September 31, 2011 - The San Francisco Travel Association has partnered with Convention Management Resources, Inc. (CMR), based in San Francisco, to offer San Francisco Travel Convention Housing – Powered by CMR®. Powered by CMR’s industry-leading software, CMR.ez®, the service will deliver a “uniquely San Francisco” customized housing experience for each participating convention that is based on local expertise and enhanced services, geared towards complementing the total San Francisco convention experience. The service will be available for events beginning July 1, 2012.
“Keeping the business local means more jobs in San Francisco, staff who intimately know San Francisco and its hotels, ability to personally meet and greet clients on site inspections, on-site support, and many other benefits,” said Joe D’Alessandro, president and CEO of San Francisco Travel. “By using our housing service, customers will be able to choose from a multitude of ‘value added’ services to enhance their convention.”
"CMR and SF Travel have had a long history of mutually serving San Francisco conventions,” said Dave Goetz, co-founder and president of CMR. “We are thrilled to take it to the next level by introducing a new housing service dynamic that will bolster the image of San Francisco as a world-class convention destination with unparalleled service and technology."
This partnership will enable a wide array of innovative housing features and benefits that will support and enhance San Francisco’s reputation for world-class excellence. The leading edge benefits that San Francisco Travel Convention Housing – Powered by CMR® offers include:
- Site visit and pre-planning trip representation and support
- Convention-exclusive Housing Director who is a San Francisco housing expert
- “Housing Always Open” post-cutoff booking engine
- Automated on-site audits to obtain group credit for out-of-block reservations
- International group coordination and support services
- Hotel inventory expertise with proactive room block and inventory management
- Real-time reservation processing
- Dedicated secure website with privacy controls
- Real-time reporting and customized dashboards available 24/7
- Credit card verification and top level security
- Onsite housing desk and support
- Final program analysis and reporting
In return for using San Francisco Travel Convention Housing – Powered by CMR®, customers will be able to choose from a selection of meeting enhancements including:
- Staffed city information desks including restaurant reservations
- Free San Francisco guidebooks/maps
- Board/VIP airport transfers
- Hosted Staff welcome reception
- 90, 60, and 30 day email campaign to boost attendance
- VIP welcome hotel amenities
- Transportation vouchers for airport transfers via BART
To qualify for the use of housing services, events must utilize a minimum of two hotels and a minimum of 1,500 rooms peak night. Special meeting enhancements and event marketing services are based upon estimated total room nights.
The San Francisco Travel Association is a private, not-for-profit organization that markets the city as a leisure, convention and business travel destination. With more than 1,500 partner businesses, San Francisco Travel is one of the largest membership-based tourism promotion agencies in the country. Tourism, San Francisco's largest industry, generates in excess of $8.3 billion annually for the local economy. The San Francisco Travel business offices are located at 201 Third St., Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103. San Francisco Travel also operates the Visitor Information Center at Hallidie Plaza, 900 Market Street at the corner of Powell and Market streets. For more information, call 415-974-6900 or visit www.sanfrancisco.travel.
Convention Management Resources (CMR®) is a global services and technology provider of a seamless convention housing and registration experience for attendees and exhibitors. CMR is a partner to associations, corporations and event organizers offering custom software applications powered by CMR.ez® technology and dedicated project management teams for: citywide housing; hotel contract negotiation; international group services, advance and on-site registration; event marketing; CEU tracking, itinerary planner, exhibitor lead management, RFID services and data analytics. For more information, visit www.cmrus.com.
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