SAN FRANCISCO—Luxury hotels in Nob Hill and Union Square are partnering with their neighbors in order to court lucrative corporate events and meetings.
“A lot of Bay Area companies want to have their meetings here in the Bay Area, and they want to have it in San Francisco, specifically,” James Detrolio, director of sales and business development for the Scarlet Huntington, told the San Francisco Business Times.
In order to accommodate these companies, the Scarlet Huntington has teamed up with the Fairmont San Francisco, the Ritz Carlton, the InterContinental Mark Hopkins, and the Masonic event center to form the Nob Hill Connection.
“The partnership offers a unique alternative to other convention locations while still providing all the resources needed for any size event,” explains the Nob Hill Connection’s press release. Furthermore, it allows “meeting planners the opportunity to seamlessly plan meetings and conventions in one of America’s most celebrated and breathtaking neighborhoods with the best services and amenities of each establishment.”
Together, the associated brands provide a combined 170,000 square feet of function space, 72 meeting rooms, nearly 1,900 guest rooms, and a 2,560-seat auditorium to interested attendees.
Tech supercompany Apple is apparently among those interested by the Nob Hill Connection’s promises; the corporation is reportedly hosting a corporate event through the hotels’ combined website.
In Union Square, the Westin St. Francis and the Grand Hyatt San Francisco hope to attract the same kind of attention to their Union Square Alliance.
A block apart, the luxury hotels both border Union Square and offer panoramic views from their top-floor meeting rooms.
“We have joined forces because we see a growing need in San Francisco for mid-sized meetings that want to be close to the mid-Market tech hub,” Elaine Clancy, director of sales and marketing for the Westin St. Francis, commented in a press release.
According to Judy Cronkhite, director of sales and marketing for the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, the hotels “offer a combined 86,000 square feet of meeting space, 1,000 weekday guest rooms and 1,250 weekend guest rooms.” Attendees can also make use of Union Square’s plaza, “which can accommodate up to 1,000 people for a private, tented event.”
In a comment made to the San Francisco Business Times, Cronkhite added, “There’s an audience that we haven’t been able to speak to as single entities when we partner. We are able to offer options where we couldn’t [before].”