The number of hotel rooms in New York City increased by 48 percent between 2006 and 2015, and the number of industry jobs increased by 29 percent, according to a report issued today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

"The hotel industry is flourishing. A record number of tourists have flocked to New York City, fueling the creation of well-paying middle-class jobs," said DiNapoli. "While the industry is vulnerable to changes in domestic and international economic conditions, the industry's long-term prospects remain strong."

With more than 210,000 hotel rooms, New York is the fourth-largest hotel market of any state in the nation, following California, Texas and Florida. Among cities, New York City is the nation's third-largest hotel market, after Las Vegas and Orlando.

DiNapoli's report notes that a record 58.3 million visitors came to the city in 2015, a 33 percent increase since 2006. To keep pace with demand, the number of hotel rooms in New York City increased to a record of more than 107,000 rooms in 2015. The industry plans to add another 26,500 rooms in the city by the end of 2019.

The city's hotel occupancy rate (the percentage of available rooms that are rented) set new records in 2013 and 2014. The increase in occupancy has coincided with increased visitor spending, which totaled $41.2 billion in 2014. Of that amount, $11.6 billion was spent on lodging and related costs. The occupancy rate in the city was 89.4 percent in 2014, much higher than the national average of 64.4 percent, and among the highest in the nation.

However, weakness in the global economy and a strong dollar have impacted the hotel industry. In 2015, hotel occupancy rates declined to 88.5 percent and the average room rate declined for the first time since the recession, from $301 to $294. The industry faces other challenges as well, including the emergence of nontraditional competitors such as Airbnb.

According to DiNapoli's report, the city collected a record $1.8 billion in tax revenue from the hotel industry in fiscal year 2015. This figure includes property taxes paid by hotels, hotel room occupancy taxes, sales taxes and other taxes such as mortgage recording taxes, business taxes and personal income taxes.

Of the 88,400 hotel industry jobs across New York state in 2015, 18 percent more than in 2006, nearly 60 percent were located in New York City. In 2015, industry employment in the city reached a record 50,100 jobs, an increase of 11,300 (29 percent) since 2006.

Hotel-related employment dipped in 2009 during the recession, according to the report, but job growth was strong through 2014 before slowing in 2015. Since 2009, the industry has added jobs at a much faster rate (24 percent) than the city overall (14 percent).

Additional findings in the report include:

• The average salary in the hotel industry in New York City was $61,150 in 2015, which ranked in the middle (27th) among the city's 50 largest industries.
• Between 2006 and 2015, hotel industry employment grew by 160 percent in Brooklyn and 40 percent in Queens, outpacing the gain in Manhattan (26 percent).
• There were 696 hotels in New York City in 2015. Of these, two-thirds (460) were located in Manhattan. The number of hotels in Brooklyn has tripled and the number in Queens has doubled since 2006.
• In 2015, the sale of hotels in the city totaled $4.2 billion, surpassing the prior record of $2.8 billion in 2006. Notably, the Waldorf Astoria was sold to a Chinese insurance company for a record $1.92 billion in 2014.

For a copy of the complete report, The Hotel Industry in New York City, visit:
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/osdc/hotel_industry_nyc_rpt2_2017.pdf

For access to state and local government spending and more than 50,000 state contracts, visit http://www.openbooknewyork.com/. The easy-to-use website was created by DiNapoli to promote openness in government and provide taxpayers with better access to the financial workings of government.