San Francisco Mayor Accompanies Tourism Officials on Sales Mission

Chicago, Washington DC and New York City

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. October 14, 2008

MARCH 9, 2007. For the first time since he was elected in 2003, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will join officials of the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau (SFCVB) and 31 representatives of the city's tourism industry on a convention sales mission to Chicago and Washington, D.C. The delegation, which includes the Hotel Council of San Francisco as well as the Labor Council of San Francisco, will sit down for lunch with more than 240 top convention planners and make sales calls in both cities.

Luncheon presentations are scheduled in Chicago on March 12 at the InterContinental Chicago and in Washington, D.C. on March 13 at the Mandarin Oriental.

Brief stops at the offices of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senator Dianne Feinstein's office in Washington, D.C. are also scheduled.

Newsom and a smaller team from the SFCVB group will also call on the American Thoracic Society headquartered in New York City, host a luncheon for eight New York City-based clients and meet with travel and meeting trades media on March 14 and 15.

The Convention & Visitors Bureau is organizing the trip to remind its clients how important their meeting business is to San Francisco and to give both new and existing clients a variety of new reasons to return to the city.

The Bureau's new President and CEO Joe D'Alessandro will present an update on San Francisco's hospitality industry. In the past 18 months more than 25 hotels in the city have been sold, and many of those have been re-flagged. According to local hotel industry experts, San Francisco has become the "must be" market for many hotel companies. Several major museums and a new 550-room InterContinental hotel are also slated to open in 2008.

Mayor Newsom is expected to meet one-on-one with many of the SFCVB's top clients in both markets before and after the luncheons. General remarks including updates on San Francisco International Airport and the city's emergence as a bio-tech capital at each function will be followed by a question and answer period during which the assembled planners will have an opportunity to address questions directly to the mayor.

"The Mayor recognizes that tourism is San Francisco's top industry and every single booking we make is vital to the economic vitality of San Francisco and our future growth as one of the world's top destinations. He is coming with us to personally thank our clients for their business and learn firsthand how we can keep that business going forward," said D'Alessandro.

Tourism is the largest revenue-generating industry in San Francisco, generating $7.3 billion each year and supporting 66,315 jobs.

PARTICIPANTS IN CHICAGO AND WASHINGTON D.C. SALES MISSION

City & County of San Francisco

The Honorable Gavin Newsom

John Noguchi, Director of Convention Facilities & Property Management

Bill Lee, Director of International Economic & Tourism Development

San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau

Susie McCormick, Chairperson (Executive Publisher, 7x7 Magazine)

Joe D'Alessandro, President & CEO

Leonard Hoops, Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing

Kathryn Horton, Director of Convention Services

Lysa Lewin, Director of Convention Sales

Kenley Moy, Regional Director of Sales

Ernie Garcia, Senior Corporate & Incentive Sales Manager

Deirdre Lewis, National Sales Manager

Leonie Patrick, National Sales Manager

Beth Melanson, National Sales Manager

Jason Wolterstorff, National Sales Manager

Hotel Council of San Francisco

Patricia Breslin, Executive Director

SMG/Moscone Center

Richard Shaff, Vice President & General Manager

AT&T Park

Stephen Revetria, Vice President, Sales & Marketing

Brightroom, Inc.

Cindy O'Connor, Senior Corporate Sales Executive

Fairmont San Francisco

Francisco Gomez, Regional Vice President & General Manager

Hilton San Francisco

John Mazzoni, Senior Vice President West Operations and the Hawaiian Islands

Scott Baublitz, Director of Sales & Marketing

Walden Agustin, Senior Sales Manager

Paul Cahill, Senior Sales Manager

InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco

Jean-Francois Gatti, General Manager, InterContinental Mark Hopkins

Gail Gerber, Director of Sales & Marketing, InterContinental San Francisco

Joie de Vivre Hospitality

Peter Gamez, Vice President of Sales

Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants

Mark Tuten, Area Director of Sales and Marketing

Kuldip Singh, Director of Citywide Sales

Labor Council of San Francisco

F.X. Crowley, Business Manager & Secretary Local 16

Hotel Nikko San Francisco

Anna Marie Presutti, Vice President & General Manager

Joe Curran, Director of Marketing

Palace Hotel

Clem Esmail, General Manager

Parc Fifty-Five Hotel, San Francisco

Rob Gauthier, Managing Director

Simon Little, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing (Highgate Holdings)

The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco

Gary Murakami, Director of Sales

San Francisco Marriott

Dan Kelleher, General Manager

Alexis Stewart, Director of Association Sales

Lisa Rubino, Director of National Accounts

Starwood Hotels San Francisco

Fred Schroeffel, Director of Citywide Sales

St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco

Lilian Wagner, Director of Sales and Marketing

USA Hosts / Key Events

Heather Keenan, President

W San Francisco

Toni Knorr, General Manager (Convention Committee Chair, SFCVB)

Westin St. Francis

Jon Kimball, Area Managing Director, San Francisco