Tourism, Restaurant Industries Join Campaign to Save NYC Hotels as Thousands Lose Jobs

NEW YORK, NY (02/23/2021) (readMedia)-- On Wednesday in Times Square, Vijay Dandapani, President and CEO of Hotel Association of NYC (HANYC), Andrew Rigie of the Hospitality Alliance, Alicia Pierro of Big Apple Greeter, Thomas Grech, President & CEO, Queens Chamber of Commerce and Randy Peers, President & CEO, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and hotel owners will rally together in support of a campaign led by the Hotel Association of NYC to save the city's hotels. The campaign, Key to NYC, launched last month to urge City Hall to give hotels tax debt relief as they struggle to remain open during COVID-19.

The hotel industry and the millions of visitors it serves every year supports the city's even larger tourism and restaurant industries. But more than 200 New York hotels have closed in the last year, leaving tens-of-thousands of New Yorkers out of work and slowing our recovery. Before the pandemic, the hotel industry employed more than 50,000 New Yorkers -- mostly immigrants and people of color -- and raised $3.2 billion a year in City tax revenue. The industry also added $22 billion annually to our economy.