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ANNUAL REPORT October 2019 - September 2020 Message from Outgoing Board Chair... In San Mateo County, we are familiar with the term “Big Wave”. That said, nothing could have prepared any of us for the deluge of change the COVID-19 pandemic would inflict on each of us individually and our beloved travel industry. While I certainly hope that this is our first and last global pandemic in all of our careers, I am proud of the way our Bureau Staff, with support of our Board Members, rose to the occasion to adapt and make tough decisions in order to meet the challenge to best serve all of our members.

After serving as your Board Chair for nearly two years, the time has come for me to “pass the gavel” to Mike McKee, General Manager of DoubleTree by Hilton SFO Burlingame. Mike, I wish you, the officers, and fellow directors all the best in the coming year! Message from Incoming Board Chair... As the first order of business for 2021, I’d like to thank Mitch Postel for his outstanding contributions as Board Chair these past two years. Mitch, you guided the Bureau through the most challenging of times and we will be forever grateful for a job well done. I’d also like to thank outgoing officers and board members and give a warm welcome to our incoming class of directors and officers. I look forward to working with all of you and the entire Bureau Staff in the coming year.

While the timeline for us to return to complete normalcy is still not clear, I am optimistic that 2021 will show us the way out of the tunnel and put us on a path to recovery. It is my sincere hope that the word cloud depiction for next year’s report cover will feature the phrases such as “Travel Rebounds” and “Vaccine a Success”. When the time is right for visitors to return, I know they will be impressed and take home fond memories of San Mateo County/Silicon Valley! 2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CHAIR OF THE BOARD - Michael McKee, DoubleTree by Hilton SFO IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR - Mitch Postel, San Mateo County History Museum SECRETARY - Bill Dixon, Hotel Focus SFO TREASURER - Fettah Aydin, Embassy Suites SFO - Waterfront VICE CHAIR - Jeffery Bass, Hiller Aviation Museum VICE CHAIR - Trevor Bridge, Costanoa Lodge & Resort VICE CHAIR - Nick Dell’Ergo, Residence Inn Redwood City San Carlos VICE CHAIR - Lisa Kershner, SFO Marriott Waterfront Board Members: *Jon Ballesteros, International Airport *Luis Leon, Holiday Inn & Suites San Mateo/SFO *Dana Dahl, Beach House Hotel *Daisy Li, Moonstar Buffet *Gustavo De Almeida, DoubleTree SFO North *Henning Nopper, Grand Hyatt at SFO *Daniel Herbst, Enterprise Rent-a-Car *Barry Ongerth, The Dylan Hotel at SFO *Christopher Holbrook, San Mateo Marriott *Jonathan Powers, Courtyard San Francisco Airport *Kevin Kretsch, Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport *Ricardo Ramirez, The Westin S.F. Airport *Reggie Kumar, AC Hotel SFO/Oyster Point Waterfront *Florian Riedel, Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley *Christine Kupczak, Hillsdale Shopping Center *Andrew Roseman, Holiday Inn Express & Suites Pacifica *Linda Larson, The Shops at Tanforan *Yakub Yakubi, Courtyard San Mateo Foster City

Special thank you for the years of service by the following members who retired from 2 the Board in 2020: Matt Dolan, Derek Hudson, Ben Ly, J.D. Smith and Richard Uribe. *New in 2021 SALES ACCOMPLISHMENTS 235 + 15,345 = $8.1M LEADS DEFINITE ECONOMIC ROOM NIGHTS IMPACT

Top shows attended: • American Express InterACTION 12 • CalSAE Seasonal Spectacular TRADESHOWS • Connect Marketplace Pacific NW ATTENDED • Go West Summit • MPI Northern CA Chapter Annual Conference & Expo

NATIONAL INTERNATIONAL FAM 3 SALES 1 SALES 1 TOUR MISSIONS MISSION HOSTED MARKETING EFFORTS

Website: Website Domain: 152K 32% VISITSMCSV.COM USERS YOY TOP ILLINOIS STATES BY TEXAS 183K 27% TRAFFIC VIRGINIA SESSIONS YOY OREGON

36.53% DESKTOP 313K 18% DEVICE 55.53% BREAKDOWN PAGEVIEWS YOY MOBILE 7.94% TABLET 3 Virtual Partner Events: Webinar Topics Included: • Introduction to California Consumer Privacy Act 15 • Is Your Public Relations Crisis Plan Ready? EDUCATIONAL • Meeting & Event Outlook and Beyond WEBINARS • Events Reimagined • New Requirements - COVID in the Workplace

During the pandemic, we started hosting virtual events in efforts to bring relevant travel industry and educational content as a way to stay engaged with our community and partners. Watch the past webinars >>

Social Media: 12.8K 19K # OF FOLLOWERS ENGAGEMENT 631K 1.9K IMPRESSIONS POSTS } Additional Social Media Efforts:

INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM 22 LIVES 5 LIVES 7 GIVEAWAYS

During the pandemic, we’ve hosted more LIVE streams and giveaways on social media, in efforts to stay engaged with our followers, as well as helping promote our partners and destination.

“As Fresh as it Gets”

Supporting over 50 local farms, San Mateo County/Silicon Valley CVB continues to be ambassadors for the San Mateo County “As Fresh as it Gets” (AFAIG) Program. The Program connects residents and visitors to San Mateo County’s farmers and fishermen, and the restaurants and hotels who serve outstanding fresh and local products. This year we awarded 30 businesses who are committed to serving San Mateo County grown products at a virtual awards ceremony.

4 Dear Partners and Community Friends... As the front cover of this report depicts, COVID-19 hit us like “The Big Wave” at Mavericks! Collectively, we rode this massive wave of disruption and picked up a whole new vocabulary along the way. Like many organizations, our Bureau team dealt with unprecedented financial challenges, forcing us to become smaller and leaner. As we line up for the year ahead, we have strong footing to rise from this crisis even more nimble and skilled than before.

As the waves splashed, we quickly pivoted to meet the new needs of our Partners. In our reimagined role, we swiftly became industry advocates, conducted virtual educational webinars (on a host of topics from sanitation protocols to securing PPP loans to COVID compliance). We improved our toolkit, learning to conduct hybrid meetings and events. Zoom, Facebook and Instagram became our go-to platforms, and networking with clients at virtual trade shows became commonplace. We hit our share of riptides and obstacles along the way - we learned that Zoom bombs and power outages during webinars build character! I’m flattered that so many of you appreciate reading the “CEO Message”, a temporary, turned regular communication intended to help condense the mountain of new information laid on us each week.

We are so grateful for the extraordinary support given to us by our Partners, Board Members, Elected Officials and the broader local community.

We are optimistic that the light at the end of the tunnel is nearing. Undoubtedly, riding the wave back out to sea will be an exhilarating journey, and we look forward to continuing this ride with you!

Sincerely, John M. Hutar President & CEO

In Partnership With:

San Mateo County/Silicon Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau

111 Anza Blvd., Suite 410, Burlingame, CA 94010 650.348.7600 | visitsmcsv.com