The Sheraton LaGuardia East in Flushing used to buzz with hundreds of tourists, business travelers, conference-goers and banquet attendees. The 173-room hotel operated at 80 to 90 percent capacity most days, with 180 employees welcoming guests at the front desk, cleaning rooms, preparing food and catering large gatherings.

Confessione Reporter (Italy): The solitude of New York at

A big television and radio ad campaign started Wednesday from the city’s struggling hotel industry.

85% of hotels, in New York, closed on March 22, 2020, the day after the announcement of the pause order, which included travel restrictions within the state. The New York Hotel Association highlights the challenges for this industry whose situation, it estimates, has caused at least 25,000 jobless rates and to date it sees few options for recovery. Laura Sepúlveda, correspondent for the Voice of America, spoke with the president of the Association.

The Real Deal reports that the owner of the Soho Grand and The Roxy hotels is handing over the keys to both hotels to the lender, according to notes on the hotels’ securitized loan. I don’t think I need to emphasize that this is bad news for the neighborhood. Both hotels have been fixtures here for more than two decades, creating some buzz but more importantly, adding life and light to the streetscape.

The corona pandemic is having a drastic impact on the hotel industry in New York.

Struggling New York City hotels want Mayor Bill de Blasio to forgive the 18% interest they must pay when they are late on their property-tax bills.

Before leaving office, Mayor de Blasio is determined to prove he’s an “honest politician” — that is, one who stays bought. And nothing makes the case like his push to protect the hotel-workers’ union, despite the devastating blow it would deal the city’s economy.