooth as possible, while continuing to

support the first group and enhance the

first release of online systems. ■ Continue to improve processes and

systems to better leverage existing

services and technology. The IT

department will work to reduce

unnecessary redundancy in systems

and processes. The goal is to ensure that

San Francisco Travel is focusing time and

resources judiciously in environments

that are appropriate for the business need.

huMAN RESOuRCES (hR) & CuLTuRE

San Francisco Travel Association’s HR

focus is a talent management program that

supports the acquisition, development,

retention and evaluation of staff that

help reach the objectives outlined in the

strategic plan and meet annual goals,

while moving the Association toward a

workplace environment and culture that

is recognized as an industry model.

2013-14 highlights and Priorities ■ Continue enhancement and focus on

performance management. Regular

productive feedback is essential for

staff satisfaction, performance, morale,

and running an effective business.

San Francisco Travel Association

will continue to use the established

web-based streamlined method that

focuses on both results, against the

key goals established annually, and

relationships with other staff, both

inter- and intra-departmentally. Specific

core competencies will be evaluated

company-wide in a 360-degree format

that align with the core competencies

expected from all staff on the year

end performance appraisal. This will

I’m having one of those moments where all I want to do is be in @onlyinsf. Who am I kidding, I have these moments every day

35


36


assist supervisors in understanding

staff member’s strengths and areas of

opportunity and aspirations based on

feedback from coworkers, in addition to

their supervisors. ■ Continue to facilitate and execute

an annual work climate survey.

San Francisco Travel Association will

continue use of an internal work climate

survey, facilitated anonymously by an

outside resource, to measure employee

satisfaction and commitment. Survey

results will be used to create strategies

for divisions and departments focused on

improving the workplace environment

based on identified areas of opportunity.

The implementation of an annual staff

retreat in conjunction with the survey

will help foster and facilitate an improved

positive culture. ■ Continuation of staff training and

development to increase capacity and

effectiveness. Though past budget

constraints prevented ongoing training

and development for several years,

San Francisco Travel Association has

established a concrete foundation to

provide, enhance and develop professional

skills to optimize performance related to

technology, software applications, project

management, sales, industry related

certifications, and leadership behavior

development. Other areas of development

and conference participation support

San Francisco Travel’s six Key Themes,

outlined under “What We Do.” ■ Develop and implement a plan to

incorporate “Lead the Way” behavior.

During the past fiscal year, San Francisco

Travel Association focused on programs

and assemblies that champion

recognition of team and individual

achievements. Staff meetings and events

will continue to be more interactive with

increased staff participation at all levels

related to presentation of new ideas,

concepts, and departmental updates. ■ Develop philanthropic support programs.


continue to participate in philanthropic

events that support and focus on the well-

being of San Francisco as a destination

in addition to our community in general.

Objective 5: promote the Long-Term

Development of the Destination

This objective is focused on long-term

planning that will positively impact the visitor

industry. Short-term marketing functions are

outlined under Objective 1. San Francisco

Travel is committed to continually improving

the San Francisco region’s image and visitor

amenities to ensure long-term success as a

convention, meeting, transient business

and leisure destination. San Francisco

Travel delivers on this commitment through

brand strategy and product development

advocacy, such as leading efforts to update


investigating the need for convention

facilities expansion, supporting the

development of new attractions, etc. If the

sales and marketing functions outlined

in Objective 1 make San Francisco Travel

the voice of the destination, those outlined

below make the Association the voice for

the destination.

Four-year Vision ■ Provide the long-term view for the

organization and the destination. As the

one local association representing the

entire breadth of the visitor industry,

San Francisco Travel’s role, in addition

to sales and marketing, is to focus

on keeping the product relevant

to customers. ■ Support, enhance and expand the

San Francisco Travel brand Strategy.

