By Silas Valentino Updated Sep 21, 2023 9:55 p.m. (SFGate.com)
Dreamforce conference attendees depart the Moscone Center at lunchtime in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday Sept. 12, 2023. Charles Russo/SFGATE
The annual tech conference Dreamforce roused an otherwise sleepy downtown San Francisco, packing city blocks with lanyard-necked attendees. Even Bono from U2 was spotted strutting along Market Street in downtown San Francisco — or at least a convincing doppelganger.
The three-day conference pulled 40,000 out-of-city visitors to the Moscone Center between September 12–14, recalling recent memories of a vigorous downtown. A hotel manager told SFGATE that certain guests even defended San Francisco from its skewered reputation seen in national coverage.
New data viewed by SFGATE indicates just how prosperous the event was for the San Francisco tourism industry.
The real estate analytics provider CoStar Group prepared hotel occupancy rates for the area around the conference including 106 hotels and 19,776 rooms. The report revealed a 93.6% average hotel occupancy rate during the conference’s peak evenings from Sept. 11 through Sept. 13.
“It was nice to see the olden days,” Jon Handlery of Handlery Hotel in Union Square told SFGATE. “The city was alive. The restaurants were jammed. I could see people waiting to get into Macy’s. This is who San Francisco is.”
The final day for Dreamforce, Sept. 14, showed a 74.7% hotel occupancy rate, which is still higher than the city’s average 66.1% occupancy rate for July 2023.
Dreamforce conference attendees occupy Yerba Buena Gardens at lunch time in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday Sept. 12, 2023. Charles Russo/SFGATE
The healthy hotel occupancy data continues the upward trajectory that started with last year’s Dreamforce, which showed an average occupancy rate of 91.2%.
Across the San Francisco and San Mateo markets, CoStar saw the largest year-over-year increases in average daily rates and revenue generated per available room.
Dreamforce helped San Francisco hotels jump to a $345.78 average rate while revenues were up nearly 34%.
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Nearly every room at the Marriott Hotels near the Moscone Center was booked out, said its general manager Clifton Clark. “We ran similar occupancy at this hotel last year but there was more demand on the market and the rates were better,” Clark said. “I talked to guests from Miami and Chicago, they were all positive about the show and were looking forward to coming back next year. I didn’t hear any negativity — they said it’s not like what they heard on the news.”
Dreamforce conference attendees cross the interesction at the intersection 4th and Mission in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday Sept. 12, 2023. Charles Russo/SFGATE
San Francisco’s national image was a prevailing topic heading into Dreamforce after Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff made public threats to pull future Dreamforces from San Francisco if the conference was “impacted by the current situation with homelessness and drug use.”
The public pressure prompted the city to actively clear the streets surrounding the conference, which Benioff assumed credit for, remarking that, “Every day should be Dreamforce.”
Following this year’s event, Handlery said he’d be surprised if the CEO couldn’t see the city’s performance as anything but a success. “We pulled it off,” he said. “When you do it right, the people who attend will communicate that. I think that’s what [Benioff’s] looking for so he can be supportive of the city, but also show that he’s listening.”
As city tourism officials prepare for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in November, in which world leaders from 21 countries are bound for downtown, the positive outcome from Dreamforce is a source of reassurance that San Francisco remains competitive for citywide conventions.
“Our city built upon the success of last year’s [Dreamforce] to make this year’s event even better,” Alex Bastian, president and CEO of the Hotel Council, wrote to SFGATE in a statement. “And if given the opportunity, we are ready to follow the trend to make next year’s Dreamforce even better than this year.”
More Dreamforce
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—Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff threatens to pull future Dreamforces from San Francisco
Sep 21, 2023
Silas Valentino is SFGATE’s Travel Editor. He was born in Bakersfield and raised in Marin County. He covered the New York City music scene for The Village Voice before returning west to report for the Point Reyes Light. Recently, he contributed to the launch of a monthly lifestyle magazine called PUNCH that focuses on the Peninsula. Outside of reading, writing and storytelling, Silas values his family (including eight nieces and nephews) and exploring the state. He lives with his girlfriend above a wine shop in Cole Valley. Email: silas.valentino@sfgate.com
