Trump slump in NYC tourism drives hotel owners, labor to plead for tax relief

Yahoo

2 days ago

President Trump's immigration and economic agendas have sparked a steep drop in international tourism to New York City, a trend that's stirring so much financial concern in the local hotel industry that owners and labor groups are joining together to ask Mayor Adams and the City Council for relief, the Daily News has learned.
They want a cut to the local hotel occupancy tax, which currently stands at 5.875%. The city-set tax is paid by hotel guests, adding what can amount to a pretty hefty surcharge on their bills.
In a Monday letter to Adams and Council leaders, the Hotel Association of New York and the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council called on them to shave that tax down to 3% as part of this year's municipal budget. The budget is currently in negotiations.
The association, which represents hotel owners, and the trades council, which represents hotel workers, are seldom on the same side on any given issue.
But in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The News, they both agreed cutting the occupancy tax rate could be an effective tool for convincing international tourists to still come to New York and stay in hotels.
'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,' association CEO Vijay Dandapani and HTC President Richard Maroko wrote in 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.'
The letter, which was also signed by New York City Hospitality Alliance Executive Director Andrew Rigie, New York Building Congress President Carlo Scissura and a few other business leaders, didn't explicitly mention Trump.
But their missive did note that data released by the city's Tourism and Conventions agency shows travel to the Big Apple from nearly all parts of the world have plummeted in recent months, with an expectation there will be 800,000 fewer foreign visitors to the five boroughs this year as compared to 2024. The letter also references a study from City Comptroller Brad Lander's office finding local tourism spending will fall by $9 billion this year.
Experts say the decline in international tourism to New York is primarily driven by anti-American sentiments increasing around the globe as Trump has spent his first months in the White House threatening hefty tariffs on allied countries, including in Europe, and pursued an aggressive crackdown on undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
In response to Monday's letter, Julia Agos, a rep for Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, said, '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 immediately return requests for comment.
The mayor's office and the Council are in the final stages of negotiating the city's 2026 fiscal year budget. They must reach a final agreement on the budget by the July 1 start of the fiscal year.
Monday's letter came after the Hotel Association has also mounted a behind-the-scenes lobbying effort on securing an occupancy tax cut as part of the budget.
City records show the association earlier this year hired Kasirer, the city's largest government relations firm, to lobby Council members as well as top members of the Adams administration on the proposal to trim the tax rate. The top officials targeted by Kasirer's lobbyists include First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, Deputy Mayor for Intergovernmental Affairs Tiffany Raspberry and Jeffrey Garcia, Adams' 'nightlife mayor,' records show.
Additionally, the Hotel Association has hired Pythia Public as a communications consultant to work on the tax issue. Pythia is run by Evan Thies, formerly the top spokesman for Adams' 2021 mayoral campaign.