TO: COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC FROM: Nanci Klein
DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: SEE BELOW DATE: March 15, 2022
Approved Date
SUBJECT: TEAM SAN JOSE UPDATE
RECOMMENDATION
Accept a mid-year report on Team San Jose’s performance measures and activities for FY 21-22.
BACKGROUND
Team San Jose (TSJ) is an innovative nonprofit organization unifying the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), hotels, arts, labor, and venues to deliver a high-quality visitor experience. TSJ manages the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, Parkside Hall, and South Hall as well as theater venues including the California Theatre, Center for the Performing Arts, Montgomery Theater, and the San Jose Civic. Per the municipal code, the City provides 4.5% of the collected 10% Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) to TSJ to operate the convention and cultural facilities venues and manage the CVB. The TOT is collected from visitors to San Jose hotels.
ANALYSIS
Per the master agreement between the City and TSJ, semi-annual updates on TSJ’s performance on Council-approved target measures are presented to the Committee. To support a greater understanding of TSJ’s strategies and activities, TSJ also presents its sales and marketing activities. Included in the report is a dashboard of metrics that, while not part of TSJ’s performance, provides insight into industry trends and the local environment. The presentation will focus on TSJ’s major goals and the major work plan activities to meet them. The Committee will also be updated on the impacts of, and response to COVID-19.
COVID-19 Impacts and Response
The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe impacts to the travel and hospitality industry throughout FY 20-21 and in FY 21-22. The first half of FY 21-22 had strong results with TSJ on target to meet or exceed its year-to-date performance targets, but the effects of the Omicron variant CED COMMITTEE: 3/28/22
FILE: CC 22-067
ITEM: d(2)
3/18/22
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
March 15, 2022
Subject: Team San Jose Semi-Annual Update
impacted bookings in the third quarter. This resulted in the loss of approximately 20,000 room nights and a lessened number of sales leads.
Mid-Year FY 21-22 Performance Metrics
As outlined in Attachment A, TSJ and the City collaborated to develop performance targets for FY 21-22 informed by national industry trends and local indicators, which also informed the development of TSJ’s sales and marketing strategies. Convention center events resumed in August 2021. The emergence of the COVID-19 variants and necessary mitigations such as the City’s vaccination mandate for City-owned facilities may have impacted attendance for events, or alternatively increased consumer confidence. It is unknown what lingering effects COVID-19 will have on attendee and conference organizer behavior in planning and attending large-scale conference events. Yet, there are many anticipated bright spots. The popular Beyond Van Gogh:
The Immersive Experience opened at the convention center in September 2021, which drew consistent downtown visitors. For theaters and usage, there is a steady demand building through the year with the potential in three of the four theaters to return to normal event volume by end of the fiscal year. For example, in October, Broadway San Jose presented the internationally acclaimed production of Hamilton, which generated market interest. Customer satisfaction is one area where TSJ consistently meets its performance targets as it continues to deliver excellent service regardless of event volume or size.
FY 21-22 Sales and Marketing
In addition to the performance metrics, TSJ will present to the Committee, highlights of its sales and marketing activities, including industry trends as outlined in Attachment A. TSJ, operating as “Visit San Jose,” seeks to diversify its market segmentation for sales with a greater emphasis on high tech, association, and weekend business over large conference business.
The marketing team at Visit San Jose also pivoted to an all-leisure campaign and targeting instate markets through building awareness of San Jose as a unique Bay Area destination. The marketing team partnered with local artists to create campaign collateral and to promote community assets and events. All the strategies are research-driven with the goal of meeting the Council-approved performance goals.
TSJ will discuss the highlights of the attached presentation at the Committee meeting. /s/
NANCI KLEIN
Director of Economic Development and
Cultural Affairs
For questions, contact Kerry Adams Hapner, Director of Cultural Affairs, at (408) 793-4333.
Attachment A: TSJ CEDC Semi-Annual Report for FY 21-22