San Francisco Union Square Hilton to Have a Buyer, Option to Become Housing

Striking hotel workers union members form a picket line in front of Hilton Union Square in San Francisco on Nov. 20, 2024. Lear Zhou

A few blocks from San Francisco’s iconic Union Square, the huge Hilton Hotel was up for auction. Now, the hotel is reviewing bids to narrow down on the buyer, with a possibility that it would be converted into housing.

“We are seeing a lot of interest in San Francisco area hotels for alternative use [apartments],” hotel consultant Alan Reay of Atlas Hospitality told The Epoch Times on Nov. 22 in an email.

The city plans to turn unused or underutilized office spaces into residential units in an effort to revive downtown after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recently, San Francisco gave the green light to demolish an existing office space to build the city’s tallest residential building downtown near the Salesforce and Millennium towers.

Combined, the Hilton and Parc 55, which Hilton also owns, have nearly 3,000 guest rooms.

In a Nov. 21 email to The Epoch Times, a spokesperson for San Francisco Planning said, “Since the property is up for sale, we have not received any applications to convert it into housing.”

The city’s largest hotel was in debt, and in June 2023, its owner decided to stop making payments on a $725 million loan and surrender it to its lender.

According to the San Francisco Business Times, Hilton’s court-appointed receiver, Michelle Russo from Hotel Asset Value Enhancement, has until the end of March 2025 to find a buyer. If there is no buyer, JPMorgan Chase, the lender, will foreclose it by July 15.

The Epoch Times reached out to Russo but did not receive a response by publication time.

The broker Eastdil Secured also did not provide a comment.

Hilton and the Parc 55 together have a net operating loss of $30 million this year.

Reay told SF Business Times that the recent loss was due to the hotel worker strikes, which usually take place in front of the hotel and cause people to cancel their reservations.

Hilton union hotel workers and other union hotel workers have been on strike for nearly two months to demand better pay and working conditions.

One striker outside the Hilton told The Epoch Times on Nov. 20 that the hotel is for sale and will be auctioned in July.

“The hotel wants to cut our medical benefits and wants to cut our pension, in a very expensive city where we cannot afford any cuts,” said Greg, who declined to provide his last name.

He said that after the hotel sells, the operations will not change and the workers will remain with the hotel.

“Hilton continues to manage these two properties under the Hilton Hotels & Resorts flag,” a Hilton spokesperson said in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times on Nov. 21. “We remain fully committed to welcoming guests with the quality service and hospitality experience they have come to enjoy.”

Reay said, “The issues that a buyer looking to convert will have to address is the fact that the hotel is Union and also they will need to work with the city planning to allow any conversion from commercial to housing.”