True NYC hotel occupancy is 10% Claims CEO of Hotel Association of NYC

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I read a startling article on Al Jazeera this past week with a quote from the CEO of the Hotel Association of NYC claiming that the real occupancy rate of NYC hotels was less than 10%. That stat took my breath away. With over 200 of the 700 hotels in New York City still closed, and as many as 20% of the rooms speculated to permanently shutter, the occupancy drop is just flat out staggering.

The average room cost has plummeted from $336 to $135. Services, at hotels like The Pierre, have been slashed. Industry insiders claim that reports from the likes of Statista which assert occupancy levels are near 40% are false, and are simply inflated because many hotels have just stopped reporting data.

I lived in NYC, got engaged in NYC, absolutely love it, and have pined after staying at some of the most famous and influential properties that call the city home. It saddens me to hear that 870k jobs are in jeopardy, that properties are closing down left and right, and right now, I don’t really think there is an end in sight.

Lockdowns have, without a doubt, inflicted massive pain to the city. Reports abound of people fleeing, and many of my friends who once called the city home, have left. In fact, I believe I only have a couple of the 15-20 friends that lived in the city still call one of the 5 boroughs home.

Perhaps, next spring, when things have settled down, I will make my way back through the city. Hopefully, many of the hotels I would love to stay at will continue to offer massive discounts: The Pierre, Sherry-Netherland, The Carlyle, Four Seasons, The Greenwich, Crosby Street, Park Hyatt, etc.