1,500 hospitality industry professionals rally against NYC licensing bill

Some 1,500 hotel and hospitality professionals took to the steps of New York City Hall Thursday morning to rally in opposition to a proposed bill that would require hotels to obtain a license to operate in the city.

The legislation, dubbed the “Safe Hotels Act,” was proposed in mid-July by City Councilperson Julie Menin. If passed, NYC hotels would also be required to maintain continuous front-desk coverage, with large hotels being required to have continuous coverage by at least one security guard, according to a New York City Council filing.

Additionally, the licensees would have to “directly employ their core employees,” the filing reads. This would prohibit hotels from using subcontractors for functions such as housekeeping, front desk and security, the Asian American Hotel Owners Association noted in a Tuesday release.

Since its proposal, multiple hotel associations have condemned the bill, saying that it would be “destructive” and “devastating” for New York’s hotels and the city’s economy at large. Thursday morning, many of those groups, including AAHOA and the American Hotel & Lodging Association, joined in protest to “kill” the bill. 

Industry rallies 

The Protect NYC Tourism Coalition, which organized Thursday’s event, announced Tuesday there would be more than 1,000 people in attendance. AHLA Interim President and CEO Kevin Carey said there were closer to 1,500 hospitality professionals present during his address at the rally, which was livestreamed and viewed by Hotel Dive. 

Ralliers carried signs reading “Intro 991 kills NYC tourism” and “Save our jobs.” AAHOA and AHLA members were in attendance, as well as members of other Protect NYC Tourism Coalition organizations including the Coalition for Hotel Subcontractors, the Hotel Association of New York City, the NYC Minority Hotel Association and the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers. 

AAHOA Treasurer Rahul Patel and Mid Atlantic Regional Director Mahendra Patel were also there to oppose the bill and “voice concerns about the potentially devastating impact of this act on the hotel industry,” according to an announcement from Chairman Miraj Patel ahead of the event.  

The act would threaten tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic development, the coalition claims. According to the coalition, the act would add significant costs to hotels, “jeopardizing their ability to operate,” while also straining the city’s tourism industry. 

---

“This bill is bad for everyone. It’s bad for hotels. It’s bad for workers. It’s bad for contractors, many of whom are small, minority or woman-owned businesses. You know it’s bad for the consumers.”

Kevin Carey

AHLA Interim President and CEO

---

Last year, New York City’s tourism industry generated $74 billion in economic impact with more than $48 billion coming from direct spending, according to New York City Tourism + Conventions. 

Carey reiterated the coalition’s worries at the rally, as a crowd of protesters chanted in the background. “This bill is bad for everyone,” Carey said. “It’s bad for hotels. It’s bad for workers. It’s bad for contractors, many of whom are small, minority or woman-owned businesses. You know it’s bad for the consumers. And it’s bad for New York City’s economy and, ironically, it’s also bad for New York City’s own fiscal health.” 

Carey has condemned the bill from its inception, saying in a July statement that if it becomes law, “thousands of hotel jobs could be lost, hotels will shutter, and New York City’s economy — especially small business retailers, restaurants, and other hotel service providers — will suffer substantially.” 

The impact on jobs

There are roughly 42,000 hotel jobs in New York City, and nearly 260,000 jobs that New York City hotels support, according to AHLA. 

For one New Yorker and a 10-year hospitality industry veteran, Camilo Torres, the bill’s passing would be the end of his livelihood as he knows it. 

Torres owns Lumina HR, a company that provides labor services to hotels in New York City. He told Hotel Dive that if the bill passes, his company — which recruits, hires and manages hospitality workers, helping hotels fill vacant roles — would be virtually useless, as hotels would be tasked with directly staffing their properties. The 250 people he employs would need to be directly hired by a hotel or look for work elsewhere, he said.