If you are looking for a hotel room in New York City, you shouldn't have any problem. Next year, it will be even easier again as more hotels are slated to open in the Big Apple.
NEW HOTELS
According to Smith Travel Research, 46 new hotels will have opened in New York before the end of this year. The NYC hotel industry is booming with Manhattan in May having occupancy rates of more than ninety per cent. Occupancy rates haven't been that high in Manhattan since 2004 when they came in at eighty-five percent.
CORPORATE TRAVELER
Actually, corporate travelers are creating part of the boom in the industry. Could that be a sign of a rising economy or just business people travelling further to get business? It will remain to see how that connection plays out in the long run.
As well, New York's hotel figures are often way ahead of other US locations. Let's consider how big a player New York is in the hotel business. Almost one hundred hotels will open this year in major cities across the US and we know that 46/100 will be centered in New York.
CONTINUED GROWTH
The growth in the industry is expected to continue into next year. Observers don't expect tourists to stop coming to New York any time in the near future. So with all those new hotels on the horizon, it is a good time to find a hotel room in New York City. In fact, it is a great time to buy a hotel in New York City.
Despite the talk of big business in New York hotels, the economy is coming out of a slump and, sadly, some did go down with the ship – or go almost underwater. Some fancy hotels are now going for a song – an expensive tune, in most people's eyes – but investors hear the music.
SOLD
The 16-storey, 300,000 sq ft Knickerbocker Hotel (1466 Broadway), built in 1908 by John Jacob Aster, sold for $180, 500,000. In March, Istithmar World Capital, a branch of Dubai World, defaulted on the $300 million mortgage. And, like me, most of you missed out on bidding for the "W New York - The Court" and "W New York – Tuscany." St. Giles Hotel picked up the two midtown Manhattan hotels for $78 million ($243,750 per room).
DON'T WORRY
No need to worry though as you still have lots of chances to buy a NYC hotel. Besides the luxury towers for sale, there are many more affordable hotels on the market. If hotel owners want to raise capital, they recognize that now is the perfect time to sell a New York City hotel. So in NYC hotels, it is a favorable market for buyers and sellers.
REALITY BECKONS
Of course, not everyone is overjoyed with this scenario. Many people hate to see the historic hotels (like the buildings in the Knickerbocker era) from 'America's Gilded Age' going for small change – well, not exactly, small change. Yet some romantics sigh at the change as glamour makes way for reality. Well, of course, the upscale New York City hotels are not really about reality - at least not most people's reality.
Are You In The Market For A NYC Hotel?