Planning a winter vacay to New York City? Hotel prices hit record high ahead of holiday travel

While a travel to New York City has always been expensive, the latest surge is unexpected as per the city’s regulations.

In its recently published report, Newsweek, citing real estate analytics firm CoStar, reported that the average room price for a hotel in NY in October jumped to $388 per night, a 7 percent rise from the average of $360 in 2023. As per the firm, which started keeping price records in 1987, this is the highest price-ever recorded.

According to experts, the reasons behind the lodging shortage include the use of NYC’s hotels as shelters for migrants, the prohibition on short-term rental websites like Airbnb, and a spike in travel demand.

NYC hotels in demand for winter season

Hotels in the city have already started preparing for the busy tourist season by raising room rates, according to The New York Times.

In September, visitors to the Big Apple paid an average of $417 per night, the highest monthly price in the city’s history, according to CoStar. During this month, Maui was the only location with higher accommodation rates.

Undoubtedly, visiting the concrete jungle has never been inexpensive, and this year, some upscale resorts have started charging $1,000 per night.

The rates of mid-tier hotels have raised their overnight rates by over 50 percent since 2020.

Also Read: NYC bans unusual practice of forcing tenants to pay real estate brokers hired by landlords

Travellers are looking for affordable options at other places

David Sherwyn, a professor at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, told the newspaper that hotel firms just “like everyone else are making up for lost time” due to COVID-19.

This has led to some travellers searching for other options such as lodging in more reasonably priced New Jersey or delaying their plans until after the New Year.

“I knew New York City was expensive. But I didn’t expect the most affordable options to be $600,” 23-year-old undergraduate Jon Lee told the Times.

New York City is expected to receive 65 million tourists by the end of 2024, with the potential to reach a record 68 million in 2025, as per CoStar.