New York City Will Delete Hotel Taxes to Stimulate Tourism This Summer

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Mayor Bill de Blasio today signed an Executive Order eliminating the 5.875% hotel room occupancy tax rate for a three-month period, from June 1, 2021, to August 31, 2021.

The relief provided by the tax rate reduction is designed to help accelerate the recovery of the hotel industry, which has been particularly hit hard by the pandemic. This executive action will help hotels keep their doors open, retain jobs, and gain a more stable footing as the city continues its path toward a full recovery.  

The announcement was also seen as “a gift” to the Hotel Trades Council (HTC), a sector that has been a major contributor to De Blasio's mayoral campaigns and the 2019 Democratic presidential primaries, the New York Post commented.

“As our COVID rates continue to plummet and we continue to drive recovery for all of us, tourists will return in droves to New York City. We are ready for them,” de Blasio said in a statement. "By eliminating the hotel room occupancy tax for this summer, we are accelerating our economic recovery, saving jobs and providing relief to one of our worst-hit industries."

The relief will save tourists about $6 a day for every $100 spent on a hotel room. It is the first major industry-wide tax initiative launched by the City Council, targeting a sector that was particularly affected by the coronavirus pandemic and a workforce represented by HTC, which has a long history of close ties with De Blasio.

During the pandemic, many NYC hotels closed forever.

Volquardsen from Pexels

During the pandemic, many NYC hotels closed forever and some were transformed into shelters and hospitals with basic services, affecting some 40,000 employees.

In 2019, HTC gave De Blasio one of the few endorsements that his failed presidential campaign achieved, and members of him flooded his campaign with donations to qualify him for the first debates of the 2020 primaries.

The backing came as the City Council sided with HTC on two key issues: cracking down on illegal AirBnBs and the like and demanding the Mayor's approval for the opening of any new hotels.

“COVID-19 has devastated the hotel industry. It is critical that we lend a helping hand to help an industry that is very dependent on tourism, and eliminating the hotel room occupancy for the summer season is a good step. I want to thank the Hotel Trades Council and the Hotel Association of New York for their advocacy on this issue,” said Council Speaker Corey Johnson. 

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