With another major convention coming to town this weekend, San Francisco Travel Association is making headlines as the first destination management organization to partner with Airbnb.
San Francisco Travel will be welcoming the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) World Education Congress to Moscone Center and properties throughout the city Aug. 1-4.
Taking advantage of the sharing economy trend and fulfilling a need for more overnight accommodations in one of the most popular cities in the world, San Francisco Travel is being proactive to drive the economic impact of tourism to a variety of neighborhoods by highlighting local Airbnb hosts. Often referred to as the innovation capital of the world, San Francisco is considered the birthplace of platforms that enable individuals to share resources.
“The growth of the sharing economy has generated new visitor demands for creative lodging and transportation options around the world,” says Joe D’Alessandro, president and CEO of San Francisco Travel. “San Francisco is excited to be the first destination to formalize a relationship in this exciting new space. This partnership is a step toward ensuring that customer needs and industry standards within the traditional and sharing economies are more closely aligned.”
As meeting attendees begin to explore and request diverse lodging options, the San Francisco Travel-Airbnb partnership will help planners provide alternatives in hopes of achieving peak attendance. Tool kits created for local merchants, and content about local areas, businesses and experiences throughout the city will also add to attendee experiences beyond the major tourist destinations.
“Airbnb is part of the evolution of the travel industry,” D’Alessandro says. “ As the destination marketing organization for San Francisco, we’ll continue our strong relationship with the hotel community as we leverage this new way of doing business which extends to many business sectors within our industry to meet the needs of our visitors, provide increased value for our partners and expand tourism-related revenue overall.”
