Oakland hotels suffered steep declines after the COVID-19 shutdown, with recovery lagging amid inflation and competition from short-term rentals like Airbnb. City-specific problems and negative headlines further suppressed tourism. Several properties were repurposed for homeless housing, while others closed or faced foreclosure. The Oakland Marriott City Center, a 1983 property linked to the Convention Center, experienced owner default and foreclosure seizure by creditor Invesco at roughly half the prior purchase price, alongside worker protests over contract negotiations. The hotel remains a major downtown asset located steps from BART, and new general manager Kevin Boland plans to address operational challenges to sustain convention and leisure business.
Others have simply closed (the Waterfront Hotel, the Hilton airport hotel) or been foreclosed (the Residence Inn/AC Hotel downtown). Perhaps the most high-profile case was the Oakland Marriott City Center, which opened in 1983. Its former owner, Hong Kong-based Gaw Capital, defaulted on its property loan earlier this year. Creditor Invesco seized the property at a foreclosure auction for half the purchase price Gaw spent in 2017. Meanwhile, workers protested last fall over stalled contract negotiations.
We spoke with the hotel's brand-new general manager, Kevin Boland, who's also vice chair of Visit Oakland. Boland has worked in the hospitality industry for over two decades, including managing hotels in Chicago and San Francisco. This is his first job in Oakland. He talked to us about the challenges he and his peers are facing, and his plans for sustaining a central travel destination in downtown Oakland despite the headwinds.
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