Moscone to Expand

We may not have brought home a Super Bowl trophy, but that doesn't mean the city didn't have a major win this week. In a unanimous vote, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the creation of the Moscone Expansion District (MED) which will provide the majority of funding for the expansion of the City's convention center. The expansion will add approximately 350,000 to 400,000 square feet to the convention center, which includes 80,000-plus square feet of contiguous exhibit space, essential for attracting larger conventions and keeping some of our current ones.

"San Francisco has already lost meetings representing $2.057 billion in direct spending as a result of space limitations for meetings with dates between 2010 and 2019. The existing three-building configuration of Moscone Center is effectively filled to capacity," said Joe D'Alessandro, president and CEO of the San Francisco Travel Association. "Therefore it is impossible to significantly grow the San Francisco convention market without providing additional meeting and exhibit space -- especially continguous exhibition space."

Speaking of conventions, we hope you've had a chance to checkout our revamped Partner Convention Calendar (you should have received your new User ID and Password in an email last week).

Read more here.

Tweetup With Us

Our Twitter followers love to hear what's going on in San Francisco -- just ask all 100,000+ of them. So that's why we've teamed up with Travel + Leisure Magazine (and their 416,000+ followers) on Wednesday, Feb. 13 for a live Twitter chat discussing romance in the city you can't help but leave your heart in. And speaking of love, join us for a Valentine's Day "tweetup" as we journey on Amtrak from LA to SF on a one-of-a-kind cable car packed with a cast of "only in San Francisco" characters. Joining a Twitter chat is a great way to interact with San Francisco fans, grow your community quickly and promote your brand. Here's how to join:

Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 11am
Join @onlyinsf and @TravlandLeisure for a live Twitter chat, discussing romance and travel
Follow hashtag #TL_Chat to join the conversation

Thursday, Feb. 14 at 3pm
Join @onlyinsf for a Valentine's Day Twitter chat, discussing romance, travel and art
Followhashtag #49HoursofSF to join the conversation

Need some Twitter Chat 101?  We've got you covered here.

Share the Love

Love is in the air, and we've developed a new way for you to promote your events just in time for Valentine's Day.  Here's how:

1. Visit San Francisco Travel's Zvents portal
2. Click "Find Your Event" to find a previously created listing, OR "Create Your Event" to add a new listing
3. Enter your event specifics
4. In the "keywords" field, enter: sftavalentine
5. Submit and you're done!

Stay tuned to Cablegram for new keywords, which we'll use to collect information for press materials and on our website. 

And click here for a list of spots to share the day with your sweetie.

Board Nominations Are Now Open

Nominations are now open for our 2013/2014 Board of Directors.  To be eligible, San Francisco Travel Association Board candidates must be the principal or designated representative of a business or organization that is a partner in good standing.  Submissions are due by Feb. 25 and can be completed here.

We'd also like to take a moment to recognize our former Board Chair (1970-71) Paul Handlery, who recently passed away. Paul was a leader and visionary in the hospitality industry, and he will be missed by his family at San Francisco Travel. Read more about Paul and his legacy here. 

All Electronic Tolling Underway on the Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco's iconic Golden Gate Bridge is on it's way to becoming the first bridge in California to switch to all electronic tolling, with testing currently underway through the end of March. This means those weekend backups heading to the city will get a little easier with no more stopping at the toll plaza.

Once the new toll system is "live" (end of March), you can pay either by FasTrak ($5 toll) or Pay-By-Plate ($6 toll). Pay-By-Plate users have lots of options.  Going online and paying with a credit card is an easy way to open a License Plate Account and "pay as you go" or to make a One-Time Payment (great for infrequent users and visitors).  Don't do anything? The registered driver will be mailed a toll invoice. Learn more by visiting www.goldengate.org/tolls.

Did You Miss Last Week's Cablegram?

Read it now.

2/7 Partner Orientation
2/12 Partner Showcase
3/22 Macy's Flower Show Breakfast
3/28 2013 Visitor Industry Outlook and Marketing Conference


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