Sf 1314 2013 14 strategicbusinessplan r4b by rshapiro

2013â&#x20AC;&#x201C;14 Strategic Business Plan

Table of Contents

manifesto

who we are

what we do

13 state of the industry

message from the chair

message from the president

11 how we measure what we do

19 what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re up to

35 sAN FRANCISCO LEADERSHIP

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 into the City by the Bay.

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

Message from the Chair 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 Tourism Improvement District 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.

Message from the President 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.

FPO signature to come Mariann Costello San Francisco Travel Board Chair 2013-14 Vice President, Scoma’s Restaurant

Joe D’Alessandro President & CEO San Francisco Travel

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

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.

Who we are Vision

To ensure that San Francisco is the most compelling destination in the world.

Total Revenue

Total Expenses

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, formerly the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, 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

5% Public Sector Funding

3% Industry Reserve TID Contingency

11% Operating (Non-personnel)

“FPO eost es trunt odi it uomnis nihit a uu bernu nti inis molor ers alicatume sit et mint eum eos autecum” –Name Name, Position

TOTAL

$27.46

million

22%

30% Private Sector Funding

65% TID Assessments

43% Operating (Personnel)

FY 2013–2014

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

43% Promotional Programs

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FY 2013–2014

of new or significant activity outlined on pages 19-34. 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 Convention Center, the local hotel community, city officials and San Francisco Travel worked together to create the Tourism Improvement District (TID), which began collections in 2009. Proceeds from a 1% to 1.5% 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 TID is governed by a separate Board of Directors and meetings are open to the public. For additional information, please visit sftid.com. San Francisco Travel Foundation

Formed in 2003, the San Francisco Travel Foundation supports hospitality

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

9:10

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What we do 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

2:3

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will also communicate the diverse product offering 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, and a new passenger cruise ship terminal. San Francisco Travel will develop strategies to market and communicate these developments to trade and consumer audiences.

a center for both mainstream and cuttingedge performing and visual arts. In fact, recent research placed San Francisco in the top three cities when 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.

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

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

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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

Watch A Day in the Life: San Francisco

and website efforts include information encouraging visitors to discover the city’s diverse neighborhoods and explore all that San Francisco has to offer.

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. Public relations, marketing

“FPO eost es trunt odi it uomnis nihit a uu bernu nti inis molor ers alicatume sit et mint eum eos autecum” –Name Name, Position 2013 LGBT Ad

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

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

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.

How we measure what we do 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 longterm, making it most useful to the local community. Tourism – New Programs and New Leads

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 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 organizations to establish a standard industry methodology. Until such a methodology is established, San Francisco Travel tracks two key areas to measure productivity: ■■ Incremental group tour programs (when room nights are generated.) * San Francisco Travel limits program credits to programs launched within the fiscal year. ■■

Group tour leads (referrals of potential business to San Francisco Travel partners.)

* San Francisco Travel limits lead credits that are referred within the fiscal year.

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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

2013–2014 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

Travel Industry Sales (Leads)

850

945

13%

Website Visitor Economic Impact

$57,655,120

$70,692,347

23%

Private Revenue

$7,547,100

$8,338,900

11%

Budget

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

N/A

San Francisco Travel will again work throughout the year to complete 2013-2014 with a balanced budget, plus or minus 0.5% gross.

Website Visitor Economic Impact and Website Visits

The San Francisco Travel website, sanfrancisco.travel, and affiliated partner sites are the primary ways that potential visitors interact with the Association and the city, and they’re critical in the decision-making process as well as being a key indicator of economic impact. A website conversion study in 2008 indicated that every 1,000 unique visitors to the website generated an incremental $15,850 in visitor spending for the city of San Francisco. The site plays a critical

“FPO eost es trunt odi it uomnis nihit a uu bernu nti inis molor ers alicatume sit et mint eum eos autecum” –Name Name, Position

22%

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San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

“FPO eost es trunt odi it uomnis nihit a uu bernu nti inis molor ers alicatume sit et mint eum eos autecum” –Name Name, Position

State of the industry

2012 Market Mix 5.1% Other

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22%

16% Group

21.3% Commercial 57.6% Leisure

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90%

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2012 San Francisco Annual Visitor Volume & Spending Place of stay

2011

2012

% Change

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%

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%

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%

Visitor Volume

(Number of visitors to San Francisco in millions)

Visitor Spending

(Number of visitors to San Francisco in billion dollars)

Other Key Visitor Industry Statistics Based on PFK Data

Overview

San Francisco’s Market Mix

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 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.

