The East Bay Business Times serves the East Bay of San Francisco, including San Ramon and Pleasanton. On a long-term assignment in a strange city, staying in a hotel can be expensive and rather impersonal for most business travelers. As a former hotel manager himself, Robert Dahl sees a big difference between spending weeks or even months in an antiseptic hotel room vs. an extended stay in a fully furnished and well-stocked apartment or home. Previously, he served as manager of the Sheraton Concord Hotel from 1995 to 1998. They open a lock box, walk through the door and everything is there for them.
Maid service is available, as are laundry facilities.
We even give them a welcome basket when they arrive. Dahl said Oakwood's business has doubled during the past year alone. But our next largest group are consultants working on long-term projects. Particularly in places like the Bay Area, we have high-tech companies bringing in lots of new and temporary employees from all over the world. Length of stays at one of Oakwood's units averages between 70 and 80 days, but many stay up to six months to a year or more, Dahl said.