The numbers in 2019 represented a peak of a near decade of continued growth of both leisure travelers and the convention business that makes up the lifeblood of the industry.
“San Francisco went from being one of the most desirable hotel markets to being hit with a trifecta of negative impacts,” said Alan Reay, president of hotel consulting firm Atlas Hospitality Group. “Expenses are way up, net operating income is down and interest rates are too high. If lenders aren’t making office loans right now, then they certainly aren’t going to do hotels right now either.”
As opposed to, say, the Four Seasons, Flynn and his partners, Highgate Hotels, will operate the historic Huntington Hotel independently without any major branding, aiming to reopen its doors by 2025. Other renovations will include restoring the downstairs spa and transforming the old gift shop into “the coolest bar in San Francisco.”