San Francisco Travel Association

What it reported doing in 2024

As the city's official visitor promotion organization, the primary purpose of the san francisco travel association is to enhance san francisco's economy by promoting the city as a site for conventions and trade shows, and as a destination for leisure travelers. In support of this purpose, san francisco travel provides sales and marketing, as well as information services to facilitate an excellent visitor experience and enhance the visibility of its members.during period january to december 2024, san francisco travel's convention division booked future meetings representing 1m+ hotel room nights. The division continued to refine sales strategies focusing on retainment of at-risk groups, group marketing and international for both citywide conventions and self-contained groups. (cont. On sch. O)san francisco travel completed comprehensive research on visitor attitudes, usage, and visitation in the domestic and international markets. Sf travel continues to use the custom economic impact calculator module for conventions, sport events and special event. Additionally, san francisco travel association continues to utilize database modeling and intelligence for visitor volume, paid nights and total visitor spend by country and region to better track roi of sales and marketing spend.in 2024, san francisco travel public policy staff along with the board of directors continued to educate and advocate around issues which affect the visitor experience, and therefore the economic impact of the industry. Sf travel supported increased funding for street cleaning, homeless services, and security, as well as advocated for accommodations and improved transportation services to meet client needs.the marketing organization developed marketing campaigns that generated millions of visitors to our various websites in different languages. Through ongoing optimization, content development and seo, the website generated 3,232,572 engaged sessions in 2024. The marketing division also launched multiple integrated domestic and global international campaigns that drove great impression and engagement results. In addition, the global public & media relations staff continued to expand its effort to convey positive stories about san francisco including secured 2,051 media placements, organized 143 media visits across all markets, issued 23 news releases and pitched media and influencers at various events.san francisco travel's tourism staff executed seven fully integrated promotional marketing campaigns in key international markets, including canada, uk, germany, and india. All campaigns featured a room night generating component. The team also continued its partnership with san francisco international airport (sfo) for joint marketing campaign efforts and providing critical support for international programs. Staff also attended key missions, trade shows, including ipw, brand USA travel week and others.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: Limited
• Program expense ratio: Limited
• Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Pass
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
• Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 2.5%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.01; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.57; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 24.2%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: -5% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: -3.1% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings