New York City's biggest airport is getting a major facelift.
24.10.2024 - 03:13 / skift.com / Sean Oneill / Eric Adams
The New York City Council on Wednesday passed a hotel licensing bill that has sparked an intense debate between supporters who claim it will improve safety and working conditions and opponents who argue it will hobble the hotel industry.
The 45-to-4 vote, with one abstention, was a veto-proof supermajority — meaning the bill will become law and Mayor Eric Adams can’t veto it. It requires hotels to obtain a new license to operate in the city.
“Licensing is a critical regulatory tool … [but] oversight of the hotel industry has essentially been laissez-faire,” said Manhattan City Council Member Julie Menin, who introduced the bill.
Since its introduction in July, lawmakers have modified the bill’s language in response to an uproar from many hotel industry members.
In its final form, the Safe Hotels Act requires a new license that costs $350, lasts for two years, and comes with new operating restrictions. Here are a few highlights.
“Hotel-related complaints to DCWP [NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection] have doubled in the past four years,” Menin said. “There have also been over 14,000 criminal complaints to the NYPD [New York Police Department] about hotels and motels and 39 murders [in them].”
Some hotel owners and lobbyists accepted the revised law.
“After hard-fought negotiation and necessary adjustments that exempt small hotels from onerous costs and all hotels from arbitrary licensing rules, the legislation passed today by the City Council will create a fair and practical standard for hotels that will protect both our industry and employees – and also provide the best possible experience for our guests,” said Vijay Dandapani, president and CEO of the Hotel Association of New York.
However, some other hotel owners and lobbyists protested the new law. They said the new provision requiring constant staffing would spike operational costs, causing them to raise rates and lose guests. Some also complain of potential staffing and training challenges in the city’s tight labor market.
“It will do nothing to make anyone safer, yet it will force many small, independent, particularly minority-owned, hotels to close, kill thousands of jobs, and cause room rates across the city to skyrocket, making New York unaffordable for tourists,” said Mukesh Patel, a member of the NYC Minority Hotel Association.
New York City's biggest airport is getting a major facelift.
It’s a season of savings for travelers seeking flight deals.Spirit Airlines has dozens of flight deals with one-way fares under $50 to popular destinations including Las Vegas, New York, Orlando, and more. The lowest price spotted in the promotion was just $11, for a flight from Las Vegas, NV to Sacramento, CA. The airline also has a variety of $20 flights including Dallas, TX to Atlanta, or Los Angeles (LAX) to Las Vegas. The deals are listed on the “Popular Flight Deals” within Spirit’s website.
Over the past decade, Louis Vuitton has been gradually expanding its reach far beyond fashion. Since the launch of Fondation Louis Vuitton in 2014, the brand has firmly established itself as a major player in the art world, with biannual exhibitions and collaborations with top artists like Yayoi Kusama. In appointing Pharrell Williams as creative director in 2023, Louis Vuitton tapped further into the zeitgeist, refreshing the brand's image and broadening both its appeal and its dedication to cultural excellence.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, October 23, 2024, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
NYC Tourism + Conventions, the city’s official destination marketing organization, announced Tuesday that it had named Julie Coker its next president and CEO.
Finland's flagship carrier, Finnair, will expand in the United States next summer, launching its largest-ever schedule from the U.S. to Finland.
NYC Tourism + Conventions, the city’s official destination marketing organization, announced Tuesday that it had named Julie Coker its next president and CEO.
Aer Lingus is launching service to a new U.S. city, helped by the arrival of its newest aircraft type.
Low-cost airline Norse Atlantic Airways is making it easier to get to Europe from the West Coast with a new flight to Rome launching next summer.
Newark’s airport is getting a major makeover with a pair of new and enhanced terminals to bring the aging airport into the modern era.
Both Walt Disney World and Disneyland will roll out a brand new system that will allow guests to join a Lightning Lane queue without a reservation — but it'll cost you.The Lightning Lane Premier Pass will use dynamic pricing based on demand and date of visit. Prices will also vary by theme park and are expected to range from $129 to $449 per person, per day — with the highest prices will occur during peak travel periods, like Christmas and New Year’s. Those eligible can purchase Lightning Lane Premier Pass up to seven days before their date of check-in at 7:00 AM ET and for their entire length of stay, up to 14 days. The pass can be purchased in the My Disney Experience app.
New York City's luxury hotel scene just keeps getting better. And next spring, the city will welcome one of the trendiest hotel brands of them all: Faena.