They need a minimize to the native lodge occupancy tax, which at the moment stands at 5.875%. The town-set tax is paid by lodge company, including what can quantity to a reasonably hefty surcharge on their payments.
In a Monday letter to Adams and Council leaders, the Resort Affiliation of New York and the Resort and Gaming Trades Council known as on them to shave that tax down to three% as a part of this yr’s municipal price range. The price range is at the moment in negotiations.
The affiliation, which represents lodge house owners, and the trades council, which represents lodge employees, are seldom on the identical aspect on any given subject.
“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 vehicles transfer alongside Occasions Sq.. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP through Getty Photographs)
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 observe that knowledge launched by town’s Tourism and Conventions company reveals journey to the Large Apple from practically all elements of the world have plummeted in current months, with an expectation there will likely be 800,000 fewer overseas guests to the 5 boroughs this yr as in comparison with 2024. The letter additionally references a research from Metropolis Comptroller Brad Lander’s workplace discovering native tourism spending will fall by $9 billion this yr.
Consultants 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 closing levels of negotiating town’s 2026 fiscal yr price range. They have to attain a closing settlement on the price range by the July 1 begin of the fiscal yr.
Monday’s letter got here after the Resort Affiliation has additionally mounted a behind-the-scenes lobbying effort on securing an occupancy tax minimize as a part of the price range.
Metropolis information present the affiliation earlier this yr employed Kasirer, town’s largest authorities relations agency, to foyer Council members in addition to high members of the Adams administration on the proposal to trim the tax fee. The highest officers focused by Kasirer’s lobbyists embrace First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, Deputy Mayor for Intergovernmental Affairs Tiffany Raspberry and Jeffrey Garcia, Adams’ “nightlife mayor,” information present.
Moreover, the Resort Affiliation has employed Pythia Public as a communications advisor to work on the tax subject.
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 Revealed: June 2, 2025 at 1:11 PM EDT
