The Real Deal: NoMad hotel market set for 25% property boost
June 2, 2022 1:15 PM
NoMad is slated for the debuts of several new hotels that could bring a business boost to the area not accustomed to large amounts of tourists.
Six hotels are expected to open in the neighborhood by the end of this year, Crain’s reported, raising the area’s stock of properties 25 percent.
The Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad is scheduled to open next month. General manager Bastian Germer told Craiin’s he expected to be fully booked at rates starting at $1,100 a night from Labor Day to the end of the year.
The other hotels coming to the neighborhood this year include the Ned NoMad (replacing the NoMad Hotel), the Virgin Hotel, Hotel AKA NoMad, Le Meridien and the Fifth Avenue Hotel.
NoMad is slated for the debuts of several new hotels that could bring a business boost to the area not accustomed to large amounts of tourists.The NoMad Hotel serves as an example of the turnaround for the sector in the neighborhood. In May, billionaire investor Ron Burkle and hotelier Andrew Zobler were facing foreclosure on the trendy hotel at 1170 Broadway, marking the second time they faced foreclosure on the property.
By the end of the year, however, Safehold purchased the ground lease at the property for $77 million. Last month, Soho House announced The Ned would be opening at the property. The 12-story building will include a members club, restaurants and 167 rooms across 10 stories.
There are a number of attractions hoping to bring in tourists to the neighborhood, which sits downtown from tourist mainstays like the Empire State Building and Times Square. The Harry Potter store is one such destination, buzzing with aspiring wizards since it opened a year ago. The neighborhood also has the flagship Milk Bar bakery, the Lego Store, Eataly and Madison Square Park.
Still, the city’s hotel industry is struggling to recover from the pandemic, which limited travel, stunted occupancy and set off a wave of closures across the city. The Hotel Association of New York City reportedly pitched the City Council to consider a steep cut to the occupancy tax rate on hotel stays in an effort to boost visits.
The association pushed the City Council and Mayor Eric Adams to slash the rate to below 3 percent, about half of the current rate of 5.9 percent. Last summer, the occupancy tax rate was temporarily suspended for several months over the summer.