Harlem’s rapid development and emergence as a viable tourist and business destination has led to a spike in the demand for hotels in the area, so much so that the neighborhood is now short about 1,500 hotel rooms, experts said at a hospitality conference Wednesday.
Even future growth in the hotel industry won’t be able to meet demand, Curtis Archer, president of the Harlem Community Development Corporation, said at the second-annual Harlem Hospitality and Culinary Conference held this week. Though two hotels are in the works – a 210-room property near the old Victoria Theater on 125th Street and a 230-room property near Columbia University’s West Harlem expansion – the lodging industry is still “sorely lagging,” Archer added.
If the state were to clarify regulations for hostels and bed and breakfasts, it would help deal with the need for growth in the hotel sector in the area, said Arthur Kremer, founder of the media relations firm Empire Government Strategies, according to DNAinfo. [DNAinfo] – Hiten Samtani