SFPRRT Presents: Hospitality Industry Panel Discusses SF's PR Trials
Date and Time
- Wednesday, Oct 23, 2024 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Location
Mechanics' Institute
57 Post St
Details
Network with colleagues and discuss some of the issues facing San Francisco and the hospitality PR folks who are working to shape its image
Featuring a powerhouse panel, assembled here for the first time:
- Alex Bastian, President and CEO, Hotel Council of San Francisco
- Lori Lincoln, VP, Global PR & Media Relations, San Francisco Travel Association
- Julie Zigoris, SF journalist tracking the city’s ups and downs
- Warner Johnston, founder of 5 Borough Communications and member of the interim SFPRRT board
Nobody likes a “doom loop,” least of all the citizens of San Francisco. While it remains a place of economic power, the city has suffered from rising office vacancy rates, retailers departing from the shopping district, entrenched homelessness, a crippling drug culture and unchecked crime. Bad media coverage has been rampant, including reportage from the trend-setting New York Times. That, of course, isn’t the whole story.
Join the San Francisco Public Relations Round Table on October 23 for another thoughtful in-person gathering and a frank discussion of some of the issues facing our fair city and its hospitality PR people, whose work includes pitching to influencers and travelers around the world while keeping San Franciscans and visitors engaged in a thriving cultural life.
Recent articles in the San Francisco Chronicle by Roland Li and Warren Pedersen, and by Evan Elliot in USF Magazine, tell a more upbeat tale of the city’s challenges, and seem to dispense with the “doom loop” conversation. But what’s really happening and what can the city’s public relations professionals and community spokespeople do about it? Join us and find out.
Some of the questions we’re asking our panel to address:
- How are PR professionals pitching San Francisco to bring tourists back to the beautiful “city by the Bay”?
- How can San Francisco and the Bay Area use creative PR strategies to capitalize on the huge sporting events heading to Chase Center in San Francisco and Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara in 2025 and 2026? These include the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball West Regionals, Super Bowl LX (2026) and FIFA World Cup 2026.
- As PR and communications professionals, what can we do to engage our communities and clients to create a better story for San Francisco and the entire Bay Area, and how can all of us best support this important work?