Supervisors press city on hotel shelter program as departments cite staffing, contract and testing issues

The Government Audit & Oversight Committee on April 30 heard a multi‑department update on San Francisco’s hotel program to house people who are COVID‑19 positive or vulnerable, and to provide rooms for first responders. The hearing highlighted progress in acquisition and persistent operational issues, particularly staffing, contract terms and unused first‑responder rooms.

Dan Kaplan of the Human Services Agency said the city is operating three categories of hotel use: isolation and quarantine (I&Q) for people who are infected or under investigation, shelter‑in‑place (SIP) for vulnerable people experiencing homelessness or living in congregate settings, and first‑responder lodging. "We have 11 hotel sites active," Kaplan said, and reported rapidly scaling site acquisition, with additional hotels under contract and others in active negotiation. He told the committee the program is adding rooms at an approximate pace of 500 per week and is coordinating with Project Roomkey for state funding support.

Supervisors pressed HSA and DHR about the business terms and costs of early first‑responder deals. Supervisor Aaron Peskin pointed to a high vacancy rate in first‑responder hotels and estimated daily costs for unused rooms, urging HSA to renegotiate or repurpose underused contracts; HSA said it would convene immediate review and consider repurposing first‑responder space for SIP or I&Q uses. "We have a meeting scheduled this afternoon to discuss our next steps on first responders," Dan Kaplan said in response to supervisors.

Staffing was a central focus. Department of Human Resources and HSH officials described the city’s deployment of disaster service workers (DSWs) to serve as site monitors (two‑week deployments) and training and PPE protocols for staff. Director Callahan Andrews (DHR) said about 575 DSWs were deployed daily across the city and roughly 225 were stationed at hotels on a typical day, but added that long‑term staffing will require nonprofit partnerships and contracted site monitors. HSH described philanthropic and Goodwill partnerships to recruit and backfill nonprofit staff, and said it is piloting a provider‑referral process in the Tenderloin to reach unsheltered vulnerable people.

Public‑health officials said testing and low‑threshold access to CityTestSF are available for frontline staff and guests. Dr. Deborah Bourne (DPH) described outreach and testing for single‑room occupancy buildings (SROs) and said that I&Q placements include people discharged from hospitals who cannot safely isolate at home.

Union and community callers urged clearer plans for PPE, testing and staffing: a coalition of unions asked for unified communications and adequate staffing levels before hotels are staffed long term. Departments committed to follow‑up: HSA will review first‑responder contracts, HSH will continue nonprofit recruitment and provider referrals, DHR will continue DSW sourcing and training, and DPH will expand testing access.

The committee did not take final action. Member Matt Haney moved to continue the item to the call of the chair so departments could return with answers to outstanding contracting, staffing and operational questions.

Why it matters: The hotel program is a core element of the city’s COVID‑19 response for vulnerable residents and an expensive, fast‑moving set of contracts. Supervisors stressed the need to reduce wasted capacity, ensure staff safety and align contract terms with the city’s evolving sheltering objectives.