Luques Restaurant & Bar Participates in the San Francisco Chamber's Expo After Hours Event

2009 Business After Hours Fall Expo
On Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 from 5:30-8:30 pm
at The Westin St. Francis on Union Square, we participated in the Fall Expo put on by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce to showcase Luques Restaurant & Bar.

The Expo is one of the largest networking events of the year put on by the Chamber. The exciting event featured over 150 exhibitors including Chamber members, non-profits, small business resource partners, as well as catered hors d’oeuvres from several exceptional local restaurants, including us, with complimentary tastings from 15 wineries and live music.

We served our very popular Thai Shrimp Salad with Chile Lime Dressing and it was a big hit. We received many compliments and hopefully left a lasting impression on hundreds of potential customers. Here are a few shots from the event:

It is starting to look a lot like Christmas...

Macy*s gift to the City, the Christmas Tree in Union Square, is being put up and decorated, the palm trees on each corner of the Square are lit and the Ice Skating Rink is up and running.



We are proud to be one of the sponsors for the Ice Skating Rink and are offering a great skating deal. Our guests can add ice skating for two people to their room bill for only $15 plus tax including skate rental. Regular price for skating is $9-$9.50 per person plus the $4.00 skate rental. That is almost 50% off!

Ice skating is available until January 18, 2010. For more information, see the website: http://www.unionsquareicerink.com/



The Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will be November 27th at 6:00pm.

Picture from the roof of the Chancellor Hotel

Don't Get Held Up at Hotels - By the USAToday

We are having a heck of time with people complaining about authorization holds on debit cards these days. Using a debit card for travel is a terrible way to go. As I have traveled around, I have noticed very large signs advising guests about the authorization holds at Hilton Hotels, Hyatt Hotels and more. However, we constantly are told that "I have never experienced this before..." I was in the Hotel Rex, part of the JDV Hospitality Hotel Group, right around the corner, the other day and they have a sign right at their front desk. USA Today printed the article below a year ago, but it seems to be taking a long time for the travelling public to get educated on this one. The problem for us is that there is no way to tell a debit card from a credit card unless you read the small print on the card. However, the computer processing does not know the difference. Well, here the article again in my simple attempt to help educate the traveling public:

DON'T GET HELD UP AT HOTELS == To avoid trouble when using cards at hotels:Use a credit card. Unless you're up against your credit limit, a hold won't affect your ability to charge more. A hold on a debit card is like you've written a check; that money isn't available until the hold is lifted, and that could take a week.Know when you will be billed. Some lodgings, particularly in vacation destinations, charge for one or more nights when you make your reservation. You may be paying for the room before you sleep in it.Ask what the hotel plans to do. Will it put a hold for a certain amount for incidentals on the card you present at check-in or merely keep a card imprint until you check out? If you're using a debit card, make sure you have extra money in your account to cover holds.To see when a hold is released, contact the bank that issued your card. Occasionally, you may have to push a hotel to lift a hold as soon as possible.
Source: USA TODAY research

Pre Authorizations can be done by gas stations and car rental agencies as well as others. A weeks vacation going from hotel to hotel could rack up a lot of holds.