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

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

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Annual Total Visitor Volume

Annual Visitor Spending

Lodging Market

in millions

in Billions

adr($) vs occupancy(%)

Citywide Room Nights Bookes by San Francisco Travel as of march 2012

78.9%

75.1%

75%

71.2%

74.9%

72.7%

71.4%

67.8%

62.7%

61%

$150

80.3%

64.8%

80.7%

$200

80.3%

$10

$100

0 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

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

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.

total booked nights

2006

844,398

2007

755,898

2008

755,898

2009

992,843

2010

788,004

2011

830,482

2012

892,181

2013

940,662

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

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

2014

940,662

2015

933,678

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

Based on PFK Data

Hotel Industry

Number of groups

$50

year

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 international service in 2013 from SASScandinavian 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,

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

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.

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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

Not surprisingly, employment has a significant effect on spending. Consumers are starting to earn more, but are still cautious about what they spend their earnings on. Consumers continue to source information online and there have

been significant increases in mobile usage both in-market and in the travel planning stages with 44% of US travelers planning to use their mobile device during trips according to TripAdvisor’s 2012 Travel Trends Forecast, and San Francisco Travel’s official publishing partner, Miles, seeing a 400% increase in mobile queries from 2010 to 2011, and 63% of travelers accessing travel information via mobile device before they left home.

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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.

–Name Name, Position

Travelers are expecting a consistent brand experience with their mobile, online and social media activity as well as the experience they have in-market. San Francisco Travel’s social media strategy: ■■ Drive increased and incremental visitation to San Francisco ■■ Lead a cultural conversation about San Francisco as a globally aspirational destination

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

What we’re up to

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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.

Convention Sales & Services Areas of Focus Report sales successes & challenges

Plan for sales success

Bottom Line

Keep convention & meeting business

Maximize hotel room revenue Maximize meeting-related economic impact

Find convention & meeting business

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

■■

San Francisco Travel uses an objectivebased 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 are categorized by objective.

Win convention & meeting business

■■

Plan, Find, Win, Keep, Report

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 13-14. ■■

■■

Four-Year Vision ■■

2013-2014 Core Objectives and Key Strategies

Primary Objective: Generate Visitor-Related Economic Impact for the San Francisco Region

San Francisco Travel’s Convention division is responsible for booking citywide meetings at Moscone Center and selfcontained 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.

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

Redesign Convention Sales structure Implement agreed upon recommendations from Convention Sales benchmarking 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

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Continue to meet and exceed annual goals Review key sales process checklists for improvements Continue to survey meeting and convention planners to develop effective

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customer-centric sales processes Improve overall communication with stakeholders, and internal and external customers to summarize value and results Refine Moscone Convention 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

As part of the Centennial Project, San Francisco Travel practices a convention sales benchmarking and process assessment, organizing convention and meeting product into five areas: ■■ 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

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

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. ■■ Continue the success of the MICE Program. The MICE effort is to generate international meeting, incentive, congresses (conventions) and exhibitions (trade shows) sits in the Tourism division. The MICE sales director develops new business leads (“Plan” and “Find”) and will liaison with the Convention Sales team who is responsible for booking (“Win” and “Keep”). ■■ Establish total account management responsibilities via new Self-Contained Redeployment introduced in FY12/13. 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 destination via key industry sponsorships: MPI, GMIC, PCMA, SITE, MILO and IAEE.

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Schedule a FY 2013/14 self-contained customer advisory council meeting to continue to provide customercentric recommendations to improve and processes that will strengthen San Francisco’s attractiveness and increase self-contained lead and definite room night opportunities. 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

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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 their 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 ■■

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Define a program of work that balances marketing, direct sales and servicing Implement a clear international market growth strategy

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Continue to leverage the annual IPW (International Pow Wow) trade show achieve maximum impact and results Submitted a bid to US 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 Implemented 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. Four-Year Strategic Goals and Measures of Success

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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

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Implement an industry standard tracking system, effectively gauging program results and direct economic impact of Tourism’s efforts

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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 FY12/13 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 FY13/14, Tourism will host the popular Receptive Tour Operator events in both

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New York and Los A ngeles, plus execute an exclusive client event in our largest overseas market, the United Kingdom. Refine Tourism Strategy. During FY11/12 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 FY13/14 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 FY12/13, 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 FY12/13, San Francisco Travel renewed its comprehensive Scope of Work agreement with SFO, the entry point

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

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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 FY11/12, 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 FY12/13 Christophe Ley joined San Francisco 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

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better fit in the Convention Sales area. Christophe joined Convention Sales in late summer, 2012.

