Economy

NYC Hotel Industry in a ‘Depression,' Room Revenue Down 60%, Report Says

An industry trade group says New York City has lost a third of its hotel rooms, and average revenue in the rest is down more than $150 a room

NBC Universal, Inc.

The hotel industry is in a recession or worse in 21 of the top 25 U.S. markets, and New York City is one of the worst off of all, according to a new report released Thursday by a lodging trade group.

The American Hotel & Lodging Association said the city has lost about a third of its hotel rooms since the pandemic. For those that are left, revenue per available room was $95 in May -- down 62 percent from May 2019.

That's a deep enough drop to put the city's hotel industry in the "depression" category, the association said.

In percentage terms, only San Francisco, Boston and Washington are suffering more. (In dollar terms, NYC's revenue drop is worse, though.)

Just four top markets nationwide have stabilized or returned to growth versus two years ago, the association said -- Phoenix, Virginia Beach, Tampa and Miami.

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