City’s hotels sitting empty

Because of falling occupancy rates, hotels are cutting prices to attract travelers, and cutting staff and services to save money. To fill rooms at the Warwick New York, at 65 West 54th Street at Sixth Avenue, the hotel sold rooms for $199 a night for the last two weeks of 2008. Rooms ordinarily start at $359 a night. The New York Helmsley Hotel, at 212 East 42nd Street at Third Avenue, plans to eliminate lunch service at its restaurant, Mindy’s, and the Plaza closed down its Palm Court restaurant in December. The Waldorf-Astoria, at 301 Park Avenue at 50th Street, has fired some housekeepers as it anticipates occupancy will drop in February. According to Lodging Investment Advisors, more than 10 percent of the 42,400 hotel workers in the city are expected to lose their jobs this year.