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Leisure Travel Product

Staff Contact: Matt Stiker, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer Board Oversight: Consumer Promotions Council

Leisure visitors comprise 75% of all trips to San Francisco. A staggering figure, and even when the 21% of “Bay Area Day Trippers” are peeled out of that number, it still represents a significant number of the visitors in our city on any given day. San Francisco Travel’s leisure marketing team has the enviable task of building relationships with, inviting, converting and retaining potential and existing San Francisco leisure travelers. As experts on the city and the region, the department works to turn visitors into San Francisco evangelists. Four-Year Vision ■■

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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 13-14)

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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 Develop relationships with local media partners to provide channels for access to key stakeholder and VFR audiences 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

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Increase the number of leisure visitors annually Deepen the relationships with leisure visitors by increasing the number of engaged customer touch points ( e-n ewsl etter d atab ase, 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 ■■

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Drive development of a groundbreaking sustainable cooperative brand campaign targeting leisure travelers (extendable to other audiences). Building on the continued positive reaction to the “49 Hours of SF” brand campaign, which in 2012 was extended into an effort that would also attract short-term meetings, we will continue to drive against this retail-oriented message and generate incremental room nights as well as extend stays of visitors already coming to San Francisco. We will also continue to develop innovative components to the campaign that reinforce the nature and essence of all things San Francisco, and work alongside both the Convention and Tourism teams to create singular messages for all our key audiences. Create the industry standard for delivering a seamless visitor experience across a variety of channels, methods and locations. Capitalizing on the newly-renovated Visitor Information Center at Hallidie Plaza and the new opportunities to provide information to convention attendees at Moscone Center, San Francisco Travel will create a broader visitor information experience that will allow visitors to access our members’ and partners’ information via mobile channels (a new mobile-enabled website), social media (expanding our presence in additional social media channels) and by working closely with other visitor information outlets throughout the city to create and provide

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

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common content accessible to all our visitors, while also providing revenuegenerating opportunities. Work with partners to create/deploy new industry standard to track economic impact of consumer travel sales. There’s no question that leisure visitors have tremendous impact on the overall visitor economy, but there is currently no simple way to track that with any degree of specificity. This year, we will continue evaluating a program that began last fiscal year, working in partnership with colleagues in the hotel community to determine the impact of a visit to sanfrancisco. travel, and where/how it ultimately results in a booked trip to San Francisco. Additionally, we will work with our research vendor and determine if there are current industry “best practices” we can leverage, to improve on our ability to measure this. Develop relationships with local media partners to provide channels for access to key stakeholder and VFR audiences. Although historically we’ve limited our local spend, choosing instead to spend limited dollars outside San Francisco to bring visitors in, the value of spending locally is intensifying as the media environment changes, and we can look to more actively drive the VFR market to communicate and evangelize on our behalf. In addition, access to local media means benefits to our partners, many of whom rely on attracting visitors once they’re already in-market,

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meaning we’re providing a valuable service to our San Francisco partners. Part of the partnership also relies on those local media voices to support the visitor industry. Harness innovation and non-traditional, non-endemic partnerships to allow for increased awareness with visitor audiences and build additional revenue streams that allow for greatly 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.

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.

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)

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2012-13 Highlights and Priorities Convention/Meeting Product

Four-Year Vision ■■

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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 Four-Year Strategic Goals and Measures of Success

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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

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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

In the “Find, Plan, Win, Keep, Report” cycle outlined in Objective 1, “Keep” activity relates to servicing meeting customers, and therefore is outlined here in Objective 2. ■■ 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 k e y c o m pe t i t i o n’s c ur r e nt s i t e 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

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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 communication 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

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

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. Leisure Travel Product

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Serve the customer with an emphasis on surprising and delighting them through our programs, promotions and interactions. As a city, San Francisco is meant to be a fully immersive experience, allowing visitors to explore new things around each corner. As a result, in a world in which consumers’ attention is fragmented and increasingly focused on a device in the palm of their hands, San Francisco Travel will create and provide experiences that engage them both on that device and in the world around them, to draw their interest and attention to San Francisco as a visitor destination and remind them of the kaleidoscope of things to do, see, eat, drink and discover here. Set the industry standard for the creation, integration and distribution of visitor information. A new relationship with a strategic marketing/publishing partner has allowed us to rethink how we bring our content to various audiences, and will result in a fundamentally different set of products for the publications we create this year. The digital content