As the San Francisco Travel name,

brand, and identity gain traction within

the San Francisco visitor industry and

stakeholders, San Francisco Travel

staff will continually reinforce the

organization’s relevance, visibility, and

value in all communications, programs

and initiatives. ■ Build an aggressive public policy and

advocacy program. See Objective 3, Foster

Positive Relations with Stakeholders,

page 29. ■ Help ensure that San Francisco’s streets

are safe and clean for everyone. See

Objective 3, address bad street behavior,

page 29. ■ Drive Moscone Center expansion to

better compete with the major convention

market destinations. Moscone Center

hosts a million visitors each year and

generates more than $1.6 billion in visitor

spending. This, in turn, contributes

millions of dollars to the City’s General

Can’t wait to come back to your wonderful city in August

35


36


assist supervisors in understanding

staff member’s strengths and areas of

opportunity and aspirations based on

feedback from coworkers, in addition to

their supervisors. ■ Continue to facilitate and execute

an annual work climate survey.


continue use of an internal work climate

survey, facilitated anonymously by an

outside resource, to measure employee

satisfaction and commitment. Survey

results will be used to create strategies

for divisions and departments focused on

improving the workplace environment

based on identified areas of opportunity.

The implementation of an annual staff

retreat in conjunction with the survey

will help foster and facilitate an improved

positive culture. ■ Continuation of staff training and

development to increase capacity and

effectiveness. Though past budget

constraints prevented ongoing training

and development for several years,

San Francisco Travel Association has

established a concrete foundation to

provide, enhance and develop professional

skills to optimize performance related to

technology, software applications, project

management, sales, industry related

certifications, and leadership behavior

development. Other areas of development

and conference participation support

San Francisco Travel’s six Key Themes,

outlined under “What We Do.” ■ Develop and implement a plan to

incorporate “Lead the Way” behavior.

During the past fiscal year, San Francisco

Travel Association focused on programs

and assemblies that champion

recognition of team and individual

achievements. Staff meetings and events

will continue to be more interactive with

increased staff participation at all levels

related to presentation of new ideas,

concepts, and departmental updates. ■ Develop philanthropic support programs.


continue to participate in philanthropic

events that support and focus on the well-

being of San Francisco as a destination

in addition to our community in general.

Objective 5: promote the Long-Term

Development of the Destination

This objective is focused on long-term

planning that will positively impact the visitor

industry. Short-term marketing functions are

outlined under Objective 1. San Francisco

Travel is committed to continually improving

the San Francisco region’s image and visitor

amenities to ensure long-term success as a

convention, meeting, transient business

and leisure destination. San Francisco

Travel delivers on this commitment through

brand strategy and product development

advocacy, such as leading efforts to update


investigating the need for convention

facilities expansion, supporting the

development of new attractions, etc. If the

sales and marketing functions outlined

in Objective 1 make San Francisco Travel

the voice of the destination, those outlined

below make the Association the voice for

the destination.

Four-year Vision ■ Provide the long-term view for the

organization and the destination. As the

one local association representing the

entire breadth of the visitor industry,

San Francisco Travel’s role, in addition

to sales and marketing, is to focus

on keeping the product relevant

to customers. ■ Support, enhance and expand the

San Francisco Travel brand Strategy.

As the San Francisco Travel name,

brand, and identity gain traction within

the San Francisco visitor industry and

stakeholders, San Francisco Travel

staff will continually reinforce the

organization’s relevance, visibility, and

value in all communications, programs

and initiatives. ■ Build an aggressive public policy and

advocacy program. See Objective 3, Foster

Positive Relations with Stakeholders,

page 29. ■ Help ensure that San Francisco’s streets

are safe and clean for everyone. See

Objective 3, address bad street behavior,

page 29. ■ Drive Moscone Center expansion to

better compete with the major convention

market destinations. Moscone Center

hosts a million visitors each year and

generates more than $1.6 billion in visitor

spending. This, in turn, contributes

millions of dollars to the City’s General

Can’t wait to come back to your wonderful city in August

37


38


Fund and supports thousands of jobs.

In order to remain attractive to larger

convention planners, Moscone Center

must be expanded with the goal of

maximizing exhibit space by adding at

least 100,000 square feet of additional

contiguous space. In addition, significant

flexible meeting space and ballrooms will

be incorporated into the plan. Skidmore,

Owings & Merrill, LLP partnered with

Mark Cavagnero Architects have

been hired to design the expansion.

