SF Hotel Stories

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Tuesday, 6/9/2026, 1:00 - 3:00 Services: Emergency Preparedness with UCSF and NICOS Chinese Health Coalition Chinatown Branch Wednesday, 6/10/2026, 5:30 - 7:00 Activity: Bad Art Contest for All Ages Mission Bay Branch Thursday, 6/11/2026, 4:00 - 5:00 Workshop: Introduction to Music Production Portola Branch Friday, 6/12/2026, 2:00 - 4:00 Film: My Own Private Idaho Noe

In my upcoming book, Service IS The Business (working title) I share a behind-the-desk perspective of what it is like to work at a real San Francisco hotel concierge desk. Enjoy this brief segment from the third chapter. Before I could make a final decision, however, in the summer of 1996 I got a call from Ken Wilbur. He was a location manager I had worked with who had just started a new position as the media services director for the Haas School of Business at the Universit

Even though it has been six years San Francisco tourism and hospitality has not fully recovered. Despite what Mayor Daniel Lurie proclaims, and the statistics SFTravel (San Francisco's visitor and convention bureau) sites, San Francisco is still a long way from its golden year of 2019. That was when the Tech Boom was booming, and the city welcomed a whopping 26 million visitors. However, if you take a walk along what was the city's tourist Mecca, Powell Street to Union Squa

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Tuesday, 6/2/2026, 5:30 - 7:30 Film: The Rocky Horror Picture Show Eureka Valley Branch Wednesday, 6/3/2026, 3:00 - 4:00 Activity: DIY Candy Lei Sunset Branch Thursday, 6/4/2026, 6:00 - 7:45 Celebration: Reception–Rooted in San Francisco Exhibition Main Branch Friday, 6/5/2026, 3:00 - 4:30 Workshop: The Book, Reimagined in Folded Paper Presidio Branch Saturday, 6/6/2

In my upcoming book, Service IS The Business (working title) I share a behind-the-desk perspective of what it is like to work at a real San Francisco hotel concierge desk. Enjoy this brief segment from the fourth chapter. I called some assistant managers and bell captains I knew from hotels where I had done on-call work in between film jobs. One day I got a call from Vinny, my old bell captain from the Franklyn. He was now a bellman at the Hudson Hotel, one of Union Square’s

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, the name Stanford is synonymous with the university in Palo Alto, CA. But Leland Stanford, who was one of the Big Four railroad barons (along with Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker) spent most of his adult life in San Francisco. He lived in the mansion he built on Nob Hill in 1876. When his only son died at the age of 15 in 1884, grief-stricken, he removed every piece of furniture and stripped every wall, sa

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Tuesday, 5/26/2026, 1:00 - 2:30 Tutorial: Tech Drop-In Main Branch Wednesday, 5/27/2026, 1:00 - 2:00 Activity: Tai Chi for Beginners Western Addition Branch Thursday, 5/28/2026, 2:00 - 4:00 FULL: Workshop: Basic Watercolor Painting for Adults Golden Gate Valley Branch Friday, 5/29/2026, 3:45 - 4:45 Activity: LED Paper Circuits Greeting Card Chinatown Branch Saturday,

In my upcoming book, Service IS The Business (working title) I share a behind-the-desk perspective of what it is like to work at a real San Francisco hotel concierge desk. Enjoy this brief segment from the fourth chapter. Why is this city so ideal for visitors? I say it is a combination of factors. San Francisco is one of the youngest of internationally renowned cities. At the time of the Gold Rush in 1849 only about 800 people lived here, but the population ballooned to 2

Anyone who has read these articles knows I am bullish on all things San Francisco hospitality. While it's natural to favor our two-legged hotel guests, what about our four-legged friends, as in man's best friend? Is there a hotel for them in San Francisco? Short answer, Yes. In fact, there is a surprisingly large number of facilities which cater to pets, namely cats and dogs. When I was a kid, they were called kennels and were little more than chain link-fenced enclosures

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Tuesday, 5/19/2026, 9:00 - 5:00 Tutorial: Meet One-on-One with a Financial Counselor Main Branch Wednesday, 5/20/2026, 10:30 - 12:30 Activity: Food Tour North Beach Branch Thursday, 5/21/2026, 5:30 - 6:30 Workshop: Introduction to American Sign Language Glen Park Brach Friday, 5/22/2026, 1:30 - 5:00 Activity: Watercolor and Associates Glen Park Branch Saturday, 5/23/2

