Recap of July 10 SDTA Member Call

WATCH THE MEETING HERE

Brian Hilemon, Senior Director of Marketing Partnerships, SDTA

At this point, the SDTA is going forward with the Kids Free Program but the situation obviously is fluid so that might change. So far there have been more than 90 offers submitted, and the deadline to submit offers has been extended until August.

Please continue to update your business status on the SDTA’s extranet. You can find instructions here.

Julie Coker, President and CEO, SDTA 

Unfortunately, due to funding challenges, the SDTA had to say goodbye to two long-time employees this week in Citywide Sales: Rick Outcalt and Damara Gomez. 

The SDTA thanks them both for their service and for helping lay the foundation for future success in Convention Center bookings.

For FY20, the Citywide sales team booked some 634,000 future room nights.

Gary Johnson, Chief Resilience Officer, San Diego County Office of Emergency Services
 

Provided an overview of the County’s Safe Reopening efforts and answered questions on a variety of topics from museums to outdoor dining to events.

He stated that 67% of San Diego County’s community outbreaks have been traced back to bars and restaurants.

Karen Totaro, COO, San Diego Convention Center Corporation

Currently, the Convention Center is housing an average of 1,300 homeless individuals with a demobilization being planned for the fall.

 The homeless program has helped the Convention Center better prepare for reopening, providing staff with insight on mask-wearing, physical distancing, and improved cleaning and sanitation protocols.

Currently, there are no conventions scheduled through November. The hope is to be open in December for the American Society of Hematology convention.

The Convention Center team is being proactive on reopening efforts and is working with a coalition of 14 other centers and their CVB/DMO counterparts to come up with guidelines and protocols for the state to review and approve.

One of those efforts is an accreditation from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council and the Convention Center expects to receive that accreditation shortly.

Kerri V. Kapich, COO, SDTA

The SDTA continues to work with attractions and event operators on their reopening advocacy and efforts.

In addition, the SDTA has created a number of resources for reopening and the Safe Travel program, which encourages both visitors and local hospitality businesses to pledge to follow the County’s health and safety protocols.

The SDTA’s Stay Diego program, which encourages San Diegans to support local businesses by having a staycation instead of a vacation, continues with the help of a variety of media partners. There are also assets for local businesses to amplify the campaign’s message of Stay Diego, Dine Diego, Shop Diego and Play Diego.

Margie Sitton, Senior Vice President of Sales & Services, SDTA

Bookings for FY20 were 76% percent of the goal due to the fourth quarter impacts of COVID-19.

For the month of May, there were 32 leads and in June, there were 67 leads. So far in July, there have already been some 20 leads come in. Many of those leads are for March 2021 and beyond.

The SDTA has launched its Virtual Site program, and it has been a success with the team booking its first client based on a virtual site.

Be sure to reference the Safe Travel Overview, Stay Diego marketing plan and Membership Extranet guide documents referenced in today’s meeting.