When the hoteliers celebrated and honored their Hotel Heroes last week at the Hilton Union Square Hotel in San Francisco, all the who’s who in the city attended the festivity: San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, SFPD Chief Bill Scott and Deputy Chief David Lazar, City Attorney David Chiu, SF Chamber of Commerce CEO Rodney Fong, SF Travel CEO Joe D’Alessandro and Union Square Alliance CEO Marisa Rodriguez. The Hotel Heroes Awards celebration was orchestrated by the Hotel Council of San Francisco as the filled to the capacity crowd applauded and recognized the outstanding hospitality industry employees for their unwavering dedication, exemplary guest service, leadership and teamwork. And nobody does it better than the Hotel Council of San Francisco under the enthusiastic and encouraging leadership of its President Alex Bastian: “San Francisco is bouncing back, strong and tourism is leading the way with our industry’s finest at the helm.”
Hospitality is a worldwide industry which has become one of the biggest employers in the world as well as in California. Its vast hoteliers community including the winners of the Hotel Heroes Awards make San Francisco a great place to work and visit. The winners reflect their hotel’s superb training in a wide range of skills needed in order to strive for their hotel’s 5-Stars status as well as establishing the hotel’s guests as their repeat guests.
“Special Recognition:
Chip Conley, the founder of the “Hotel Heroes Awards” 20 years ago.
“Rising Star” Finalists:
* Tiffany Wu, Fairmont San Francisco
* Joshua Gutierrez, The W San Francisco
* Deysa Salinas, Argonaut Hotel
* Bryan Paige, Hotel Nikko
* Joey Tran, Galleria Park Hotel – Winner
“Unsung Hero” Finalists:( 300 Rooms or Less)
* Alex Miguel Molina, Taj Campton Place
* Jeffrey Suarez, Presidio Lodging
* Chen-Chih Lin, St. Regis Hotel – Winner
* Lin Zhu, Axiom Hotel
* Haroldo Lopez, Galleria Park Hotel
“Unsung Hero” Finalists:
(301 Rooms or More)
* Jonathan Ngo, Hotel Nikko
* Michael Wilson, Parc 55 Hotel – Winner
* Eddy Monge, Hilton Union Square
* Leif Abram, Beacon Grand Hotel
* Jojo Capuchino, The Ritz-Carlton
“Beyond the Call of Duty” Finalists:
(300 Rooms or Less)
* Binh Thai, Taj Campton Place
* Araceli Alvarado, Harbor Court Hotel
* Yuko Okumoto, Four Seasons San Francisco – Winner
* Pilar Hernandez, Galleria Park Hotel
* Ryan Koecke, Argonaut Hotel
“Beyond the Call of Duty” Finalists:
(301 Rooms or More)
* Salvador Sorro, Mark Hopkins Hotel
* Ken Murray, Handlery Union Square Hotel
* Elton Thanh, Hilton Union Square Hotel
* Luis Enriquez, Hotel Nikko
*Warner Lewin” Lifetime Achievement Operations and Department Managers Finalists:
Rosario Bonilla, Hotel Zoa
Mario Ruano, Mark Hopkins Hotel
Brigido Alegre, The Westin St. Francis
Oscar Cruz, Hilton Union Square Hotel, Winner
Simon Hu, Parc 55 Hotel
Naushad Alam, The Westin St. Francis
Leon Demmon, Parc 55 Hotel
Jeremy Tanaka, Hotel Kabuki, Hyatt Hotel
Edelvia Salic, Galleria Park Hotel
Bob Begley Lifetime Achievement Hotel Executive Finalists
Roger Huldi, St. Regis Hotel
Community Spirit Finalists:
Sustainability Finalists:
Rodney Fong, SF Chamber of Commerce;
Joe D’ Allessandro, SF Travel; Peter Gomez, Visit Oakland; Kenneth Bukowski, Moscone Center; Marisa Rodriguez, Union Square Alliance
Emcee for the evening was award winning KTVU reporter and anchor Christien Kafton.
Sponsors for this year’s Hotel Heroes Awards included: United Airlines, Big Bus, Visit California, SF Travel, San Francisco Parks & Rec, HD Supply, Alto Rideshare and RNDC.
“The Hotel Heroes Awards celebrate and recognize our industry’s exceptional members and hotels. Awards are presented to dedicated individuals who define hospitality with their generosity of spirit and devotion to their hotels and guests. The Hotel Council membership roster includes over 250 hotels, businesses and partner organizations.”
– Alex Bastian, President and CEO
The Hotel Council
323 Geary Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-391-5197
Photos courtesy of Roy Manzanares
