North Bay Biz
Story for June, 2004
In Tourism We Trust

.... Sausalito Chamber of Commerce president Babette McDougal says she generally favors the creation of the new Visitors Network and business district. "The Sausalito City Council very wisely left the decision on whether to participate in the recent business improvement district to the five hotel properties in town; in fact, a meeting of owners and general managers with the City Manager was convened at the Chamber's office. It was generally felt that more was needed in terms of defining a clear strategy on how Sausalito would be integrated into the Network's branding and market positioning. The hoteliers asked how Sausalito would specifically benefit from the allocation of resources of a countywide organization and in maximizing Sausalito's gateway to the North Bay position."

McDougal says that Sausalito hotels and most other visitor-serving businesses tend to derive most of their market share from San Francisco and, therefore, require a different market focus than the rest of the county. "For us, it makes a lot of sense to belong to the San Francisco Visitors and Convention Bureau; their data indicates 40% of their visitors also visit Sausalito. Sausalito is like the Portofino of the Pacific Rim, an easily accessible local get away without going away, which is why we increasingly enjoy a larger regional draw. We hope to revisit forming a relationship with the Marin Visitors Network." ...