Hotel market sleeps for 4 years, wakes up in Monaco. (Hotel Monaco)

San Francisco has added its first major hotel in more than four years, a sign that hotel development is awakening from its slumber.

The new Hotel Monaco, a 201-room hostelry on Geary Street, is unlikely to make a major dent in the city's stable of 29,000 first-class rooms, but the property's June 15 launch marks a turning point in the city's hospitality environment. The latest Kimpton Group property comes at a time when developers and operators are just beginning to dust off plans for new projects, on hold since the late 1980s.

"Strategically, this is a great time to open, because demand is up about 6 percent this year and we are approaching the busiest season," …