The hotels’ decisions come shortly after the City Council passed a bill requiring hotels with 100 or more employees, at least 75% of whom remain unemployed, to provide workers with severance payments of $500 per week for 30 weeks. Rich Maroko, president of the Hotel Trades Council, credited the passage of the bill with helping persuade Hilton and Hyatt to reopen.
“Having struggled through months of unemployment due to Covid, it’s incredibly gratifying to see the passage of legislation we supported encourage major hotels to reopen and help get our members back to work,” Maroko said.
Hilton confirmed that it plans to reopen its Sixth Avenue location Oct. 4 but declined to specify how many workers it would bring back and whether the council bill played a role in its decision. Hyatt Area Vice President Peter Roth said the hotel's Nov. 1 reopening was based on factors including an increase in demand and "recent legislative action" by the City Council.
"In the coming weeks, we will begin recalling hotel colleagues, who remain the backbone of our business," Roth said. "We are excited to welcome back many colleagues to the hotel and, once again, provide world-class hospitality to travelers in the heart of New York City."
The Covid-19 pandemic has been devastating for New York hotels, with travel restrictions, social-distancing concerns and other factors taking a sledgehammer to their bottom lines. More than 200 hotels had shut down or permanently closed as of early June. Hotel occupancy rates are not expected to hit a relatively normal 86% until 2025, according to an April CBRE report.
But there are some indications of a turnaround. Recent events including the U.S. Open Tennis Championship and the U.N. General Assembly have brought some visitors back to the city. President Joe Biden recently announced that international tourists who have received Covid-19 vaccines will be allowed in the country come November.
Hotels sold almost 500,000 room nights per week in July, a solid increase from 370,000 in May. The city’s marketing organization, NYC & Company, said it expects New York to see 36.1 million tourists overall this year, more than half of the 66.6 million tourists from 2019.
This story has been updated to include a comment from Hyatt.