In partnership with the City, the


District Management Corporation, and

the Hotel Council, San Francisco Travel

successfully drove the effort to secure

the approval of the funding mechanism

that will enable the expansion. The

next step is successfully navigating the

entitlement process and securing the

building permits needed for the project.

Working with our City and business

partners, San Francisco Travel will

pursue a robust public outreach effort

designed to ensure the public is fully

engaged in the Moscone expansion

entitlement process. ■ Determine relationship with additional

industries that drive economic impact.

Over the last year, San Francisco Travel

worked in partnership with the Office

of Economic Development to craft a

platform for how the City communicates

with all of its constituencies. Starting

primarily with business development,

the parallel messaging opportunities

across various industries including

tourism, meetings and film production

are extensive. Called “Where the World

Changes,” this platform has begun to

take shape under OEWD leadership, with

San Francisco Travel participating. ■ Support major sporting and special

events. While in the midst of serving up

what we hope will be a tremendously

beneficial America’s Cup experience,

San Francisco and the visitor industry

is also already beginning preparations

for Super Bowl L in 2016. The benefits of

this gigantic sporting event are beyond

comparison for any recent San Francisco

events, including major conventions and

the MLB All-Star Game – the size and

scale is simply unparalleled, and the

economic impact will be felt for years

to come. ■ Advocate for a major sports and

entertainment arena. In the next coming

years, San Francisco will host a number

of major events that will draw significant

attention across the globe. These events

will showcase the city as a premier

destination for meetings, conventions

and entertainment events. The lack of a

large arena makes it extremely difficult

for San Francisco to attract major events

requiring a vast general assembly space.


work closely with the City and private

developers to pursue the development of

a major sports and entertainment arena.

37


38


Fund and supports thousands of jobs.

In order to remain attractive to larger

convention planners, Moscone Center

must be expanded with the goal of

maximizing exhibit space by adding at

least 100,000 square feet of additional

contiguous space. In addition, significant

flexible meeting space and ballrooms will

be incorporated into the plan. Skidmore,

Owings & Merrill, LLP partnered with

Mark Cavagnero Architects have

been hired to design the expansion.

In partnership with the City, the


District Management Corporation, and

the Hotel Council, San Francisco Travel

successfully drove the effort to secure

the approval of the funding mechanism

that will enable the expansion. The

next step is successfully navigating the

entitlement process and securing the

building permits needed for the project.

Working with our City and business

partners, San Francisco Travel will

pursue a robust public outreach effort

designed to ensure the public is fully

engaged in the Moscone expansion

entitlement process. ■ Determine relationship with additional

industries that drive economic impact.

Over the last year, San Francisco Travel

worked in partnership with the Office

of Economic Development to craft a

platform for how the City communicates

with all of its constituencies. Starting

primarily with business development,

the parallel messaging opportunities

across various industries including

tourism, meetings and film production

are extensive. Called “Where the World

Changes,” this platform has begun to

take shape under OEWD leadership, with

San Francisco Travel participating. ■ Support major sporting and special

events. While in the midst of serving up

what we hope will be a tremendously

beneficial America’s Cup experience,

San Francisco and the visitor industry

is also already beginning preparations

for Super Bowl L in 2016. The benefits of

this gigantic sporting event are beyond

comparison for any recent San Francisco

events, including major conventions and

the MLB All-Star Game – the size and

scale is simply unparalleled, and the

economic impact will be felt for years

to come. ■ Advocate for a major sports and

entertainment arena. In the next coming

years, San Francisco will host a number

of major events that will draw significant

attention across the globe. These events

will showcase the city as a premier

destination for meetings, conventions

and entertainment events. The lack of a

large arena makes it extremely difficult

for San Francisco to attract major events

requiring a vast general assembly space.


work closely with the City and private

developers to pursue the development of

a major sports and entertainment arena.

