NEW YORK, NY – With shock waves still emanating from the September closure of the iconic 44-story Hilton Times Square Hotel, hospitality professionals in the Big Apple are examining their own bottom lines which continue to be hurt by a virus-driven lean tourist season.
A report from CNBC.com detailed hotelier’s woes, including a recent move by Ashford Hospitality to “hand over the keys to its recently purchased Embassy Suites in Midtown West to its lender” after the real estate investment trust fell behind in debt payments. The article from reporter Seema Mody declared that “more than 34%” of hotels in New York City alone are currently delinquent.”
Glenn Haussman, president of Rouse Media and host of the No Vacancy podcast, has tracked the closures, telling HX: The News that “NYC is hurt badly right now, and we’re seeing a bunch of permanent hotel closures, including the 100-year-old Roosevelt hotel” which is scheduled to shut its doors by the end of the year.
“I think that nationally we have for the most part hit the bottom—hopefully and assuming that something terrible doesn’t happen again,” Haussman says. “As we speak, we are spiking again with the [virus] numbers. But I’m kind of feel like the dye has been cast. People are going to do what they’re going to do. There are companies hiring for jobs out there, not because there is huge demand, but they’re calling back people who used to work there and maybe now they have new jobs.”
As to the prospects of business travel coming back, Haussman is unequivocal. “It will definitely come back,” he says. “People said that in 2001 we’d never get good rates again. People said in 2009 that it was the peak and it’s never going to get better. People will travel again. We want to travel as a culture. Our population will continue to expand over time. It’ll be fine one day—not next year. I’m thinking more like five years.”
View from Times Square
HX: The News chatted with Christian Brosius, general manager of the The Moxy Times Square back in July, and fortunately things have improved in the months since that interview. Not surprisingly, rates are relatively flat, and Brosius does not anticipate significant improvement, particularly with the “new” demographic settling in.
“It’s a lot of locals traveling and a lot of weekend getaways from the tri-state area that we’re catering to,” Brosius says. “I think we’ve figured out a way to cater to those guests and create an experience for them in the sense that we can provide a clean accommodation in a very central location. I think we’re getting our fair share of the business that’s out there. There is just unfortunately still very little business out there overall…There is no reason to jump for joy, but it definitely has improved from July to now.”
Brosius credits a great location, as well as an affiliation with the Marriott brand—particularly the company’s “commitment to clean”—which has given people a sense of comfort. “It’s a lot harder for an independent hotel,” he says. “There’s more trust in an international brand…We’ve also had parking packages, a green package where you get a discount if you come in by train. Sixty percent of our bookings come through OTAs, and it’s a price and location decision.”
Brosius hopes to be a “bit more optimistic for December,” which traditionally is a very strong month in New York, but he concedes, “We just don’t know. Staffing levels depend on what is to come, and at this point it just doesn’t look that great…I think it’s going to be tough until April 2021. When we come out of this pandemic, I believe there’s going to be a lot of pent-up demand for leisure travel. I am very cautious around corporate travel, and I don’t know when that will return and to what levels.”