| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 21/08/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 46 |
| Copyright: Other |
Accommodation update by Alan Moore
New York to build on short-break demand
City invests in new hotel developments
NEW York is answering its critics on the shortage of accommodation in the city with a spate of new hotel developments and conversions.UK tour operators, eager to satisfy a booming demand from the British market for short breaks, have complained about the lack of additional rooms.
Some claim that hoteliers have also held the market to ransom with steep rates for weekend stays in the most popular midtown district where the traditional core of main attractions and venues are located.
At one time, New York hotels were full with business traffic in the week but offered large price incentives to the leisure market at weekends. Now hotels can command high weekend rates due to year-round soaring demand, bar the January-March period.
The situation should soon be eased however, with a large number of rooms hitting the market. Watch out for a bigger presence by the W Hotels group, following the opening last September of the W New York on Lexington and 51st Street, with 198 rooms.
The group followed up these developments this year with the W Tuscany and the W Court in the same vicinity. The W product, four-star boutique style, commands a $300 double-room rate.
The Starwood Hotels-backed company is also opening a 270-room property in Union Square in November, following the conversion of the former Guardian Life Assurance building, with panoramic views across the city. Another W property is due to open next July at Times Square.
The Phillips Club, a former long-stay apartment complex near the Lincoln Centre, now forms an annexe to the new and neighbouring Phillips Hotel and offers 188 rooms. It too is pitched as a four-star boutique property.
Next year, Ritz-Carlton moves into Manhattan with a property opening at Battery Park in December and another Ritz-Carlton hotel is on the drawing board for 2002 in the same district.
Sarah Handy, UK representative of NYC and Company, formerly the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau, said: “There are a lot more rooms available in the city now. The accommodation reports are conflicting as some operators are having no problems getting beds, while others are. It has a lot to do with contracting directly with hoteliers and trying to work with properties to fill their down periods.”
She said the New York tourist office will repeat its successful summer promotion, Paint the Town Red, throughout the winter. It offers discounts on attractions, dining and shopping.
Total UK arrivals last year reached a record 957,000 – an 18% increase on 1998.
Manhattan: soaring demand allows hotels to command high weekend rates
factfile
Attractions
n A new two-hour walking tour of the Financial District is organised by the city’s Museum of Financial History. It includes a visit to the New York Stock Exchange and Exchange Place.
n Take a stage door tour of the newly restored Radio City Music Hall, home to the Rockettes and featuring 65 years of musical history and entertainment.
n The marketplace at South Street Seaport has more than 100 restaurants, cafes and shops within its cobbled thoroughfares, with restored Federal buildings and historic ships. A good venue for concerts and other special events, as well as sightseeing cruises.
n In Uptown New York, tours of the Harlem district include visits to jazz and gospel music venues and soul foodrestaurants. Guided tours are offered by Harlem Spirituals and Harlem, Your Way!
n Another 25 expeditions offered by Big Onion Walking Tours take in the city’s ethnic neighbourhoods and historic districts. These include Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Heights and Greenwich Village.
n Manhattan Passport features behind-the-scenes tours of places such as Broadway, the Waldorf-Astoria and Victorian New York, as well as the art and fashion districts, auction houses and an itinerary taking in all five city boroughs.
W New York: the hotel chain plans to boost its presence in the line-up