Coin washer keeps Westin St. Francis' change shiny
HOTEL INDUSTRY
Westin St. Francis, thought to be last hotel continuing tradition, has laundered every piece of change it has acquired since 1938
December 27, 2010|By Justin Berton, Chronicle Staff Writer
(12-30) 18:02 PST SAN FRANCISCO — In a small, windowless room in the bowels of the Westin St. Francis hotel on Union Square, Rob Holsen washes the hotel's money.
Every penny, nickel, dime and quarter.
Three times a week, Holsen soaps, rinses, dries and rolls money. He estimates that $1.5 million in spare change has passed through his hands in the past 20 years.
"That's a lot of pieces of money," Holsen said as he began a recent cleaning.
Since 1938, all the coins the St. Francis acquires through its cafe, restaurants and bars - all of it tarnished by the grime of the outside world - has made its way through the cleaning closet before it leaves the hotel bright and shiny.
It's believed the St. Francis is the only hotel to continue the practice, which started in the 1930s as a courtesy to guests.
"It's a connection to a different time," Holsen said as he rolled up his sleeves and tucked his tie into his dress shirt. "A connection to a more gentle time, when to go downtown was a big deal. Dress up, put on a hat and gloves, and go to Macy's."
Money washing at the St. Francis began in 1938 when hotelier Dan London noticed that coins dirtied a woman's white gloves.
"Coins were used to pay for lunch tabs," Holsen said, "tips, taxi rides, everything. It was rare to use a bill."
31 years of washing
Arnold Batliner was the most storied coin washer at the St. Francis. Batliner, a beloved employee who earned a day of recognition in his honor from Mayor Frank Jordan upon his retirement in 1993, held the position for 31 years. He passed on the craft to Holsen. Batliner died in 1995, but to this day, hotel employees still take a break on his birthday at 11 a.m. to celebrate with champagne and cake, Holsen said.
Inside the washing room, nicknamed "Arnold's Office," Holsen keeps a few of Batliner's personal items hanging above the drying table: his name badge, his eyeglasses and a toothbrush.
"Arnold probably washed $14 million in his time," Holsen said.
But change has changed with the times.
The St. Francis lobby once housed a bank of pay phones, and soda machines lined the floors. Now, with the soda machines long gone and pay phones obsolete, less pocket change enters the building.
Batliner ran the coin-washing operation full time. Holsen runs it about 10 hours a week.
Setting up the coin washer
The process begins when the general cashier sends racks of rolled coins to Holsen, who empties the change into a repurposed silver burnisher.
