Glitzy hotel whose 2021 opening was supposed to herald rebirth of crime-ridden hellhole city will CLOSE less than five years later
A glamorous hotel whose 2021 opening was meant to revitalize Oakland's notoriously rough downtown is set to close less than five years on.
The Moxy Hotel at 2225 Telegraph Ave has shuttered its trendy bar and stopped accepting new reservations, per the San Francisco Standard, as it prepares to shut down.
'[The hotel was] a victim of wrong place and wrong time, considering how much positive momentum Oakland had prior to the pandemic, Louis Thibault, market intelligence manager at Avison Young, told the outlet.
The hotel’s website shows every future date as unavailable, with a tiny message: 'Not available for check-in.'
Moxy is owned by Marriott and is known for offering cheap but stylish accommodation in fashionable, up-and-coming cities like Berlin and Brooklyn.
Its arrival in the city seemed to herald a new start for Oakland which has long been a byword for violent crime, vagrancy and progressive politics run amok.
But the city has struggled to recover from the crime and homelessness epidemic worsened by the COVID pandemic.
Oakland's new mayor Barbara Lee is trying to undo the chaos wrought by her woke predecessor Sheng Thao and ultra-progressive former district attorney Pamela Price.
Sadly, she has not been able to turn Oakland around in time to save the Moxy.
The Moxy Hotel, part of the Marriott chain, opened with fanfare in 2021 but is now reportedly set to close less than five years after its debut, surprising locals and travelers alike
The California hotel has reportedly shuttered its vibrant, youthful bar and paused all new reservations, leaving guests and locals wondering what’s next
Resident organizes his belongings at a homeless encampment along Leet Drive off Hegenberger Road in Oakland
The 172-room hotel showed signs of financial trouble last August when its operators couldn't pay back a $35 million loan from Acore Capital Mortgage.
In September, Michelle Russo, founder and CEO of hotelAVE, took over management of the hotel, guiding it for upscale sales.
The hotel didn't pay almost $102,000 in property taxes back in November, so a lien was issued, the outlet reported.
The Moxy quietly froze all bookings, fueling speculation among curious locals.
'Unfortunately, with the rising vacancies and Oakland’s standing, at times, as a San Francisco spillover office market, it looks like Moxy was unable to survive,' Thibault told the outlet.
Oakland’s national reputation for crime may have cut down on tourism. According to city data, tourism spending ticked down from $617 million in 2023 to $583 million in 2024.
US News & World Report labeled Oakland as the second most dangerous place in the country, in a report back in August.
The report ranked cities by looking at their murder and property crime rates per 100,000 residents, according to FBI data.
The young trendy Moxy bar, decorated with bright colors and hip artwork, has reportedly closed
Abandoned vehicles near the former Wood Street homeless encampment in West Oakland, California
Longtime resident, outside her shelter at the former Wood Street homeless encampment in West Oakland, California
Moxy Oakland Uptown hotel on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, a contemporary mid‑rise building with a colorful sign and modern facade
Shocking footage has emerged showing a gigantic 'shantytown' that has sprung up in Oakland, as the California city's slide into crime-ravaged squalor continues
In 2023, one in every 30 Oakland residents had their car stolen, with 15,000 vehicles pilfered over the course of that year.
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee's office made a statement, explaining the city was seeing a 28 percent decrease in violent crime and overall drop in crime by 31 percent.
They added that they're strengthening the department of violence prevention and their ceasefire program to target gun violence.
The number of employees affected by the closure is still unknown. A former Moxy staffer, who spoke anonymously to the outlet, said the shutdown 'comes as no surprise,' because the hotel opened during 'a time of uncertainty.'
The Daily Mail reached out to Marriott hotels for comment.
