Hospitality Net: NYC hotels face latest COVID challenge December 27, 2021 Some 100 city hotels were forced to shut their doors due to the pandemic, and those that survived are now pushing to lower crushing property taxes, according to an industry group. Hotels were starting to bounce back in early December, as COVID-era travel restrictions began to lift, but the much-needed recovery hit a brick wall when the Omicron variant emerged and COVID cases in New York surged. Now hotels already fighting to stay afloat with crippled vacancy rates are contending with Big Apple property taxes that have soared 100% since 2008 and are double those of other major cities, one study found. “The industry was really hammered and it’s not going to be pleasant for the first quarter” because of increasing Omicron-fueled COVID cases, said Vijay Dandapani, the president of the Hotel Association of New York City, adding “at the same time we are being punitively taxed.”

Hospitality Net: NYC hotels face latest COVID challenge

December 27, 2021

Some 100 city hotels were forced to shut their doors due to the pandemic, and those that survived are now pushing to lower crushing property taxes, according to an industry group.

Hotels were starting to bounce back in early December, as COVID-era travel restrictions began to lift, but the much-needed recovery hit a brick wall when the Omicron variant emerged and COVID cases in New York surged.

Now hotels already fighting to stay afloat with crippled vacancy rates are contending with Big Apple property taxes that have soared 100% since 2008 and are double those of other major cities, one study found.

“The industry was really hammered and it’s not going to be pleasant for the first quarter” because of increasing Omicron-fueled COVID cases, said Vijay Dandapani, the president of the Hotel Association of New York City, adding “at the same time we are being punitively taxed.”