In my upcoming book, Service IS The Business (working title) I share a behind-the-desk perspective of what it is like to work at a real San Francisco hotel concierge desk. Enjoy this brief segment from the second chapter. My new bell captain, Vinny, couldn’t have been more different from John Francis at the Vacation Suites. Vinny was born and raised in San Francisco, but he had a golly-jeepers/gee-whiz kind of demeanor. He was always pleasantly unflappable, nothing seemed t

Enjoy this classic contribution from the SFHotelStories archives. San Francisco hotels have been part of the fabric of the city since the Gold Rush of 1849. In the early days, flop houses for sailors and miners seeking their fortune sprouted up as the ships docked in the harbor. Many of the ships carrying gold miners around Cape Hope, would often take several weeks to travel from the ports of the east coast, around the tip of South America, to San Francisco. In that time

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Tuesday, 5/12/2026, 1:00 - 2:00 Activity: Fit for Life North Beach Branch Wednesday, 5/13/2026, 1:00 - 2:00 Activity: Tai Chi for Beginners Western Addition Branch Thursday, 5/14/2026, 11:00 - 12:00 Workshop: Breath Meditation with Don Narin Richmond Branch Friday, 5/15/2026, 1:00 - 2:30 Tutorial: Smartphone Class For Older Adults 60+ Bernal Heights Branch Saturday, 5

Enjoy this classic contribution from the SFHotelStories archives. San Francisco hotels have been part of the fabric of the city since the Gold Rush of 1849. In the early days, flop houses for sailors and miners seeking their fortune sprouted up as the ships docked in the harbor. Many of the ships carrying gold miners around Cape Hope, would often take several weeks to travel from the ports of the east coast, around the tip of South America, to San Francisco. In that time

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Wednesday, 5/6/2026, 10:00 - 10:30 Storytime: For Families at Salesforce Park Rooftop Garden Main Branch Thursday, 5/7/2026, 11:00 - 11:30 Activity: Mini-Makers Merced Branch Friday, 5/8/2026, 1:00 - 2:30 Tutorial: Cantonese Tablet/Smartphone Course for Older Adults 60+ Sunset Branch Saturday, 5/9/2026, 10:00 - 12:00 FULL: Activity: Birding in Glen Canyon Glen Park Br

In my upcoming book, Service IS The Business (working title) I share a behind-the-desk perspective of what it is like to work at a real San Francisco hotel concierge desk. Enjoy this brief segment. One night a guest checked in late. When he saw the name on her driver’s license, Patty Pancake, he couldn’t stop laughing. All through the check-in process he laughed, which really annoyed her. The more he apologized, the more he would laugh. If you like this article, please hi

San Francisco hotels have been part of the fabric of the city since the Gold Rush of 1849. In the early days, flop houses for sailors and miners seeking their fortune sprouted up as the ships docked in the harbor. Many of the ships carrying gold miners around Cape Hope, would often take several weeks to travel from the ports of the east coast, around the tip of South America, to San Francisco. In that time all the crew heard was the rumor gold was easy to find, so by the

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Tuesday, 4/28/2026, 1:00 - 2:30 Social: Knitting Circle Glen Park Branch Wednesday, 4/29/2026, 12:00 - 1:00 Tutorial: Computer Basics Main Branch Thursday, 4/30/2026, 11:00 - 12:00 Workshop: Breath Meditation with Don Narin Richmond Branch Friday, 5/1/2026, 1:00 - 3:00 Services: Voter Registration with the League of Women Voters San Francisco Main Branch Saturday, 5/2

In my upcoming book, Service IS The Business (working title) I share a behind-the-desk perspective of what it is like to work at a real San Francisco hotel concierge desk. Enjoy this brief segment. Dwight brought a flourish of whimsy to the job, never violating company protocol, but coming close to it. In the end, the general manager didn’t really care about that. He had a binary mode of thinking: Will this increase profit, or not? If he didn’t think profit was affected, t

Enjoy this classic contribution from the SFHotelStories archives. It opened in 1915 as the Somerton Hotel, after the great building boom following the 1906 earthquake and fire. Since 1985, it was known as the Diva Hotel and was the destination of theater-goers and performers. In fact, its history is riddled with no shortage of famous people who crossed its threshold. Like the Chinese Theater on Hollywood Blvd., the Diva even had its own Walk-of-Fame (of sorts) outside its fr