Hilton Times Square to close permanently

Hotel struggled to make mortgage payments even before the pandemic

Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta and the hotel at 234 West 42nd Street (Google Maps; Getty; Hotel Planner)
Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta and the hotel at 234 West 42nd Street (Google Maps; Getty; Hotel Planner)

The Hilton hotel in Times Square is closing its doors permanently.

The 478-room hotel at 234 West 42nd Street disclosed its plans to permanently shutter in a filing with the New York State Department of Labor Wednesday.

The hotel’s 200 employees, some of whom had been furloughed since March, will be permanently laid off, according to the notice.

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The hotel’s owner, California-based hospitality REIT Sunstone Hotel Investors, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Sunstone hasn’t made payments on its $77.2 million mortgage since April, according to the company’s most recent quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from August. Sunstone also hasn’t made rent payments on its ground lease since March, and said it’s considering a “negotiated transfer” of the hotel to either its lender or the landlords.

The closure is just the latest example of distress pummeling the hotel industry since the coronavirus nearly shut down travel and tourism to the city in March.

The Times Square Hilton, however, had been struggling to make payments on its mortgage before the pandemic.

Contact Rich Bockmann at rb@therealdeal.com or 908-415-5229