Green Machine
A $383 million project to renovate San Franciso International Airport's Terminal 2 is under way. Formerly an international terminal before closing in 2000, the space will reopen in March 2011 to service domestic flights. The new structure will feature 14 gates; 30,793 square feet of retail shops, including 12 restaurants, a gourmet marketplace, a wine bar and a spa; a pedestrian bridge connecting the terminal to the AirTrain and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART); and a collection of public art commissioned specifically for the airport. Environmentally friendly initiatives will be implemented as well, such as paperless ticketing, preferential parking for hybrid and electrical vehicles, water reuse and reduction programs, and "slow food" vendors, which offer locally grown cuisine. The terminal will seek to achieve LEED Silver certification.
flysfo.com San Francisco
Local Update: The Parc 55 Hotel San Francisco has been reflagged the Parc 55 Wyndham San Francisco-Union Square. The stately property offers 1,010 guest rooms as well as 30,000 square feet of event space.
The 550-room InterContinental San Francisco, which opened in April 2009 and features chef Andrea Aiudi's Luce restaurant, the 10-treatment-room I-Spa and approximately 43,000 square feet of meeting space, expects to attain LEED Gold certification this August.
This past December, the 279-room Claremont Hotel, Club & Spa in Berkeley unveiled a new restaurant, Meritage at The Claremont. Local farms and winemakers are the venue's preferred vendors.
Meeting Hotels: The City by the Bay offers a total of 33,372 hotel rooms, about two-thirds of which are within convenient walking distance of Moscone Center. Properties in the Union Square district include the 1,908-room Hilton San Francisco, 1,496-room San Francisco Marriott, 1,195-room Westin St. Francis, 1,010-room Parc 55 Wyndham San Francisco-Union Square, 685-room Grand Hyatt San Francisco, 676-room Westin San Francisco Market Street, 552-room Palace Hotel, 550-room InterContinental San Francisco and 533-room Hotel Nikko San Francisco.
Properties in some of city's other vibrant neighborhoods include the 802-room Hyatt Regency San Francisco, 591-room Fairmont San Francisco, 549-room Hilton San Francisco Financial District and 529-room Sheraton at Fisherman's Wharf.
Convention Center: Moscone Center; exhibit space, approximately 442,000 square feet in Moscone North and South; number of meeting rooms, 68. Moscone West; exhibit space, 300,000 square feet; number of meeting rooms, 38. (415) 974-4000; moscone.com
Concourse Exhibition Center at the San Francisco Design Center; exhibit space, 120,000 square feet; number of meeting rooms, none. (415) 490-5800; sfvenues.com
Fort Mason Center; exhibit space, approximately 80,000 square feet; number of meeting rooms, 11. (415) 441-3400; fortmason.org
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium San Francisco; exhibit space, 31,140 square feet; number of meeting rooms, 36. (415) 978-5917; billgrahamcivic.com
South San Francisco Conference Center; exhibit space, 13,500 square feet; number of meeting rooms, 12. (650) 877-8787; www.ssfconf.com
Airport Transit: San Francisco International Airport, 14 miles from downtown. Transfer cost by taxi, $45; via Bay Area Rapid Transit rail service, $8.10 (one way)
Taxes: Room tax, 14%; sales tax, 9.5%; total tax on hotel rooms, 14%, plus a 1 to 1.5 percent Tourism Improvement District assessment
Group Venue: This month the Oakland Museum of California celebrates the completion of a $58 million renovation that includes new exhibition space, a new café, an upgraded 300-seat theater and 70-seat lecture hall, and an expanded museum store. Upcoming exhibits will present the art of Franciscan and Jesuit mission churches of Northern Spain and the history of Pixar animation. The 275-seat James Moore Theater can be rented for meetings, and the Blue Oak café, available Monday and Tuesday afternoons, can accommodate banquets for up to 160 people. (510) 238-3009; museumca.org.
CVB Services: San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, (415) 974-6900; onlyinsanfrancisco.com
Splash of Italy
Six attendees at a time can cruise Oakland's Lake Merritt aboard a
gondola.
gondolaservizio.comSan Jose
Local Update: Terminals at Mineta San Jose International Airport are undergoing major improvements. For example, Terminal A has expanded security checkpoints, ticket counters, concession areas and passenger waiting areas. This summer, the brand-new Terminal B will replace Terminal C and provide additional ticketing, baggage claims and security.
Team San Jose has altered its exclusive labor policy, which industry officials and labor organizations had opposed since its implementation last summer. As a result of talks between Team San Jose and the decorator community, decorators have been given the option to either contract labor directly or through Team San Jose. The Exhibitor Services & Contractors Association has expressed its approval of the modification.
Meeting Hotels: Properties include the 805-room Fairmont San Jose, 512-room Holiday Inn San Jose, 506-room San Jose Marriott, 505-room Doubletree Hotel San Jose, 355-room Wyndham San Jose, 353-room Hilton San Jose, 239-room Crowne Plaza-San Jose, 214-room Dolce Hayes Mansion, 196-room Radisson San Jose Airport and 170-room Sainte Claire.
Convention Center: San Jose Convention Center; exhibit space, 143,000 square feet; number of meeting rooms, 31; (408) 792-4194; sanjose.org/meetings
Airport Transit: Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, three miles from the center of San Jose. Transfer cost by taxi, $15 to $20
Taxes: Room tax, 10%; sales tax, 9.25%; total tax on hotel rooms, 10%, plus a Convention Center Funding District Tax (CCFD) of 2 to 4% and $0.75 to $2 per night hotel business and improvement fee (based on location)
Group Venue: Last August, The Retro Dome, formerly a Century 25 theater dating from the 1960s, reopened with a twofold mission: to book live musical acts and screen retro films. For groups, the Blue Room theater space can seat up to 275 people, while the Red Room, which on weekends shows cinema favorites made from 1939 to 1999, seats 350. The Lava Lounge lobby is ideal for a cocktail reception for up to 100. (408) 404-7711; retrodome.guggyent.com
CVB Services: Team San Jose, (800) 726-5673; sanjose.org