Magician in San Francisco

San Francisco is a fly-in, and the two-hour time change works in my favour on the way out. I still land the night before anything that matters, because a delay into the Bay Area is not a rare event.

The city itself is small and walkable, so once I am there a change of venue is not a problem. The Peninsula is effectively a separate trip. Travel is built into the package or itemised on your quote, agreed before anything is booked.

What gets booked in San Francisco

The corporate year here has hard peaks. January brings the healthcare investment week around Union Square, when every hotel is full and companies run private dinners and suite receptions alongside it. Sales kickoffs follow in late January and February, then conference season at Moscone, then customer events and launches through the autumn.

These are rarely hotel ballrooms. More often it is a restaurant buyout or a rented loft, close-up rather than a stage, and the guest list is smaller and more senior than the budget would suggest.

Getting there

A fly-in date from Milwaukee. Flights and time on the ground are either built into the package or shown as a separate line on your quote, agreed before anything is booked — never added afterwards.

Also covered nearby: Oakland, Berkeley, Daly City, South San Francisco, San Mateo, Sausalito.