6sqft: With a tourism comeback expected in NYC, the Plaza sets reopening date
By Devon Gannon
April 27, 2021
A sign of New York City’s recovery, The Plaza Hotel will reopen next month after closing its doors to guests for over a year. The iconic Central Park South hotel announced it will open its luxury rooms again on May 20, about 14 months after it first suspended services due to the pandemic. “For the past year you’ve been asked to stay home, The Plaza is now extending its formal invitation to return to New York,” the hotel’s website reads.
Since 1907, the Plaza has hosted diplomats, world leaders, socialites, and A-listers in its luxurious guestrooms and suites, many of which boast Central Park views.
According to the Robb Report, the hotel’s Palm Court and Guerlain Spa will also reopen on May 20, but no return has been announced for the Champagne Bar, The Rose Club, or the Plaza Food Hall and the Todd English Food Hall.
Katara Hospitality, a subsidiary of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, acquired the property for $600 million in July 2018. Fairmont, of AccorHotels, currently manages the hotel.
With tourism at a standstill, the city’s hotel industry was hit extremely hard by the COVID pandemic, with a number of well-known hotels now closed, including the 96-year-old Roosevelt Hotel. According to a January report from the Hotel Association of New York, about 200 of the city’s 700 hotels had closed their doors since the start of the pandemic.
However, as the city continues to reopen, and with the mandatory quarantine for domestic travelers lifted, several high-end hotels have reopened or are in the process of doing so. The Pierre opened last September, The Carlyle opened last November, The Park Hyatt and Mandarin Oriental New York reopened on April 1, and The St.Regis and The Ritz-Carlton New York will open in June.
Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC & Company, the city’s tourism agency, announced a $30 million marketing campaign targeted at bringing back tourists to the Big Apple. NYC & Company predicts 36.4 million people will visit the city in 2021, recovering over 50 percent of the 66.6 million visitors in 2019. The agency also anticipates hosting 69.3 million visitors in 2024.
“As the ship turns toward tourism recovery, we’re pleased to present ‘NYC Reawakens’ as a call to action to encourage visitors and meetings delegates to plan and visit the five boroughs this year and experience the City’s unmatched energy, excitement and dynamism,” Fred Dixon, the president and CEO of NYC & Company, said in a press release.
“With a packed cultural calendar, world-class hotels, a new outdoor dining scene and so much more, visitors can experience the best of everything right here in New York City.”