San Francisco’s lucrative tech conference at risk due to drugs and homelessness, warns organizer.

San Francisco’s Homelessness and Drug Use Threaten Major Conference

San Francisco could lose a massive conference that brings‍ in ‍millions of dollars because of the city’s homelessness and rampant drug use.

Marc Benioff, cofounder and CEO of Salesforce, said his company⁢ may be hosting its final “Dreamforce” tech conference in San Francisco this ‌year, pointing to attendees’ fears about safety⁤ in the ⁢city. Benioff said he projects the‍ event, which will run from Sept. 12-14, will bring 40,000 people to the city and inject $57 ⁤million into the downtown economy.

“If this‍ Dreamforce ⁤is impacted by the current situation with homelessness and drug use,​ it may be the⁣ last Dreamforce,”‌ Benioff told the ⁣ San Francisco ⁢Chronicle on Tuesday. He has told the outlet in previous years that attendees have‌ complained about the situation in San Francisco.

Salesforce has given tens of millions of dollars to fight homelessness and crime, but the city continues to struggle with public safety, ​an‌ issue​ that ​has prompted dozens of⁣ businesses to‌ close ⁢or relocate.

Homicides ⁤in San Francisco have increased nearly 40 percent from 2020 ‍to 2022, and ⁣deaths ⁤from fentanyl have spiked.

Office‌ vacancies in San Francisco hit a ​record-high rate in the second quarter this year. Among the companies trying⁣ to ditch their office space in the struggling city that quarter were Uber and Airbnb.