World Today News: New York is losing a third of its hotel rooms due to Corona: day pass
February 8, 2021
The corona pandemic is having a drastic impact on the hotel industry in New York.
According to data from the Department of City Planning, 146 hotels with around 42,000 rooms have already been closed. This corresponds to about a third of all hotel rooms in the city, like the one now The New York Post tabloid has calculated. According to analysis, the industry will not be able to fully recover from this until 2025.
The boss of New York City Hotel Association said the industry depression is worse than the city officially portrayed: “We have hotels that close every day,” said Vijay Dandapani. The city’s numbers, however, were based on outdated tax data. Many hotels in the city are facing a huge liquidity crisis and are therefore unable to pay tax debts and mortgage payments
The association has launched a campaign to support the hoteliers. This should convince Mayor Bill de Blasio to waive or reduce the interest penalty for hotels that cannot pay their property tax bills.
Meanwhile, the administration continues to work on an amendment to the city’s land use law. This would make it necessary for all newly planned hotels to undergo a land use test in order to receive a special permit for operation. In light of the crisis in the hotel industry, changing zoning is a big problem, said Dandapani: “I don’t know who in their right mind is currently opening a new hotel in the city,” said the head of the Hotel Association.
The measure, however, is supported by the Hotel Trades Council (HTC). The mayor is also convinced: “We have so much development in our city and some species have a disproportionate impact on communities. When a hotel is built it means a lot more activity, more traffic, more people staying in the hotel. That has different effects than a residential building, for example,” said de Blasio.