Round Table’s Hospitality Industry Panel Offers a Positive Look at San Francisco’s PR Challenges
San Francisco, according to its hospitality experts is poised for yet another comeback, exiting the doom loop that dogged the city following the pandemic. On October 23, the San Francisco Public Relations Roundtable was thrilled to welcome a powerhouse panel focused on the issues facing our beloved city and its tourism professionals. Experts included Alex Bastian, president and CEO, Hotel Council of San Francisco; Lori Lincoln, VP, Global PR & Media Relations, San Francisco Travel Association; Julie Zigoris, journalist tracking San Francisco’s ups and downs; and moderator Warner Johnston, founder, 5 Borough Communications.
At “downtown San Francisco’s coolest library,” the Mechanics’ Institute, the panel sounded off on a series of topics. Below are highlights.
Is the doom loop over?
Lori Lincoln, who leads the promotion of the city to thousands of journalists and influencers globally, shared that the cycle of negative coverage that ensued during and following the pandemic did leave a mark on the city. “There’s no doubt that it has affected our reputation. It certainly affected visitation to the city, and we know that it’s affected convention business, related to street conditions and concerns,” she said. San Francisco attracted 23.1 million visitors in 2023, compared to a record-breaking 26.2 million visitors in 2019.
Lincoln noted, “While the doom loop narrative created this cycle of negative coverage, the great thing is that as of this year, we’ve seen a dramatic fall off in negative coverage. We [expect such coverage] when there’s an incident, such as the shooting in Union Square. That happened and it went away quickly, because of the way it was handled and the quick actions that were taken.”
The perception that San Francisco is on hard times is a real issue that hospitality industry professionals are facing now. However, increasingly they are hearing from visitors and journalists from around the world who cannot believe how incredible the city is, once they visit.
Promote the positive and restore an accurate narrative
“The focus now is on cultivating those positive experiences and stories. However, the perception is still there and it’s not going to take just one or two stories or a couple of features to change that perception. It will take time to create and restore an accurate narrative and showcase all this good,” said Lincoln.
Alex Bastian, who leads the San Francisco Hotel Council — which is focused on the economic vitality of the city’s hospitality community — is proud to have grown up here. “San Francisco is not perfect, nor was it perfect before the pandemic, but where San Francisco is today in 2024, I would say that the [negative] narrative doesn’t fit the mold anymore. The city has made improvements on the three most important issues: public safety, clean streets and a more business friendly environment. And this has a lot to do with all of us as San Franciscans.” He believes we can work together on making our city a little bit better, despite our differences.
Bastian thinks that while the doom loop has ended for many San Franciscans, the perception hasn’t necessarily shifted for Bay Area residents. “Some of our biggest critics are Bay Area locals who haven’t been back for a while or taken a staycation in San Francisco since the pandemic. There’s still a lot of work to do and it’s nuanced. Part of it is due to the pandemic and part of it is national politics and this mudslinging that we’re seeing on the national news. We have work to do to make the gem that is San Francisco shine bright on the world stage,” he said.
San Francisco as a scapegoat?
Former San Francisco Standard journalist Julie Zigoris concurred, noting that she was working in the newsroom during the Bob Lee incident and the closing of the Whole Foods on Market Street. “The desire for coverage of these events was just insatiable. We fed that beast. The readership ate these stories up. The Whole Foods story was the most-read story on our website.
“What’s interesting about it is that so much of the readership was national. . . A lot of what was fueling this doom loop phenomenon was much more about partisan, political leanings than it was about the reality on the ground in San Francisco. Like it or not, San Francisco has become the emblem of progressive, Democratic politicians because we have produced a lot of successful politicians like Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Governor Gavin Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris, and this feeds Republican ire and really makes San Francisco become a scapegoat for everything that’s wrong in the urban landscape.”
Zigoris pointed out that there are many cities with much larger homeless populations than ours, and cities struggling with fentanyl crises that are just as or more severe than San Francisco’s. She noted that even though other cities are struggling with downtown retail vacancies, San Francisco often gets blamed. “The doom loop narrative is easing but I don’t think that it’s completely gone away,” she said.
Focus on strengths
“I’ve been very fortunate because I get to shine a light on those things that make San Francisco so special—those gems,” observed Zigoris. “And people want to read about it. There is the adage, ‘if it bleeds, it leads,’ but it is a little different in San Francisco, because locals want that joyful coverage and they’re excited when they get to read it, because they love their city.”
Lincoln, who is continually pitching stories about the city to local, regional and global media, shared that it’s important to show the bright spots in the city without negating the challenges. “Acknowledge the truth that San Francisco has problems like other cities and we’re doing our best to reinvent downtown. Acknowledge, reassure and educate,” she suggested.
Lincoln and her San Francisco Travel media relations team recently pitched stories about San Francisco leading the way with innovation and encouraged media to try a Waymo. After a few media visits and stories about the self-driving taxis, a barrage of journalists was eager to visit the city. Other positive story angles that make San Francisco shine include:
A renaissance in art and fashion, including several recent notable exhibits at the de Young Museum and SFMOMA
San Francisco as a stellar culinary destination— 28 restaurants with 39 Michelin stars
Transamerica Pyramid Center re-opening after a $1 billion remastering
First city in California to create new Entertainment Zones
Zigoris added that what makes a good pitch is aligning it with a larger trend. “The bar is higher when pitching joyful news,” she said. Think like a storyteller by including strong dialogue, sensory details and memorable characters.
San Francisco is one city that does not lack memorable characters, present or past, including the late journalist, Herb Caen. Dubbed “Mr. San Francisco,” he had a devoted San Francisco Chronicle readership from 1936-1996 for his colorful column that could make anyone fall in love with the city, despite its foibles. While there is still more work to be done, “The City That Knows How” will reinvent itself and stay true to what Caen liked to say, “One day if I go to heaven… I’ll look around and say, ‘it ain’t bad, but it ain’t San Francisco.’”
Were you fortunate enough to attend the event? Let us know your thoughts by writing to us at info@sfprrt.com.
By Sally Haims, SF PR Round Table Interim Board Member