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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 409-11
November 14, 2011

MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES NEW YORK CITY WILL HAVE A RECORD 90,000 HOTEL ROOMS BY YEAR’S END, CONTRIBUTING TO CITY’S BOOMING TOURISM SECTOR AND CREATING JOBS

2,500 New Rooms Added to City's Inventory This Year with 30 Percent of Openings Outside Manhattan; Occupancy Rates at Highest in the Nation

City's $31 Billion Tourism Industry Continues to Grow and Add Jobs, With Visitor Numbers on Pace to Break Record

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced New York City will reach a record 90,000 hotel rooms by year’s end, representing a 24 percent increase since 2006. More than 7,000 rooms are in the pipeline that will add to the City’s hotel inventory, with an average 40 percent of new openings taking place in boroughs other than Manhattan, including in Long Island City, Queens, a hotbed of hotel development. The increase in hotels reflects an overall upward trend for the City’s $31 billion tourism industry – in September for instance, an estimated 323,000 people were employed in the travel and tourism sector, a record for the month. Last year, New York City welcomed a record 48.8 million visitors who collectively spent $31 billion. The City is on track to reach a record number of visitors this year. Room rates are steadily increasing, and occupancy remained at close to 85 percent, the highest in the nation. The Mayor made the announcement at the newly opened Z NYC Hotel in Long Island City, where he was joined by State Senator Michael Gianaris, NYC & Company CEO George Fertitta and Z NYC owner Henry Zilberman.

“More people want to visit New York City than ever before, and with a record 90,000 rooms, we have great places for them to stay,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “That’s good news not just for tourists, but also for the City’s economy. Our tourism sector employs 323,000 people, and those jobs are now increasingly located outside Manhattan, as tourists want to visit all of the City’s great neighborhoods.”

There are now 17 hotels in Long Island City that are comprised of 1,500 rooms with five more properties and 650 rooms under construction. Major hotel brands in the neighborhood include the Four Points by Sheraton Long Island City/Queensboro Bridge; Fairfield Inn New York Long Island City/Manhattan View; Country Inn & Suites; Holiday Inn Long Island City – Manhattan View; and opening next month, the Wyndham Garden Long Island City. Independent properties such as the Z NYC, which opened in July, join other LIC hotels such as the Ravel, the Queensboro Hotel and the Verve Hotel, among others.

“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,” Deputy Mayor Robert K. Steel said. “The tourism boom is driving a boom in hotel construction, which is creating thousands of jobs throughout the five boroughs.”

“Long Island City is fast becoming a popular neighborhood for leisure and business travelers alike—with its wide range of affordable hotel options, great cultural attractions, thriving restaurant scene, and seamless public transportation to midtown, visitors are finding it to be an ideal NYC destination. It’s just one example of how the City continually evolves and reinvents itself, and how we are carrying out Mayor Bloomberg’s vision to showcase neighborhoods throughout all five boroughs,” said George Fertitta, NYC & Company’s CEO.

Popular attractions in Long Island City include MoMA PS1; the Sculpture Center; Noguchi Museum, Fisher Landau Center for Art and the nearby recently renovated Museum of the Moving Image. Long Island City and nearby Astoria are also hubs for New York City’s television and film production—two of the largest studios outside Hollywood, Silvercup Studios and Kaufman Astoria Studios, are close by.

“This burgeoning business is yet another example of the growth of Long Island City into one of the great business districts in New York,” Senator Michael Gianaris said. “Already brimming with new restaurants, cafes and other stores, LIC continues to attract new jobs, revenue and tourism at a difficult economic time, cementing its status as a coveted destination for people to live and visit. I am pleased to take part in the opening of yet another exciting establishment in this ever-growing neighborhood.”

“Long Island City is a great neighborhood with great energy, which I wanted to showcase in the Z Hotel,” said Z NYC owner Henry Zilberman. “Long Island City’s popularity is rising because it’s an incredibly cool place and it gets cooler every day. It’s close to shopping in Manhattan, its’ affordable, quiet, safe. It’s all about proximity and you can be in the city or the airport in less than 15 minutes. This is the next place to be. It’s the place to be now. The Z Hotel will be a destination; every place in New York can succeed.”

The new 100-room Z NYC Hotel opened in July 2011, providing stylish accommodations with affordable rates and views of the Manhattan skyline. Amenities include oversized mattresses with high thread count Egyptian cotton sheets, feather beds, complimentary wi-fi in all rooms, complimentary global phone calls, Gilchrist & Soames bathroom amenities and outdoor lounges for guests on every floor. Z NYC Hotel offers two unique venues including the Z Lounge and the Z Roof, both serving signature Z cocktails, wine and beer. The Z NYC Hotel site was originally a warehouse that owner/developer Henry Zilberman purchased in 1996.

Overall hotel development in the City has been robust in 2011 with new properties recently opened or under construction in all five boroughs. Approximately 40 new projects are slated to open in the next 30 months, with about 13 properties representing 1,865 rooms in boroughs other than Manhattan (5 in Long Island City, 3 in Queens, 1 in the Bronx, 1 in Staten Island and 3 in Brooklyn). 22 new hotels representing 4,120 rooms are also under construction in Manhattan.







MEDIA CONTACT:


Stu Loeser/Julie Wood   (212) 788-2958

Kimberly Spell/Chris Heywood   (NYC & Co.)
(212) 484-1270



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