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we present to the audiences at our Visitor Information Center (ViC) and Moscone Center is not only connected to our member/partner database, but is presented in a way that visually connects it to the San Francisco Travel brand. We will continue to enhance our website with new tools that deepen engagement and interest in the site, and for the destination, including our newly developed mobile site. The renovation of our ViC will not only allow for increased ability for visitors to connect with our “geniuses,” but also will allow them to more readily “do it themselves” than ever before. Our ViC staff will increasingly connect with our visitors via social media before, during and after their trip. Develop and implement research programs to better understand visitor needs and the visitor experience. San Francisco Travel will explore the development of an ongoing relationship with a San Francisco-based research supplier, to ensure that we maintain our understanding of what our visitors need most from their visit here, and to help provide our stakeholders with information that helps them better market their products and services. Develop programs to enhance the branded visitor experience. We will continue to seek new ways and places in which to present our visitors with useful and relevant information, including local media outlets and channels that we create, such as unutilized storefront windows in a variety of locations. We will

also continue to test programs such as a text-messaging application, in which members/partners upload offers for visitors to receive when they text to the appropriate number, a program that has proven successful in the past.

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, the Tourism Improvement District (TID) 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.”

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

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 ■■

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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 brings to neighborhoods and communities throughout San Francisco.

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Four-Year Vision ■■

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Build visibility 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 Four-Year Strategic Goals and Measures of Success

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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

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

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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

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Engagement Council and the Public Policy Council. These two Councils allow the Board to build relationships with elected officials and communit y 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. Providing 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 Tourism Improvement District, 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,

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.

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.

−− 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.

−− 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

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

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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

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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 relationships throughout San Francisco 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 one-to-two-years 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 neighborhoodfocused stories and content.

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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, Amtrak, PIER 39, CityPASS, and others, including many within the City and County of San Francisco family. 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 ■■

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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”

2013-14 Highlights and Priorities ■■

Four-Year Strategic Goals and Measures of Success ■■

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

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−− 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

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−− 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 preliminary 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.

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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. San Francisco Travel will continue to 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 will take advantage of the office lease that ends in October 2014 to create a great working

environment for its employees. The goal is to create a spacious open environment that encourages communications and collaboration between colleagues – frequently and spontaneously.

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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

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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.

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

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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. Continue to make Customer 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

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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.

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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

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end performance appraisal. This will 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

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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. San Francisco Travel Association will continue to participate in philanthropic events that support and focus on the wellbeing of San Francisco as a destination in addition to our community in general.

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 ■■

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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 San Francisco’s convention facilities, investigating the need for convention facilities expansion, supporting the development of new attractions, etc. If the

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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 28. Help ensure that San Francisco’s streets are safe and clean for everyone. See Objective 3, address bad street behavior, page 29. Drive Moscone Convention Center expansion to better compete with the major convention market destinations. Moscone Center hosts a million visitors each year and generates more than

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$1.6 billion in visitor spending. This, in turn, contributes millions of dollars to the City’s General Fund and supports thousands of jobs. In order to remain attractive to larger convention planners, Moscone 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 and create a 25-year master plan. In partnership with the City, the Tourism Improvement District, 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. Determine relationship with additional industries that drive economic impact. This past year, San Francisco Travel collaborated with the Mayor’s Office of Film and Video on a research program that led to the development of a mobile app which highlights the key locations around the city in which well-known movies and TV shows were filmed. We

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

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will continue our efforts with the Film Office, and deepen our partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Economic & Workforce Development, to collaborate on a variety of projects in which our efforts and goals are aligned. Support major sporting and special events. The next big test in this area will be the America’s Cup World Series and Louis Vuitton events, and we will continue to work alongside city and industry partners to champion the effort, determining a partner strategy, creating programs and initiatives to ensure successful events and leveraging attendance at those events to drive further visitation to San Francisco. Advocate for a major sports and entertainment arena. In the next two 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. San Francisco Travel will continue to work closely with the City and private developers to pursue the development of a major sports and entertainment arena.

San Francisco Travel Leadership Executive committee

Mariann Costello Chair

board of directors

Rodrigo Enriquez Secretary/Treasurer President Extranomical Adventures, Inc.

Melinda Yee Franklin Chair, Public Policy Council

Stephen Revetria Chair-Elect

David Nadelman Immediate Past Chair

Kathy Paver Chair, Consumer Promotions Council

Vice President & General Manager Giants Enterprises

General Manager Grand Hyatt San Francisco

Senior Vice President of Marketing PIER 39

Gary Bauer Vice Chair; Chair, Community Engagement Council

Thomas Klein Chair, Consumer Promotions Council

Anna Marie Presutti Chair, Tourism Council

Regional VP–California, General Manager Fairmont Hotels and Resorts

General Manager Nikko Hotels International

Vice President Scoma’s Restaurant

President Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation

Managing Director, Corporate and Government Affairs, Western Region United Airlines

