NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
SFTravel.com; @OnlyInSF—“No other city offers such diversity in an incredibly compact footprint,” says Julie Van’t Hul, vice president of convention sales for San Francisco Travel Association. “Only in San Francisco will meeting planners and attendees find unique meeting spaces located alongside iconic landmarks and nestled within vibrant neighborhoods, including Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, Embarcadero, Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz, Chinatown, Union Square, North Beach, and the Castro District.”
San Francisco’s Moscone Center features more than 502,000 square feet of contiguous meeting and event space, two ballrooms, 82 meeting rooms, 107,000 square feet of pre-function lobbies, and more than 25,000 square feet of outdoor terrace space.
“Sustainability is at the forefront of every aspect of San Francisco’s infrastructure and psyche—something that has become a priority for meeting planners,” says Van’t Hul. “In 2023, San Francisco’s convention center announced it was awarded LEED Platinum certification for Existing Building Operations and Maintenance, the highest level of LEED developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). This makes San Francisco the only city in the world to have the most-advanced LEED Platinum certification for both its convention center and airport.”
San Francisco offers more than 36,000 hotel rooms, including The Jay Hotel, formerly Le Méridien, which opened in fall 2023 on the edge of the historic Jackson Square neighborhood. The hotel offers 360 guest rooms, a penthouse, 13,000 square feet of meeting and event space, and 16 meeting rooms.
Other notable hotels include the 200-key 1 Hotel San Francisco, on the Embarcadero, offering 5,074 square feet of meeting and event space, including a 1,750-square-foot ballroom with banquet seating for 80 guests or 100 reception style. The brand is inspired by nature and committed to sustainability. LUMA Hotel San Francisco, in Mission Bay, is a quarter-mile walk from Oracle Park, home of MLB’s San Francisco Giants, and a half-mile from Chace Center, where NBA’s Golden State Warriors play. The tech-forward property features 299 rooms and 7,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, ranging from its smallest room, the 170-square foot Egret, which can accommodate banquet seating for eight, to its largest, the 2,297-square-foot GATHER, which can accommodate 230 guests for receptions or 191 for banquets. LINE SF, in a distinctive flatiron building in SoMa, offers 236 guest rooms and 6,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space. The hotel’s 3,000-square-foot Rise Over Run rooftop bar and restaurant solarium can accommodate up to 150 guests. Hotel Castro has 12 guest rooms, each with a private outdoor terrace.
Newly rebranded and/or renovated properties include the 400-room Stanford Court Hotel, offering 2,100 square feet of event space and three private dining rooms in the Nob Hill neighborhood. Hyatt Regency San Francisco Downtown SOMA, formerly Park Central Hotel, offers 686 guest rooms, two ballrooms, and 17 meeting/function rooms. The St. Regis San Francisco offers 260 guest rooms and 22,257 square feet of meeting and event space in the Financial District. Its Gallery Ballroom can accommodate 350 guests for receptions or 300 for banquets. The Museum of the African Diaspora is on the building’s first floor, and San Francisco Museum of Art is next door. The renovated Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco at Embarcadero offers 155 guest rooms in twin crowns connected by skybridge on the top 11 floors of 345 California Center. Beacon Grand, formerly Sir Francis Drake Hotel, offers 418 rooms and 17,000 square feet of flexible event space, including a 3,081-square-foot grand ballroom with banquet seating for 250 guests. Beacon Grand’s rooftop cocktail bar, Starlite, opened in February of this year, replacing the legendary Harry Denton’s Starlight Room.
In October 2022, San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood welcomed Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco (ICA SF), a new showcase for civically engaged local and international artists. As a non-collecting museum, ICA SF does not have a permanent collection. The museum’s 76,000 square feet of rentable space includes the 3,100-square-foot 970 Gallery, which can accommodate 150 standing guests or 100 seated; the Studio Gallery for 60 standing or 59 seated guests; and the 1,200-square-foot Kitchen and Patio for up to 30 guests.
The Conservatory at One Sansome opened in summer 2023 in a historic 1910 Albert Pissis-designed Beaux Arts building four blocks from the Moscone Center. The 15,650-square-foot space can host receptions of more than 2,000 guests. Its light-filled, 8,092-square-foot atrium can accommodate 1,037 guests for receptions and 420 for banquets. The site also includes a 5,500-square-foot Business Park and Holbrook House restaurant and bar.
Ballast Point Brewing Co. opened a new 12,000-square-foot tasting room in Mission Bay early last year and now offers private rentals for 285 guests for receptions and 165 for seated events. Chase Center and Oracle Park are within walking distance.
The expansion of Metro T Third Line in late 2022 made navigating the city easier. Three new underground stations were created at Yerba Buena/Moscone Center, Union Square/Market, and Chinatown–Rose Pak, and one above-ground station was created at 4th and Brannan in the South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood.
Visitors to San Francisco are in for a culinary treat, as the Michelin guide praises San Francisco more than any other California city. According to SFTravel.com, 28 restaurants in San Francisco have been awarded 37 Michelin stars.
Annual events to keep in mind kick off in February with the Chinese New Year Parade and Celebration and St. Patrick’s Day Parade, followed by Japantown’s Cherry Blossom Festival in April, the Bay to Breakers road race, How Weird Street Faire and Carnaval in May, San Francisco Pride in June, San Francisco Marathon in July, Folsom Street Fair in September, and Fleet Week in October.
This is just a glimpse of what the “City by the Bay” offers. There is plenty of fun throughout San Francisco for all ages. “San Francisco offers a range of experiences from kid-friendly cultural experiences to outdoor space and educational fun,” Van’t Hul says. “Top attractions for families include Pier 39, where visitors can see sea lions on the docks, visit the Aquarium on the Bay, and eat fresh, locally sourced seafood at one of the neighborhood’s many seafood restaurants. Visitors of all ages can also take in iconic sites across the city, like Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, the Painted Ladies, Lombard Street, and San Francisco’s cable cars.”
