New York Post: NYC faces crisis of empty hotels amid COVID pandemic
By Mary K. Jacobs
March 9, 2021
The hotel industry in New York City has taken a major hit amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and is in desperate need of saving.
Recently, seven hotels have been forced to go into foreclosure and were placed up for auction.
Mack Real Estate stepped in and won the auction at a grand discount. The developer reportedly paid less than 40 percent of the portfolio’s 2016 value of $816.3 million for the properties, all of which are located in Manhattan, according to the Real Deal.
The seven hotels are from a variety of neighborhoods including Times Square, Chelsea, Herald Square and the Financial District, operating under the Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn and Candlewood Suites brands.
The properties are located at 116 W. 31st St., 108 W. 24th St., 337 W. 39th St., 339 W. 39th St., 343 W. 39th St., 51 Nassau St. and 126 Water St.
It is unclear what will become of the hotels following the purchase. Mack Real Estate has declined The Post’s request for comment.
At the start of 2021, NYC hoteliers called upon Mayor Bill de Blasio to help them deal with their financial plight by suspending all interest payments on real estate tax debt until the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end and tourists are once again visiting the Big Apple.
Up to 200 of the city’s 700 hotels have shuttered due to the ongoing crisis, according to the Hotel Association of New York City, including the famous Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown over the summer.
Last August, five months after the first COVID-19 case was reported in New York, the city’s hotel industry accrued a ton of debt — and none of it was getting paid.
Specifically, $1.47 billion worth of commercial mortgage-backed securities loans on hotels remain outstanding, Crain’s reported. This has created a pile-up of delinquent mortgage payments, causing the largest wave of hotel debt in the county.
The New York market’s delinquency rate is now at nearly 40 percent, compared to 1 percent nationally.
A Holiday Inn Express is Manhattan is also struggling amid the pandemic.