Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 77
budgets New York and Los Angeles used to have. At the end of the
day, what most of us love about San Francisco is that groovy flavor, a
quirky and weird local hippie community where everybody knows
each other. I lived on the Filbert Steps on Napier Lane, where you
knew [everyone's] business. The more people jumped on planes,
which is how it's become in San Francisco, the less you got to know
your neighbors.
The campus for the Modern Elder Academy, Conley's
latest venture, is located in Baja California Sur, Mexico
KF: I remember going to the Phoenix-this old motel that was
fun, chic, and cool-when I first moved to San Francisco. I felt
like a better version of myself just by being there.
CC: That was Joie de Vivre's model: You are where you sleep.
We created 52 boutique hotels around California, 46 in Northern
California, each with its own brand identity and personality that
mirrored your aspirations for how you saw yourself. San Francisco's
hospitality heyday was in the '90s when Kimpton and Joie de Vivre
were starting out. Kimpton was more for conservative business
travelers, but we were weirder-our Hotel Tomo was based on
Japanese manga. There hasn't been a San Francisco hotelier like me
or Bill Kimpton, who created that pioneering approach.
KF: If you had one day in San Francisco, where would you go?
CC: I'd start the day at the Ferry Building. It's right across the street
from what used to be Joie de Vivre's Hotel Vitale. I'd go visit the
Exploratorium, which is perfect for both kids and adults, then walk
up the Filbert Steps and jaunt over to the Greenwich Steps. Next, I'll
check out the view at Coit Tower, then walk to North Beach because
it still has a weird Bohemian flair. I'd see if there's any opera singing
at Caffe Trieste, which sometimes happens on Saturday afternoons,
then sit on a bench in Washington Square Park and maybe read
a book. I'd go by the San Francisco Art Institute-I love its iconic
architecture. It's a private little place where, if I had a date, I'd take
them at night to make out and look at the view. Then I'd probably
walk down Columbus and check out some of the alleys to get the
flavor of Chinatown. That would take me to Union Square-it's
rather sad right now, but hopefully the storefronts will soon reopen.
Conley opened the Phoenix in 1987, transforming it into a 44-room,
pool-centered motor lodge in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood
A gathering at Modern Elder Academy,
the world's first midlife wisdom school
KF: You have a unique perspective having built a
gamechanging hospitality empire out of San Francisco.
What gives the city its enduring appeal?
CC: When I finished school in 1984, I made a conscious choice to
take a job in San Francisco because I'd come out. The city felt like
a comfortable place I could work as a Stanford MBA graduate-
who happens to be gay-in the macho commercial real estate
development business. Forty years ago, business school graduates
making lifestyle choices went to San Francisco, and those on career
paths went to New York or LA. San Francisco is the boom-bust
city of the U.S.-it encourages noble experiments, which is an
alternative way to look at failure. With the gold rush, rebuilding
after earthquakes and fires, the hippie movement, and the AIDS
epidemic, we've had our share of cultural and political movements
before tech started ruling the Bay Area. The city has always been a
pioneer. It's an intellectual and academic hotbed where people go
to rebel and be different-to be quirky and eccentric and try new
things-because it has an ecosystem where failure is okay. Mark
Twain said, 'The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,'
which, given his love for San Francisco, is very appropriate. The city
must remake itself again like the bird on the city flag, the phoenix
rising from the ashes. hd
hospitalitydesign.com November 2023
077
Photos courtesy of CHIP CONLEY
http://www.hospitalitydesign.com
Hospitality Design - November 2023
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - November 2023
from the editor
from the guest editor
people: saint joseph's arts foundation
a love letter to san francisco
memoir
the history of san francisco
ken's perfect day
retail roundup
hotel development
wine country
profile: the rug company
wallcoverings
bath
lighting
seating
project breakdown
mii amo
alder + ash
twelvemonth
sea ranch lodge
alpine hall
change agents
chip conley
yves béhar
tyler florence
shelley lindgren, amanda haas + lindsay kinder
lauren geremia
ramekon o’arwisters
michael + lindsay tusk
vincent medina + louis trevino
circe sher
laura crescimano
sam suleman
ad index
back space: kemper hyers
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - Cover1
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - Cover2
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 1
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 2
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 3
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 4
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 5
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - from the editor
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 7
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 8
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 9
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - from the guest editor
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 11
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 12
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 13
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - people: saint joseph's arts foundation
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 15
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 16
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - a love letter to san francisco
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - memoir
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 19
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 20
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 21
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 22
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 23
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 24
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 25
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 26
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 27
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 28
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 29
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - the history of san francisco
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 31
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - ken's perfect day
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 33
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 34
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 35
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 36
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 37
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - retail roundup
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 39
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 40
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 41
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - hotel development
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 43
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 44
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 45
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 46
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 47
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - wine country
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 49
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 50
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 51
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 52
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 53
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 54
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 55
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 56
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - profile: the rug company
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - wallcoverings
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 59
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - bath
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 61
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - lighting
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - seating
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 64
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - project breakdown
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - mii amo
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 67
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - alder + ash
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - twelvemonth
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - sea ranch lodge
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 71
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - alpine hall
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 73
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 74
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - change agents
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - chip conley
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 77
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - yves béhar
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 79
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - tyler florence
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 81
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 82
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - shelley lindgren, amanda haas + lindsay kinder
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - lauren geremia
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 85
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - ramekon o’arwisters
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 87
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - michael + lindsay tusk
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 89
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 90
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - vincent medina + louis trevino
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - circe sher
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 93
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - laura crescimano
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 95
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 96
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - sam suleman
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 98
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 99
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 100
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 101
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 102
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 103
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 104
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 105
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 106
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 107
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 108
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 109
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 110
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - ad index
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - back space: kemper hyers
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - Cover3
Hospitality Design - November 2023 - Cover4
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