After closing its doors in March 2020, BEI San Francisco reopened in June 2021 as a Trademark Collection by Wyndham hotel. Located next to the Civic Center and Orpheum, the 396-room property debuted a new room category called Co-Live, Co-Work rooms.
Charleen Murphy, BEI San Francisco’s director of sales & marketing, shared her insights on getting back to group business in California.
California has been waiting a long time for meetings and group business to return. What’s your view of where things stand? Are groups beginning to book events at BEI San Francisco?
While there is still a long road to travel in our recovery, BEI San Francisco and city wide, we are ready to welcome back both business and leisure travelers safely. We are starting to book smaller corporate meetings, leisure and social groups, and sports teams throughout Q4 2021. The leisure group business is beginning to come back at BEI San Francisco, particularly people seeking intimate meetings & event space such as weddings, networking events, and alumni groups.
What does the upcoming Dreamforce 2021 (September 21-23) look like for hotels, including yours? In non-COVID times, it attracted 170,000 attendees.
Dreamforce is forecasting 10,000 attendees for this year’s event with a great majority of attendees coming from the drive market and the rest joining virtually. This year’s convention will undoubtedly impact hotels in the city differently than it has in previous years and in the years ahead. Since in-person attendance will be smaller this year, the hotels within immediate proximity of the convention will likely benefit most from rooms booked. We do have some bookings during Dreamforce 2021 but there is a noticeable decrease in compression throughout the city during this year’s convention dates. We’re optimistic about the future and looking forward to the return of large conventions in 2022. In the meantime, we’re preparing for 2021 events by adhering to our enhanced safety and cleaning practices and following federal, state and city guidelines.
What types of ongoing protocols is BEI putting in place to make guests, planners, meeting attendees comfortable?
In our ongoing commitment to guest health and wellbeing, BEI San Francisco has implemented heightened sanitization protocols that adhere to CDC, local health authority and the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) Safe Stay guidelines. BEI San Francisco is also Clean + Safe Certified by the California Hotel & Lodging Association (CHLA). We will continue to implement AHLA and CHLA safety guidelines beyond the pandemic. More about our current health & safety protocols here: www.beihotelsf.com/health-safety.
What would you like planners to know about the Co-Live, Co-Work rooms?
Our Co-Work, Co-Live rooms are designed with flexibility in mind and each equipped with their own outdoor space. This can be used as an ancillary meeting & event space: a chill lounge, product showcases and demos, brainstorming sessions, and more. We view the Co-Work, Co-Live rooms as creative space with endless setup and configuration options. A planner doesn’t necessarily need to book the entire 4,000-square-foot terrace. With our central location near the San Francisco Federal Building and theaters, the Co-Work, Co-Live rooms are safe and secure spaces for serious business, such as depositions and juries, as much as they are ideal for functions for companies like b8ta, lululemon and Pixly, which have all hosted activations in our Co-Work, Co-Live rooms before. Planners can book Co-Work, Co-Live rooms by calling the hotel direct: 415-626-6103 or emailing reservations@beihotelsf.com. The rooms are available for overnight stays as well as day use with amenities including catering, TVs for streaming and presentations, and a murphy king bed that converts into a four-person conference table, plus the dedicated outdoor space.
What else would you like planners to know about BEI San Francisco?
BEI San Francisco is a destination where planners can stay, work and play. We’re getting ready to relaunch our BEI Vita Wellness Programming, popular for groups pre-pandemic, in which we offer a selection of workshops, wellness classes, breakfast and happy hour beverages that can be blended into a conference workshop or schedule.
