Tampa Bay Rays take BART to Coliseum; impressed by system (San Jose: hotel, income)

[athleticsfan72737489]

David Price (Tampa Bay starting pitcher) took a cab from the hotel to the Coliseum. The cab cost $202 and went through the San Mateo Bridge. Price went on to lose the game that night. Price simply didn't know the Bay Bridge was closed. You would think that Tampa's Traveling Secretary would alert the players that the bridge is closed.

[zombocom]

What lack of knowledge? I'm only speaking to the city's perception by the world at large. If you want to attract tourists from the world at large, you need to address that perception.

The fact remains that S.F and the Silicon Valley are the driver's of the region, and already have numerous resorts, convention centers, and etc. San Jose just finished remodeling its convention center.

Oakland, by virtue of proximity gets to share in that, no doubt, but if we look at the statistics, I imagine we'll find Oakland does not enjoy as much revenue from visitors as the other regions.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by Obamadon1

A little embarrassing for the oakland hotel industry. Oakland is quite under-hoteled

Yup 100% agreed. It is really weird, we barely have any hotels in town.

I don't know when the window will happen to build a hotel. There is lots of god buzz about visiting Oakland, but it might not be the right moment to pitch a new huge project as a developer.

There are still quite a few parcels downtown that would be suitable I think.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by zombocom

What lack of knowledge? I'm only speaking to the city's perception by the world at large. If you want to attract tourists from the world at large, you need to address that perception.

The fact remains that S.F and the Silicon Valley are the driver's of the region, and already have numerous resorts, convention centers, and etc. San Jose just finished remodeling its convention center.

Oakland, by virtue of proximity gets to share in that, no doubt, but if we look at the statistics, I imagine we'll find Oakland does not enjoy as much revenue from visitors as the other regions.

I don't think Oakland needs to attract tourists from the "world at large." Oakland is ideally located and suitable to be a weekend destination or regional destination for people with a few hours drive or 2 hour flight or so. More than a day trip, but not a destination to travel a HUGE distance for.

It takes a little marketing and savvy PR. Features in things like Sunset MAgazine, AAA magazine, San Francisco MAgazine, Diablo Magazine, LA Magazine, Southwest MAgazine and so on.....

[jsba]

I was referring more to your flack jacket comment but the perception of Oakland is exactly that, a perception. Oakland has been getting increasingly more positive press regarding its entertainment and art seen that has thrown the perception of the city into question on the national level. I'm not saying Oakland doesn't have its problems still but the city as a whole is being looked at much differently than it was 10 years ago. Nationally people know of more than just the negative and recognize specific areas of positive growth, including downtown. Tourism in the city has increased and I believe it is time that the city start building on ways to retain these tourists for longer periods of time. Currently the city lacks more than a day trip feel for families or a night spot for others.

The correlation between the bay areas main cities has remained essentially the same though. San Francisco is the financial and business center of the bay area and the primary driving force for the great wealth of the bay area. Silicon Valley benefits from this with a large innovation center that needs the monetary legitimacy of San Francisco to survive and the transportation center of Oakland to distribute and receive necessary material. Oakland is the transportation and logistics hub of the entire bay area housing the regions major port, rail yard, and shipping airport, as well as primary warehousing facilities for bay area distributors and importers.

[jsba]

Originally Posted by jade408

I don't think Oakland needs to attract tourists from the "world at large." Oakland is ideally located and suitable to be a weekend destination or regional destination for people with a few hours drive or 2 hour flight or so. More than a day trip, but not a destination to travel a HUGE distance for.

It takes a little marketing and savvy PR. Features in things like Sunset MAgazine, AAA magazine, San Francisco MAgazine, Diablo Magazine, LA Magazine, Southwest MAgazine and so on.....

Agreed.

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by jsba

The correlation between the bay areas main cities has remained essentially the same though. San Francisco is the financial and business center of the bay area and the primary driving force for the great wealth of the bay area. Silicon Valley benefits from this with a large innovation center that needs the monetary legitimacy of San Francisco to survive and the transportation center of Oakland to distribute and receive necessary material.

San Francisco is the financial and business center of the Bay. San Jose/Silicon Valley is the technological center of the Bay. They both feed off each other, they both are responsible for the great wealth of the Bay Area, and they both are no more important than the other

[jsba]

I partially agree with that but SV wouldn't exist without the financial backing provided by its close proximity to SF. Many of the largest VCs and financial backers for these projects are out of SF, or were at the start of SV. In addition SV requires San Francisco's prestige and world wide notoriety that's why most SV companies hold their conventions and announcements in San Francisco rather than San Jose. Non the less the cities, all three, need each other on equal footing to truly thrive, so I agree with you that they feed off of each-other.

[zombocom]

Originally Posted by jsba

I was referring more to your flack jacket comment but the perception of Oakland is exactly that, a perception. Oakland has been getting increasingly more positive press regarding its entertainment and art seen that has thrown the perception of the city into question on the national level. I'm not saying Oakland doesn't have its problems still but the city as a whole is being looked at much differently than it was 10 years ago. Nationally people know of more than just the negative and recognize specific areas of positive growth, including downtown. Tourism in the city has increased and I believe it is time that the city start building on ways to retain these tourists for longer periods of time. Currently the city lacks more than a day trip feel for families or a night spot for others.

The correlation between the bay areas main cities has remained essentially the same though. San Francisco is the financial and business center of the bay area and the primary driving force for the great wealth of the bay area. Silicon Valley benefits from this with a large innovation center that needs the monetary legitimacy of San Francisco to survive and the transportation center of Oakland to distribute and receive necessary material. Oakland is the transportation and logistics hub of the entire bay area housing the regions major port, rail yard, and shipping airport, as well as primary warehousing facilities for bay area distributors and importers.

Outside of the region, I'm not sure how much press Oakland gets besides when it is listed alongside Detroit and Newark in those top 10 lists. That is a problem, it isn't a very large city, and it lives in the shadow of S.F and S.V.

Being so close to San Francisco, I wonder what sort of return on investment Oakland would get trying to build up tourism. The city might be better off investing in other things... Although, if it can fashion itself into a cheaper place to stay while visiting S.F, that also has a few nearby amenities...

Besides, soon teams playing the Athletics will be staying at the Fairmont in Downtown San Jose, right next to the ball park.

Originally Posted by jsba

I partially agree with that but SV wouldn't exist without the financial backing provided by its close proximity to SF. Many of the largest VCs and financial backers for these projects are out of SF, or were at the start of SV. In addition SV requires San Francisco's prestige and world wide notoriety that's why most SV companies hold their conventions and announcements in San Francisco rather than San Jose. Non the less the cities, all three, need each other on equal footing to truly thrive, so I agree with you that they feed off of each-other.

Sand Hill Rd. in Menlo Park is home to the majority of V.C firms. More expensive to rent office space than Manhattan...

[Obamadon1]

At the meeting, Young outlined positive figures for the city’s tourism industry, including its hotel occupancy rate, which grew to 69 percent last year — about 8 percent above the national average.

Oakland most underfunded visitors bureau - San Francisco Business Times

Seems like if the occupancy rate is above average, there should be demand for more, better rooms. The Marriott/convention center always seems full(ish) and expensive, as there isn't really any competition downtown in the form of another large full-service hotel.