Hotelier Writes Off San Francisco, Citing ‘Major Challenges’
Summary
Park Hotel stopped making payments on a $725 million loan tied to the Hilton Union Square and Parc 55, the real estate investment trust said on Monday. The hotels, a few blocks from the once-bustling Moscone Center conference hall, have a combined total of nearly 3,000 rooms. A slowing economy and a remote-work thunderclap have emptied offices across the country, with some warning of a ticking bomb in the commercial real estate market. Slammed by a wave of layoffs in the tech industry and a steep slowdown in Moscone’s conference calendar, downtown San Francisco has been hit hard. “Now more than ever, we believe San Francisco’s path to recovery remains clouded and elongated by major challenges” that will reduce demand for business and leisure travel, said Thomas J. Baltimore Jr., the chief executive of Park Hotels & Resorts.