At the height of the pandemic, hotels registered massive declines in revenue and bookings. NYC hotels require a boost to compensate for the stopped business travels. A promotion might attract more guests, but might not be successful depending on the coronavirus surge. The hotel industry was among the hard-hit by the raging coronavirus pandemic because in 2020 travel affairs were indefinitely stopped. In 2021, as travel was about to ramp up, new variants like delta and omicron emerged.
For now, travels are still sluggish; therefore, hotels are still hurting and deprived of revenues needed to recuperate from the crisis. New York City experiences many business travels, but the pandemic has impacted profoundly the metro areas. NYC hotels desperately want new promotion bookings to inspire a tourism rejuvenation effort.
NYC Restaurant Week
New Yorkers and other individuals familiar with the city know the Restaurant Week, whereby prominent eateries provide discounted menus to attract diners. From January 18 to February 13, 110 hotels will offer a 22% markdown on common room rates. The objective is to stimulate books after the holiday spell.
Even though NYC experiences high tourism streams throughout the year, January and February are not the city’s most occupied months. Therefore, hotel operations hope to brace their ventures to maintain the holiday energy.
Will New York see More Visitors?
Theoretically, the NYC Hotel Week concept is smart, but the prevailing coronavirus situation could hamper its success because many people are reluctant to travel. The Omicron variant is highly transmissible, so visiting NYC, a crowded city would be careless. Events like sports matchups, Broadway shows, and concerts have been canceled because of the coronavirus situation; therefore, proving to be a tough period to visit the city.
If the NYC Hotel Week fails to be fruitful, property investors could be in trouble. Already some famous NYC hotels have closed down since the pandemic started, and if the expected Hotel Week revenues are not earned, more restaurants could follow suit, and the economy could be injured more.
A turnaround in tourism will not only benefit hotel operators but also real estate investors. A successful Hotel Week could benefit realtors in hospitality REITs and commercial landlords. Small businesses across New York that bank on tourism to achieve higher stock turnover will benefit. Other industries will directly or indirectly be impacted by better tourism influx in New York; therefore, rejuvenating the entire economy after the troublesome COVID-19 pandemic.
