September

Don’t let red tape strangle the New York hotel industry

By President & CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City, Vijay Dandapani

city’s tourism industry, and contributing billions in tax revenues to city and state coffers. N ew York’s hotel industry is a critical driver of the regional economy, providing jobs to tens of thousands of people, powering the But our industry’s recovery from COVID is still fragile: 62.2 million people visited New York City last year, about 7% fewer than the 66.6 million who visited in 2019. While forecasts predict that number will rise, a full recovery is far from assured. Unfortunately, the City Council is pushing new legislation, Int. 991, also known as the hotel licensing bill, that would impose a broad set of onerous requirements on the industry at a time when we can least afford costly new regulations. Among other provisions, the bill requires all hotels in the city to apply for a license annually from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Supporters of the bill have argued that it is necessary to protect the health and safety of patrons and workers. Put simply, this is false.

First, the premise that hotels are unsafe is simply not supported by the data. Over the past five years, 311 complaints related to hotels have been similar in percentage to other types of establishments like grocery stores, and lower than clothing stores or restaurants. Even looking at felony charges citywide, hotels account for a lower percentage than other sectors. Put simply, hotels are comparatively safer than many other businesses in the city. Supporters have also made absurd claims about the connection between hotels and human trafficking. The state already has robust anti-trafficking laws that hotels must comply with, and our industry has gone above and beyond to hold staff training on human trafficking. In fact, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas specifically commended our industry for its efforts in this critical space, saying he hopes “that other associations, other sectors follow the example that [we] have set.’