As families around the world plan their summer vacations, the average hotel room in New York City now costs more than $300 a night because so many of them have had to do business as migrant shelters.
With approximately 135 of the city’s nearly 700 hotels being used as part of the shelter-in-place program, the average daily rate for a hotel in the Big Apple increased eight percent from $277.92 in 2022 to $301.61 in 2023 as supply of rooms decreases.
That means a large family planning their summer holiday in the city could spend thousands of euros just on a place to stay.
Hotel prices typically drop in the first three months of each year, but in the first quarter of 2024 the average room cost $230.79 per night, up from $216.38 in the same period last year.
The bottom line: New York City on Wednesday stepped up its efforts to evict migrants from overwhelmed shelters as it began enforcement a new line that limits some adult asylum seekers to a month in the system before having to find a bed themselves.
As families around the world plan their summer vacations, the average hotel room in New York City now costs more than $300 a night because so many of them – like The Row NYC Hotel in Times Square – have had to do business as migrant shelters
Migrants without young children must now leave the city’s hotels, tent complexes and other shelter facilities and seek alternative accommodation after 30 days (or 60 days for those aged 18 to 23) unless they provide evidence of ‘extenuating circumstances’ and are granted an exemption .
According to the New York Timeshotels participating in the program will receive $185 per night per room from the city.
The city has lost more than 16,000 hotel rooms to tourists during the program, while only 121,677 remain. That number is already 2,812 fewer than the number before the pandemic.
Because hotel rooms are scarce, none of the hotels that signed up for the program — such as the four-star Row NYC Hotel in Times Square or the Roosevelt at Grand Central — have returned to the way they did business before the crisis.
That’s why four-star hotels like CitizenM in Times Square charge at least $389 per night for a room. according to Hotels.com.
There are at least 22 hotels in Midtown Manhattan, including Times Square, the Grand Central Terminal and the Empire State Building.
A three-star tent like Staypineapple still costs no less than $308 per night per room.
The huge price increases will hit middle-income families as they find that a mid-range hotel room now costs almost as much as a luxury stay would have cost before the crisis.
“I really believe that this has given two, two-and-a-half star hotels a little more courage, to take advantage of the situation and charge prices that they might not otherwise be able to afford,” says Sean Hennessey. , a hotel industry consultant and clinical associate professor at New York University.
Further increasing demand for hotels is a citywide ban on short-term Airbnb rentals, with most of these properties now only available for stays of 30 days or longer, ruling out almost all tourist bookings.
Four-star hotels like CitizenM in Times Square charge a minimum of $389 per night for a room
A three-star tent like Staypineapple still costs no less than $308 per night per room
Mayor Eric Adams, on the other hand, sees it differently and says in a statement that tourist interest in the city has caused prices to rise.
“The return of tourists to New York City is also reflected in hotels, where demand is increasing,” the statement said.
“New York City is safer, cleaner and, as the numbers show, still one of the most popular destinations in the United States.”
By late Wednesday, 192 migrants had applied for an extension after reaching their limit, and 118 had been approved, Mayor Eric Adams’ office said. Thousands more people are expected to receive eviction notices in the coming months.
The new restrictions came after the Adams administration succeeded in changing the city’s unique character in March. right to shelter ‘ rule requiring her to provide temporary housing to any homeless person who requests it.
Before the new rule took effect, adult migrants without children were still allowed to stay in a shelter for up to 30 days, but could immediately reapply for a new bed, no questions asked.
The city also restricts migrant families with young children 60 days remains, but they are not affected by the new rule and can still reapply without providing any justification.
Yet an audit showed that the the rollout was ‘haphazard’, in the past six months
Mayor Eric Adams, on the other hand, sees it differently and says in a statement that tourist interest in the city has caused prices to rise
Migrant families leave for a walk to school in front of the Row Hotel, which serves as a reception center for migrants
Immigrant rights and homeless advocates say they are closely watching the deportation process, which affects about 15,000 migrant adults. The city shelter system currently houses about 65,000 migrants, but many are families with children.
Adams, a Democrat, pushed back Tuesday against critics who have called out the city increasingly restrictive migrant shelter rules inhumanely and rolled out haphazardlysaying that the city simply cannot house migrants indefinitely.
New York City has provided temporary housing to nearly 200,000 migrants since spring 2022, with more than a thousand newcomers coming to the city every week, he noted.
“People said it’s inhumane to put people outside in the winter, so now they’re saying it’s inhumane to do it in the summer,” Adams said. ‘There is no good time. There’s no right time.’
The move comes as Denver, another city that has seen an influx of migrants, faces a… ambitious migrant support programme this includes a six-month stay in apartments and intensive preparation for work for those who cannot yet work legally.
In the meantime Chicago imposed 60 days shelter restrictions for adult migrants without option for extension, and Massachusetts has set a maximum number of stays for families up to nine months, from June.
Adams had asked a court for permission in October to suspend the requirement of the right to shelter completely, but the move was opposed by immigrant rights and homeless advocacy groups. In March they settled, with an agreement who established the new rules for migrants.
The agreement still allows city officials to grant extensions of shelter stays on a case-by-case basis.
New York City has provided temporary housing to nearly 200,000 migrants since spring 2022, with more than a thousand newcomers coming to the city every week, he noted.
As hotel rooms remain scarce, none of the hotels that signed up for the program – such as the four-star Row NYC Hotel in Times Square or the Roosevelt at Grand Central (pictured) – have returned to the way they did business before the crisis
City officials say migrants must show they are making “significant efforts to resettle,” such as applying for a work permit or asylum, or looking for a job or an apartment.
Migrants can also get a reprieve if they can prove they have plans to leave the city within 30 days, have an upcoming immigration-related hearing, or are undergoing a serious medical procedure or are recovering from a hearing.
Migrants between the ages of 18 and 20 can also get an extension if they are enrolled full-time in high school.
New York City appears to be bracing for a “summer wave” of migrants as some asylum seekers have reportedly been abruptly moved from their shelters.
The Department of Homeless Services on Tuesday issued notices to migrant families staying in Brooklyn shelters, warning them they have 24 to 48 hours to move.
Win, the Big Apples largest provider of family childcaresaid they began receiving a list from the city nearly two weeks ago of clients who will be transferred to migrant hotels.