39


40


San Francisco Travel leadership

Mariann CostelloChair

Vice President Scoma’s Restaurant

Annie Allen

Director of Tourism Sales and MarketingCityPASS

Kathy PaverChair, Consumer Promotions Council

Senior Vice President of MarketingPIER 39

Janet Griggs

CFOTaste Catering & Event Planning

John CopeImmediate Past Chair

RepresentativeHuntington Hotel

Alec hughes

Senior VP, Regional Sales and Marketing ManagerWells Fargo

Craig Schwan

General ManagerSheraton Fisherman’s Wharf

Murat Eskicioglu

Regional General Manager SAVOR San Francisco at Moscone

Jan Misch

General ManagerThe Tuscan

William Withington

VP / GMEnterprise Rent-A-Car

Gary BauerVice Chair Chair, Community Engagement Council

PresidentBauer’s Intelligent Transportation

Luanne Calvert

VP Marketing & CommunicationsVirgin America

Stephen RevetriaChair-Elect

Vice President & General ManagerGiants Enterprises

Larry Bouchard

General Manager/PartnerOne Market Restaurant

Anna Marie PresuttiChair, Tourism Council

General ManagerNikko Hotels International

Matt Guelfi

Vice PresidentHartmann Studios

Thomas KleinChair, Meetings & Conventions Council

Regional VP – California, General ManagerFairmont Hotels and Resorts

Lisa Kerschner

General ManagerRenaissance Stanford Court Hotel

Philip Kendall

Managing DirectorCarneros Inn

Simon Sin

Owner/CEOCova Hotel

Jon Kimball

Area VP and General ManagerWestin St. Francis/ Starwood Hotels & Resorts

Ferris Suer

PrincipalAlliedPRA Northern California

Mike Freed

General ManagerCavallo Point

Polly Nelson

Managing DirectorDFS North America

Dr. Jay Xu

DirectorAsian Art Museum

Steven haines

Executive DirectorStern Grove Festival Association

Melinda yee FranklinChair, Public Policy Council

Managing Director, Corporate and Government Affairs, Western RegionUnited Airlines

Peter Gamez

Vice President of Global SalesCommune Hotels and Resorts

Charles Phan

OwnerThe Slanted Door

Tom Carroll

VP Northwest and Pacific MarketsTiffany & Co.

Terry MacRae

CEOHornblower Cruises

Craig Vandermause

General ManagerHerschend Entertainment

Rodrigo EnriquezSecretary/TreasurerPresidentExtranomical Adventures, Inc.

Tran hang

Head of Travel Industry – Western U.S., Ad Sales & OperationsGoogle

Matt Prieshoff

Chief Operating OfficerLive Nation

Michael Dunne

General ManagerHilton Union Square San Francisco

John Martin

Airport DirectorSan Francisco International Airport

Rick Welts

President & COOGolden State Warriors

EXECuTIVE COMMITTEE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS (CONTINuED)

