Nicole Palacios, a former front-desk employee at the Park Lane New York, is dressed elegantly in a black pantsuit. She is headed to her first job interview at another hotel since being laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 45-year-old has held off on pursuing other job opportunities in the hopes that she would return to work at the Park Lane. “I’m just tired of this roller coaster ride.” she said.

The New York City Hotel industry continues to struggle because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Hotel Association of New York City says the occupancy is at 51 percent compared to 90 percent pre pandemic. About 140 hotels remain closed. President of the Hotel Association Vijay Dandapani thinks the US easing COVID international travel restrictions November 8th will help but it won’t be enough.

Early in October, HANYC (the Hotel Association of New York City) filed a lawsuit in federal district court in a bid to strike down a New York City law that requires shuttered hotels to open by November 1, 2021, with 25% of the pre-pandemic workforce or pay US$500 a week in “severance pay” for 30 weeks to every person employed in the hotel in March 2020.

A proposal to require all newly built hotels to secure a special permit is one step closer to becoming law in New York City.

On November 8 international travelers will be eligible to return.

A proposal to require all newly built hotels to secure a special permit is one step closer to becoming law in New York City. 

Though New York has been scrambling to get back on its feet in recent months following the pandemic, some areas continue to suffer, such as the hospitality industry.

Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law a requirement that New York City hotels pay their non-managerial employees $500 in severance pay every week, for each week after October 11, 2021 that the employees remain laid off.