Dream Force National Park, San Francisco

13 Jul Pro Tips for Attendees of Dreamforce & Other S.F. Conferences

Posted at 10:02h in Blog by

The Moscone Center in San Francisco hosts some of the largest annual business conferences in the United States. After a lengthy pause on all in-person events in San Francisco and most other major cities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears that conferences will return in 2021.

Salesforce recently announced the return of Dreamforce to San Francisco in late September (9/21 – 9/23). The event, which previously hosted well over a hundred thousand attendees per year, will likely be scaled down for 2021. Nonetheless, local businesses and merchants welcome the return of business travelers to the Downtown corridor.

With people from all over the world descending on San Francisco in huge numbers, it’s important that they prepare for the business conference, their hotel stay, and free time in advance of the trip. Below are tips for Dreamforce and other conference-goers to stay safe and make the most of their time in San Francisco.

Staying Safe in San Francisco

Crimes occur in San Francisco just like they do in any large city. However, visitors can take several steps to protect themselves and safeguard their valuables. For example, wallets should go on the inside of a jacket or the front pants pocket. Purses should go over the shoulder, preferably in a crisscross pattern to prevent someone from grabbing it. This is also safer than just carrying the purse.

Remaining alert is always the best defense against crime. That means putting smartphones away while walking and continually scanning the environment for any sights or sounds out of the ordinary. Keep in mind that one of a pickpocket’s favorite tricks is to distract someone and then steal their wallet or purse. Awareness of surroundings and keeping those items in hard-to-reach places can reduce the likelihood of it happening to a Moscone Center attendee.

Enjoy the Rich Culinary Scene in SF

San Francisco is one of the world’s greatest cities for eating out. While most conference attendees are looking to grab a quick bite “on the go” at lunchtime, consider some of the other sit-down options around the city for dinner.

San Francisco’s historic Chinatown is only a short taxi or Uber ride from most of the major hotel areas like Union Square where conference attendees stay. Take advantage of the opportunity to dine at one of America’s top Chinese eating establishments, Z & Y Restaurant @ 655 Jackson St.

Vehicle and Parking Lot Safety

It’s best for out-of-town visitors not to make it obvious that they’re not native to San Francisco. That means never leaving such things as maps or tickets to local events in plain sight inside of a vehicle. Be sure to park in well-lit areas and remove any valuables from the car to take to the hotel room each night.

Since the traffic in San Francisco can get heavily congested, visitors may want to consider taking a streetcar, bus, cable car, light rail, or other form of public transportation to get from one destination to the next. The resources at this link can be extremely helpful for those who want to drive their own cars.

Tips for Dreamforce Attendees to Optimize Their Time

With more than 100,000 people attending the conference most years, planning for how to optimize the time while there just makes sense. For example, attendees will want to have at least a loose idea of their agenda before the conference.

With more than thousands of panels and other scheduled activities in just three days, it can feel tempting to load up the schedule with little time in between. Participants will gain more from their time at Dreamforce by selecting only the conferences most important to them. Once of the best tips for Dreamforce and most other conferences if to allow plenty of time for networking and other passive learning opportunities.

Prioritizing, networking, enjoying downtime, and staying safe sound like a lot to juggle, but it should come as second nature by conference time.

Z & Y originally published this content in September 2019. Following revisions and updates to the content, the post has been republished.

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