Super Bowl: how will Silicon Valley win?
- Lauren Hepler
- Economic Development Reporter- Silicon Valley Business Journal
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This perception is holding back Silicon Valley’s hotel industry. Visitors fill rooms all week for business — then usually bail for the weekends.
The National Football League’s decision to hold the 50th Super Bowl at the San Francisco 49ers’ new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara in 2016 represents the area’s chance to break that cycle.
To succeed, Silicon Valley will have to overcome its me-too reputation among tourists drawn to San Francisco and nearby beach towns like Santa Cruz. If it works, hotels, restaurants and local attractions may reset their revenue baselines higher. If it doesn’t, a recovery in the Valley’s hospitality industry may hit a ceiling.
The primary strategy hotels and tourism agencies will rely on? Mega-event hospitality.
“We’re building the beacon of Silicon Valley,” 49ers COO Paraag Marathe said of the team’s $1.2 billion stadium. “People want to plant their flags close to this.”
Hospitality industry boosters are betting that Super Bowl L will juice the region’s other efforts to kick-start tourism. Those other strategies run the gamut from hotels offering package deals to luring big amatueur sports tournaments.
One nagging challenge: persuading hotels that they may have to spend money marketing an area adjacent to bigger draws like San Francisco.
“It’s hard to get the hotels to understand that it’s important we have a base of noncorporate business,” said Steve Van Dorn, president and CEO of the Santa Clara Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Hotels are being directed by ownership to maximize rates.”
Lauren Hepler covers economic development, sports, and hospitality for the Silicon Valley Business Journal. She can be reached at 408.299.1820
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