On Tues., Nov. 7, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announced Dreamforce reached an agreement with the city of San Francisco to keep its annual event, which attracted 40,000 customers, partners and employees to Moscone Center in September, in the venue and the city. Dreamforce 2024 will be held Sept. 17-19 at the city’s leading convention venue, which is managed by Legends, a live experience company that acquired ASM Global on Nov. 7.

Benioff said on X: “Thrilled to share the news that Dreamforce, the world’s largest enterprise tech conference, will be returning to San Francisco, the stunning city by the bay–and now the AI capital of the world in 2024! In partnership with Mayor London Breed and our beloved city, Dreamforce 2023 set new standards with outstanding safety measures, cleanliness and hospitality for our 40,000 visiting trailblazers. Thank you San Francisco!”

San Francisco Mayor Breed said on X: “Thanks to @Benioff, Dreamforce is coming back for another incredible year in our beautiful city by the bay — the only place it has ever called home.” 

Back story: Before this year’s Dreamforce, Benioff told the San Francisco Chronicle it could be the last in the city if the conference was “impacted by the current situation with homelessness and drug use.” The annual event has been held in San Francisco for 21 years, and Salesforce headquarters, a 61-story skyscraper, is located at 415 Mission Street, in the South of Market district of downtown San Francisco.

Big picture: Some other technology companies, such as Google and Oracle, have chosen to move their events elsewhere amid increased concerns of homelessness, drug use and theft in parts of the city. The massive corporate event has yet not returned to its pre-pandemic levels, when Dreamforce 2019 reported more than 171,000 registered attendees, according to a Salesforce blog. 

Related: 5 TAKEAWAYS FOR EVENT ORGANIZERS FROM DREAMFORCE 2023

Why it matters: Dreamforce was projected to generate $89.3 million in local spending. A CoStar Group report revealed a 93.6% average hotel occupancy rate during the conference's peak evenings Sept. 11-13. By comparison, the city’s average occupancy rate for July 2023 was 66.1%. During the week of Sept. 10-16, San Francisco hotels raised average daily rate and revenue per available room by more than 30% as a result of the Dreamforce 2023 conference, according to CoStar. 

Notable: In 2023, police officers and others had reportedly pushed unhoused people to migrate elsewhere. Despite Benioff’s praise for the city’s efforts to clean up the area around the Moscone Center, a Chicago surgeon was apparently attacked and injured while attending Dreamforce, according to a story in the Daily Mail. 

Looking ahead: The agreement only extends to 2024, which is in line with Salesforce’s typical practice of communicating its plans with San Francisco one year out.