Executive Committee pending Board approval

39


40


San Francisco Travel leadership

Mariann CostelloChair

Vice President Scoma’s Restaurant

Annie Allen

Director of Tourism Sales and MarketingCityPASS

Kathy PaverChair, Consumer Promotions Council

Senior Vice President of MarketingPIER 39

Janet Griggs

CFOTaste Catering & Event Planning

John CopeImmediate Past Chair

RepresentativeHuntington Hotel

Alec hughes

Senior VP, Regional Sales and Marketing ManagerWells Fargo

Craig Schwan

General ManagerSheraton Fisherman’s Wharf

Murat Eskicioglu

Regional General Manager SAVOR San Francisco at Moscone

Jan Misch

General ManagerThe Tuscan

William Withington

VP / GMEnterprise Rent-A-Car

Gary BauerVice Chair Chair, Community Engagement Council

PresidentBauer’s Intelligent Transportation

Luanne Calvert

VP Marketing & CommunicationsVirgin America

Stephen RevetriaChair-Elect

Vice President & General ManagerGiants Enterprises

Larry Bouchard

General Manager/PartnerOne Market Restaurant

Anna Marie PresuttiChair, Tourism Council

General ManagerNikko Hotels International

Matt Guelfi

Vice PresidentHartmann Studios

Thomas KleinChair, Meetings & Conventions Council

Regional VP – California, General ManagerFairmont Hotels and Resorts

Lisa Kerschner

General ManagerRenaissance Stanford Court Hotel

Philip Kendall

Managing DirectorCarneros Inn

Simon Sin

Owner/CEOCova Hotel

Jon Kimball

Area VP and General ManagerWestin St. Francis/ Starwood Hotels & Resorts

Ferris Suer

PrincipalAlliedPRA Northern California

Mike Freed

General ManagerCavallo Point

Polly Nelson

Managing DirectorDFS North America

Dr. Jay Xu

DirectorAsian Art Museum

Steven haines

Executive DirectorStern Grove Festival Association

Melinda yee FranklinChair, Public Policy Council

Managing Director, Corporate and Government Affairs, Western RegionUnited Airlines

Peter Gamez

Vice President of Global SalesCommune Hotels and Resorts

Charles Phan

OwnerThe Slanted Door

Tom Carroll

VP Northwest and Pacific MarketsTiffany & Co.

Terry MacRae

CEOHornblower Cruises

Craig Vandermause

General ManagerHerschend Entertainment

Rodrigo EnriquezSecretary/TreasurerPresidentExtranomical Adventures, Inc.

Tran hang

Head of Travel Industry – Western U.S., Ad Sales & OperationsGoogle

Matt Prieshoff

Chief Operating OfficerLive Nation

Michael Dunne

General ManagerHilton Union Square San Francisco

John Martin

Airport DirectorSan Francisco International Airport

Rick Welts

President & COOGolden State Warriors

EXECuTIVE COMMITTEE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS (CONTINuED)

Executive Committee pending Board approval

41


42


Business Office201 Third Street, Suite 900San Francisco, CA 94103-3185Phone: (415) 974-6900Fax: (415) 227-2602TTY/TDD: (415) 227-2619

San Francisco Visitor Information Center900 Market Street, Lower Hallidie PlazaSan Francisco, CA 94102-2804Phone: (415) 391-2000Fax: (415) 362-7323TTY/TDD: (415) 392-0328

Washington DC Convention Sales Office1730 M Street, N.W. Suite 807Washington, D.C. 20036-4505Phone: (202) 466-4400Fax (202) 452-8948

Chicago Convention Sales Office330 Neva AvenueGlenview, IL 60025-5010Phone: (847) 834-0092Fax: (847) 834-0093

New york Convention Sales Office277 Prospect PlaceBrooklyn, NY 11238Phone: (917) 743-7833


Follow us on Facebookfacebook.com/onlyinsfTwittertwitter.com/onlyinsfInstagramFollow “onlyinsf”

Fritz Arko1995-96

Retired PresidentArko Designs

Joe D’AlessandroPresident & CEO

[email protected]

Bill Poland2000-01

President Bay West Group

Jon BallesterosVice President of Public Policy

[email protected]

Tom LaTour1999-00

Retired Chairman & CEOKimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group

Matt StikerExecutive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer

[email protected]

Bob Linscheid

President & CEOSan Francisco Chamber of Commerce

Rob Black

Executive DirectorGolden Gate Restaurant Association

Dick Shaff

Vice President & General ManagerSMG - Moscone Center

Rodney Fong2009-10

PresidentThe Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf

hank Biddle2002-03

Senior Vice President, OperationsThe Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC - Western Region

Paul FrentsosExecutive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

[email protected]

Rick Swig2005-06

President RSBA & Associates

Carol PerryDirector, Stakeholder Engagement

[email protected]

Susie McCormick2006-07

Retired Executive Publisher7x7 Magazine

Robert Wilhelm1989-91

Hospitality Management Consultant

Tina WuExecutive Vice President & Chief Finance Officer

[email protected]

Frank Kent1997-98

Airport Emergency Planning CoordinatorSan Francisco International Airport

Tom KielyExecutive Vice President & Chief Tourism Officer

[email protected]

