Destination Experience

Attendance Building Initiative:

This month, Visit San Antonio hosted a virtual happy hour event during the 2021 virtual meeting to promote attendance for the 2022 American Library Association conference in San Antonio. Attendees were delighted by mariachi music, guacamole and margarita cooking demonstrations and a rousing San Antonio trivia contest where attendees got the opportunity take home their own “San Antonio in a Box.” The American Library Association will be bringing their newly re-branded conference to San Antonio from Jan. 21-25, 2022.

Site Visits:

  • Jan. 19-21: Four Square | Definite for May 30-June 3, 2021 | 5,000 Attendance Projection
  • Jan. 21-22: Sheriff’s Association of Texas | Definite for 2021 Annual Convention July 30-Aug. 4, 2021 |1,200 Attendance Projection

Prior Year Promos:

  • Jan. 22-26: American Library Association Virtual 2021 Conference | Definite for San Antonio “LibLearnx 2022” Jan. 21-25, 2022 | 5,000 attendance projection
  • Jan. 29-31: Society of Thoracic Surgeons Virtual Annual Meeting 2021| Definite for San Antonio Jan. 28-Jan. 30, 2024 | 5,000 attendance projection

Client Engagement:

In mid-January, we held three virtual “Coffee Breaks with San Antonio” for national-level hotel global sales teams across the United States to generate interest in San Antonio for new business. Efforts were to attract both short-term moves into 2021 from closed destinations and for long-term planning for future year meetings and conventions. The webinars included information on what makes San Antonio a premiere meetings destination as well as what we have done to accommodate the new health and wellness regulations to ensure the overall safety of attendees and locals alike.

Sales

Convention Sales Production:

  • December production
    • 8 bookings worth 30,487 room nights
  • December Lead Production
    • 52 leads worth 77,040 total room nights
  • Citywide Cancellations:
    • 78 groups, representing 504,736 total room nights and 593,855 attendees. Lost economic impact of $321,711,688.

Events Attended in January:

  • PCMA’s Convening Leaders Conference – This year’s annual conference, originally scheduled for Houston, went to a virtual program platform and included small-audience participations from Singapore, Las Vegas and Toronto. During this week-long event, we participated in on-line industry updates and educational sessions, as well as unique digital networking opportunities with meeting planners.