April 2025 GM letter
San Francisco is on the rise
Not only are the City trees blooming with spring cherry blossoms, but SF is coming back.
We have a new mayor in town who not only talks the talk but actually walks the City blocks.
Mayor Daniel Lurie is known to pick up the phone and speak directly to the top Tech CEOs of past conferences and asking them what it would take to bring them back to the city.
He is quoted as saying, ‘Innovation is the core of SF, and we should never shy away from that’
The January JP Morgan Healthcare Conference brought in 8,000 attendees and 92 million in revenue. Upon hearing that the conference may move elsewhere next year, Lurie reached out and convinced them to return. JP Morgan is now booked for next January 2026.
During a Tech Crunch Panel, Lurie announced “The City is on the rise, and we want your business here.”
This week the SF Climate conference at the Exploratorium hosted speakers,
Former Vice- President, Al Gore and House Speaker Emerita, Nancy Pelosi. The conference is expected to bring into the city, 25,000 attendees.
The President and CEO of the Hotel Council, Alex Bastian, agrees with the positive outlook since Hotel occupancy has risen to 53% occupancy with a daily rate of $282.00 in 2025 and conventions booked are up to 60% compared to 2024.
It is a known fact that when hotels and conventions thrive so does San Francisco.
The City is on the rise and illuminated.
The 150 ft Sky Star Ferris wheel at Fisherman’s Wharf lights up the sky at night.
At the end of market and in front of the Ferry Building, you can view the 45ft illuminated sculpture of a nude woman standing with her palms open and her head looking to the sky in a yoga poise, called the Mountain Poise. During the evening for an hour, you can watch her breath.
This Illuminated sculpture will be here for a short period so book your dinner reservation at the Epic Roast house on the Embarcadero so you can stroll over and witness this only in SF art installation.
The new Bay Bridge light installation is still in production and the 50,000 LED lights will soon illuminate the Bay Bridge again and the light show will now appear on both sides of the Bay Bridge. This is another reason to dine at the Epic or the Waterbar on Embarcadero.
The restaurant scene continues to rise and flourish:
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Wayfare Tavern 201 Pine Street
The new Wayfare Tavern has just reopened on Pine Street in the Financial District.
Tyler Florence, owner of the elegant Lux and Miller at the Chase Center, opened the original restaurant years ago on Sacramento in 2010. The new restaurant offers the same gracious service and will still offer the hamburger and martini special at lunchtime.
Guest favorites are fried chicken and baked macaroni.
So you can wander down Pine to Market for lunch or dinner and have a splendid meal
Afterwards walk over to California Street and take the cable car back up to Nob Hill
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Sorella 1760 Polk
Acquerello, the elegant Italian restaurant on Sacramento @ Polk was one of the first restaurants to earn a Michelin star back in 2007.
The chef/owner, Suzanne Gresham of Acquerello and Giancarlo Paterlini have opened a casual Italian supper club called Sorella, which means sister. Again, old school, gracious service and excellent pasta rules the day.
It is April, so again I will remind owners that the 2nd property tax was due on April 11.
If you have changed your address, please call the SF Tax Collector at 415 554-4400 to correct your address so you will not miss paying your taxes and end up with a tax default on your share.
You can always contact me at creidgm@sfsuitescsa or 415 433-9700 and I can help you pay your taxes online.
On a sad note, I would like to let the association know that Tom Weber, who served on the SF Board as President and Member at Large for many years has passed away in Oregon in January from a serious illness. He was 81 years old.
Tom Weber, was my first President and as a developer, he taught me the importance of keeping the structural integrity of a 100 + year old building. Due to his guidance, I continued to address plumbing, electrical, structural repairs to keep the building solid and up to code.
One of the reasons the Suites were able to renew our property insurance was because I could show all the upgrades and repairs that had been done in the past 10 years. This is all due to Tom Weber and his knowledge as a building developer.
Tom gifted the Suites with the beautiful silver tea service in the Boardroom and the scarlet carpet in the lower lobby.
Every year he would send fruitcakes to the staff and when he heard that I was holding a meeting, would insist on paying for the pizza.
One of his favorite projects was renovating the employees’ changing room and making the housekeepers storage rooms more organized.
Lastly, Tom loved my GM letters and always complimented me and would suggest that I write for the SF Tourist Board.
He will be missed.
So, in closing, the spring trees are blossoming, the City is illuminated, there are new restaurants to explore, and the City is rising.
Warmest wishes,
Cynthia Reid
General Manager
San Francisco Suites
April 23, 2025