They need a lower to the native lodge occupancy tax, which at the moment stands at 5.875%. The town-set tax is paid by lodge friends, including what can quantity to a fairly hefty surcharge on their payments.
In a Monday letter to Adams and Council leaders, the Lodge Affiliation of New York and the Lodge and Gaming Trades Council known as on them to shave that tax down to three% as a part of this yr’s municipal funds. The funds is at the moment in negotiations.
The affiliation, which represents lodge homeowners, and the trades council, which represents lodge staff, are seldom on the identical facet on any given situation.
“The hotel occupancy tax directly influences visitors’ decisions on where to stay and how long to visit. Cutting the tax on tourists would help boost hotel occupancy, especially for group business stays hotels are now losing to destinations with lower occupancy tax rates,” affiliation CEO Vijay Dandapani and HTC President Richard Maroko wrote within the letter.
“As international tourism continues to plummet, it’s critical the city reduce the hotel room occupancy tax now to help draw international visitors — who spend four times as much as domestic tourists — back to the city.”
Pedestrians and automobiles transfer alongside Instances Sq.. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP by way of Getty Pictures)
The letter, which was additionally signed by New York Metropolis Hospitality Alliance Govt Director Andrew Rigie, New York Constructing Congress President Carlo Scissura and some different enterprise leaders, didn’t explicitly point out Trump.
However their missive did be aware that knowledge launched by town’s Tourism and Conventions company exhibits journey to the Huge Apple from practically all components of the world have plummeted in latest months, with an expectation there will likely be 800,000 fewer international guests to the 5 boroughs this yr as in comparison with 2024. The letter additionally references a examine from Metropolis Comptroller Brad Lander’s workplace discovering native tourism spending will fall by $9 billion this yr.
Specialists say the decline in worldwide tourism to New York is primarily pushed by anti-American sentiments growing across the globe as Trump has spent his first months within the White Home threatening hefty tariffs on allied international locations, together with in Europe, and pursued an aggressive crackdown on undocumented immigrants within the U.S.
In response to Monday’s letter, Julia Agos, a rep for Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, stated, “Budget negotiations are ongoing, and the Council continues to work towards delivering a budget that strengthens our city and supports all New Yorkers.”
Spokespeople for the mayor didn’t instantly return requests for remark.
The mayor’s workplace and the Council are within the last phases of negotiating town’s 2026 fiscal yr funds. They have to attain a last settlement on the funds by the July 1 begin of the fiscal yr.
Monday’s letter got here after the Lodge Affiliation has additionally mounted a behind-the-scenes lobbying effort on securing an occupancy tax lower as a part of the funds.
Metropolis data present the affiliation earlier this yr employed Kasirer, town’s largest authorities relations agency, to foyer Council members in addition to prime members of the Adams administration on the proposal to trim the tax fee. The highest officers focused by Kasirer’s lobbyists embody First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, Deputy Mayor for Intergovernmental Affairs Tiffany Raspberry and Jeffrey Garcia, Adams’ “nightlife mayor,” data present.
Moreover, the Lodge Affiliation has employed Pythia Public as a communications marketing consultant to work on the tax situation.
Pythia is run by Evan Thies, the highest spokesman on Adams’ 2021 mayoral marketing campaign who stays an in depth adviser to the mayor.
Initially Printed: June 2, 2025 at 1:11 PM EDT