Alec Hughes

Jan Misch

Ferris Suer

Senior VP, Regional Sales and Marketing Manager Wells Fargo

General Manager The Tuscan

Principal AlliedPRA Northern California

Philip Kendall

Polly Nelson

Craig Vandermaus

Managing Director Carneros Inn

Managing Director DFS North America

General Manager Herschend Entertainment

Jon Kimball

Charles Phan

Rick Welts

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

Owner The Slanted Door

President & COO Golden State Warriors

Terry MacRae

Matt Prieshoff

William Withington

CEO Hornblower Cruises

Chief Operating Officer Live Nation

VP / GM Enterprise Rent-A-Car

John Martin

Craig Schwan

Dr. Jay Xu

Airport Director San Francisco International Airport

General Manager Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf

Director Asian Art Museum

board of directors

Annie Allen

Michael Dunne

Janet Griggs

Director of Tourism Sales and Marketing CityPASS

General Manager Hilton Union Square San Francisco

CFO Taste Catering & Event Planning

Simon Sin Larry Bouchard

Murat Eskicioglu

Matt Guelfi

General Manager/Partner One Market Restaurant

Regional General Manager SAVOR San Francisco at Moscone

Vice President Hartmann Studios

Luanne Calvert

Mike Freed

Steven Haines

VP Marketing & Communications Virgin America

General Manager Cavallo Point

Executive Director Stern Grove Festival Association

Tom Carroll

Peter Gamez

Tran Hang

VP Northwest and Pacific Markets Tiffany & Co.

Vice President of Global Sales Commune Hotels and Resorts

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

Owner/CEO Cova Hotel

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

Active Past Chairs

Executive team

Fritz Arko 1995-96

Jon Handlery 2004-05

Louis Meunier 2003-04

Joe D’Alessandro President & CEO

Retired President Arko Designs

President and General Manager Handlery Union Square Hotel

Retired Executive Vice President, External Affairs Macy’s

joe@sanfrancisco.travel

Hank Biddle 2002-03

Frank Kent 1997-98

Herb Myers 2007-08

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

Airport Emergency Planning Coordinator San Francisco International Airport

Regional Business Banking President, San Francisco Bay Region Wells Fargo

Paul Frentsos Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

Matt Stiker Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer

pfrentsos@sanfrancisco.travel

mstiker@sanfrancisco.travel

John Cope 2011-2012

Toni Knorr 2010-11

Bill Poland 2000-01

Representative Huntington Hotel

General Manager The St. Regis San Francisco

President Bay West Group

Tom Kiely Executive Vice President & Chief Tourism Officer

Tina Wu Executive Vice President & Chief Finance Officer

tkiely@sanfrancisco.travel

twu@sanfrancisco.travel

Rodney Fong 2009-10

Tom LaTour 1999-00

Rick Swig 2005-06

President The Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf

Retired Chairman & CEO Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group

President RSBA & Associates

Pat Gallagher 2008-09

Susie McCormick 2006-07

Robert Wilhelm 1989-91

Retired President Giants Enterprises

Retired Executive Publisher 7x7 Magazine

Hospitality Management Consultant

Steven Flak

Dick Shaff

Executive Director Golden Gate Restaurant Association

President & CEO San Francisco Chamber of Commerce

Vice President & General Manager SMG - Moscone Center

Kevin Carroll

John Noguchi

Executive Director Hotel Council of San Francisco

Director, Convention Facilities Department City & County of San Francisco

Jon Ballesteros Vice President of Public Policy jballesteros@sanfrancisco.travel

jreyes@sanfrancisco.travel

Carol Perry Board Liaison cperry@sanfrancisco.travel

Office Directory

Business Office 201 Third Street, Suite 900 San Francisco, CA 94103-3185 Phone (415) 974-6900 Fax (415) 227-2602 TTY/TDD (415) 227-2619

Washington DC Convention

San Francisco Visitor Information Center 900 Market Street, Lower Hallidie Plaza San Francisco, CA 94102-2804 Phone (415) 391-2000 Fax (415) 362-7323 TTY/TDD (415) 392-0328

Chicago Convention Sales Office 330 Neva Avenue Glenview, IL 60025-5010 Phone (847) 834-0092 Fax (847) 834-0093

Ex-Officio Representatives

Rob Black

John Reyes Executive Vice President & Chief Customer Officer

Sales Office 1730 M Street, N.W. Suite 807 Washington, D.C. 20036-4505 Phone (202) 466-4400 Fax (202) 452-8948

San Francisco Travel 2013–14 Strategic Business Plan

New York Convention Sales Office 277 Prospect Place Brooklyn, NY 11238 Phone: 917.743.7833

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