Pat Gallagher2008-09

Retired PresidentGiants Enterprises

David Nadelman2012-13

General ManagerHyatt Hotels & Resorts

Louis Meunier2003-04

Retired Executive Vice President, External AffairsMacy’s

herb Myers2007-08

Regional Business Banking President, San Francisco Bay RegionWells Fargo

Toni Knorr2010-11

General ManagerThe St. Regis San Francisco

John ReyesExecutive Vice President & Chief Customer Officer

[email protected]

Kevin Carroll

Executive DirectorHotel Council of San Francisco

John Noguchi

Director, Convention Facilities DepartmentCity & County of San Francisco

ACTIVE PAST ChAIRS EXECuTIVE TEAM

OFFICE DIRECTORy

EX-OFFICIO REPRESENTATIVES

Jon handlery2004-05

President and General ManagerHandlery Union Square Hotel

41


42


Business Office201 Third Street, Suite 900San Francisco, CA 94103-3185Phone: (415) 974-6900Fax: (415) 227-2602TTY/TDD: (415) 227-2619

San Francisco Visitor Information Center900 Market Street, Lower Hallidie PlazaSan Francisco, CA 94102-2804Phone: (415) 391-2000Fax: (415) 362-7323TTY/TDD: (415) 392-0328

Washington DC Convention Sales Office1730 M Street, N.W. Suite 807Washington, D.C. 20036-4505Phone: (202) 466-4400Fax (202) 452-8948

Chicago Convention Sales Office330 Neva AvenueGlenview, IL 60025-5010Phone: (847) 834-0092Fax: (847) 834-0093

New york Convention Sales Office277 Prospect PlaceBrooklyn, NY 11238Phone: (917) 743-7833


Follow us on Facebookfacebook.com/onlyinsfTwittertwitter.com/onlyinsfInstagramFollow “onlyinsf”

Fritz Arko1995-96

Retired PresidentArko Designs

Joe D’AlessandroPresident & CEO

[email protected]

Bill Poland2000-01

President Bay West Group

Jon BallesterosVice President of Public Policy

[email protected]

Tom LaTour1999-00

Retired Chairman & CEOKimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group

Matt StikerExecutive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer

[email protected]

Bob Linscheid

President & CEOSan Francisco Chamber of Commerce

Rob Black

Executive DirectorGolden Gate Restaurant Association

Dick Shaff

Vice President & General ManagerSMG - Moscone Center

Rodney Fong2009-10

PresidentThe Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf

hank Biddle2002-03

Senior Vice President, OperationsThe Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC - Western Region

Paul FrentsosExecutive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

[email protected]

Rick Swig2005-06

President RSBA & Associates

Carol PerryDirector, Stakeholder Engagement

[email protected]

Susie McCormick2006-07

Retired Executive Publisher7x7 Magazine

Robert Wilhelm1989-91

Hospitality Management Consultant

Tina WuExecutive Vice President & Chief Finance Officer

[email protected]

Frank Kent1997-98

Airport Emergency Planning CoordinatorSan Francisco International Airport

Tom KielyExecutive Vice President & Chief Tourism Officer

[email protected]

Pat Gallagher2008-09

Retired PresidentGiants Enterprises

David Nadelman2012-13

General ManagerHyatt Hotels & Resorts

Louis Meunier2003-04

Retired Executive Vice President, External AffairsMacy’s

herb Myers2007-08

Regional Business Banking President, San Francisco Bay RegionWells Fargo

Toni Knorr2010-11

General ManagerThe St. Regis San Francisco

John ReyesExecutive Vice President & Chief Customer Officer

[email protected]

Kevin Carroll

Executive DirectorHotel Council of San Francisco

John Noguchi

Director, Convention Facilities DepartmentCity & County of San Francisco

ACTIVE PAST ChAIRS EXECuTIVE TEAM

OFFICE DIRECTORy

EX-OFFICIO REPRESENTATIVES

Jon handlery2004-05

President and General ManagerHandlery Union Square Hotel


Documents

San Francisco Travel Association 2013-14 Business Plan