The sprawling Marriott Hotel in San Mateo will likely shut its doors this spring, as the owner, software giant Oracle, decides to scale back on its real estate investments.
The Austin, Texas-based firm, previously headquartered in Redwood City, purchased the property in 2016 for roughly $130 million, using the hotel not just as an investment asset but leveraging its approximately 32,000 square feet of meeting space to conduct corporate events and employee trainings. The hotel — located along the intersection of South Amphlett Boulevard and Concar Drive — also boasts more than 400 hotel rooms and the Craft/Code Kitchen and bar.
“I understand that businesses need to make hard decisions, and that hotel is not part of Oracle’s core business. At the same time, it doesn’t take away from the fact that there will be impacts for the visitors that have enjoyed staying there, and it will impact the employees who work there,” said Erica Wood, president and CEO of the San Mateo Chamber of Commerce.
She added San Mateo may see revenue impacts from the closure, specifically from transient occupancy taxes. The city had also benefited from a one-time property tax transfer of more than $1 million around the time of purchase.
The future of the property is yet to be determined, but John Hutar, president and CEO of The San Francisco Peninsula, a regional convention and visitors’ bureau, said it remains an attractive piece of real estate.
“As a hotel, it’s a very viable site. It may not fit in the current owner’s strategic plan, but I would be very surprised if there wasn’t a long line of folks interested to take a look at that,” Hutar said.
While employers are increasingly mandating back-to-office work policies, remote and hybrid work still remains prevalent, which partially explains why hotel bookings haven’t made a full recovery since the pandemic, especially those related to business travel and conferences. While the struggle to reach pre-pandemic occupancy rates has been felt nationwide, Wood said the loss of such a venue, which has 19 event rooms and 18 breakout rooms according to its website, is particularly impactful in San Mateo.
“When I think of the city of San Mateo compared to other jurisdictions, the Marriott was a real asset. We don’t have a lot of hotels here of that size and that offer different conference space, event space, meeting space and amenities,” she said.
But Hutar noted the area’s 80% post-pandemic recovery signals an upward trend in the coming years. He added the business model since the pandemic has also changed, which has worked to Marriott’s advantage.
“Prior to the pandemic, hotels could fill up handsomely with a lot of corporate business,” Hutar said. “With that being absent now, they are booking more groups, and hotels like the San Mateo Marriott are beloved in the meeting planner community. They have a lot of space, and they have a lot of guest rooms that can support that space for attendees to stay over.”
Oracle did not respond to requests for comment.
(2) comments
So where are the calls to turn this into a homeless hotel? It has easy freeway access where when folks are stuck in traffic, they can see how the experiment is working out. My prediction… the land will be sold and they’ll embark on another Bay Meadows (?) project one exit south. Mostly housing but some commercial. And they’ll raise the affordable housing income limit to $300,000 which still effectively makes housing unaffordable for those who truly need affordable housing. Any other predictions?
Until a new owner and operator are found San Mateo should suspend its 180 day limit on short term rentals.
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