Source: New York Post
by Steve Cuozzo
Feb. 24, 2020
The coronavirus’ impact on global travel is sending tremors through New York City’s hotel industry, which was sagging from declining occupancy and revenue even before the China-originated pandemic struck.
With some luck, the spread of the virus will be tamed by the time a bunch of major new projects are completed — among them, the Riu Plaza on West 47th Street, Hard Rock on West 48th and the Virgin on Broadway at 28th Street.
But it’s nail-biting time for owners — which are usually real estate companies not to be confused with the hotel brands whose flags they carry.
“It’s a human tragedy that is also a potential disaster for those of us in hotels, especially at the Manhattan high end,” one nervous general manager who didn’t want to be named told Realty Check.
Cushman & Wakefield managing director and head of global hospitality Tom McConnell said that Chinese visitors to the city were the market’s largest-growing segment over the past 10 years.
