NYC hotel room count will reach 90,000 by year’s end

From left: Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Z NYC HotelAt today’s opening ceremony for the Z NYC Hotel in Long Island City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the city will reach a record 90,000 hotel rooms by the end of the year, a 24 percent increase from five years ago.

According to the mayor, 2,500 hotel rooms have been added to the city’s inventory this year, 30 percent of which come from the outer boroughs. Additionally, 7,000 more rooms are in the pipeline, with approximately 2,800 of those outside of Manhattan. At the 11-01 43rd Avenue site of the 100-room hotel, which was built by Henry Zilberman and first opened its doors in July, Bloomberg noted that more visitors are coming to the city to experience neighborhoods beyond the traditional tourism hot spots. The Real Deal previously reported that total hotel investment dollars spent in the city this year is even greater than the amount spent in 2006.

The hotels are vying for a record-shattering number of tourists, according to Bloomberg, the number of which is expected to eclipse the 48.8 million mark set in 2010. That year, visitors pumped about $31 billion into the local economy.

“One of the reasons why New York’s economy has rebounded faster than the rest of the country’s is the growth and development of the city’s tourism industry,” said Deputy Mayor Robert Steel. “The tourism boom is driving a boom in hotel construction, which is creating thousands of jobs throughout the five boroughs.”

Overall, 40 new hotel projects are slated to open in the next 30 months, according to the mayor’s announcement. — Adam Fusfeld