[ad_1]
Many of New York’s hotels closed when the pandemic kept tourists and business people at home. It was meant to be temporary, but now several hundred have had to fight back for good. Others try to survive by offering luxury stays to the locals.
Horse and carriage in Central Park in New York. But it is not doing very well for the city’s tourism industry and many hotels have been allowed to close. Stock Photography.
It has been seen in movies, usually hosts sparkling gala events, and has hosted celebrities such as Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Lady Gaga. But now you can hardly see limousines outside the entrance to the luxury hotel The Pierre in Central Park.
There is no city as important to the American economy as New York. And few cities in the country have been so affected by the pandemic.
When tourists and business travelers disappeared in March, tens of thousands of hotel workers were forced to go home without knowing if and when they had a job to return to. Six months later, hotels are empty with delays in fees and property taxes, and many have already closed for good. Others struggle to survive.
And not even the best-established hotels have survived the ravages of the virus. At this time of year, dignitaries flock to The Pierre, which in addition to its 189 rooms has 80 apartments owned by wealthy people.
But when the hotel reopened in mid-September, the crowds were a thing of the past. Additionally, most foreign guests have left, as have those living in states where more than 10 percent of covid tests are positive. It currently applies to about 30 states in the United States and means that visitors there must be quarantined for 14 days if they wish to travel to New York State. It discourages many from undertaking the journey.
Instead, it is now nearby residents who are looking for a slightly more extravagant “vacation home.” They come by car and usually stay only one or two days. This was done, among others, by John Farrell and his wife, who drove for two hours to check into a 9,000 SEK room overnight.
– In the hotel it looks a lot like the streets. It lacks life, movement and the presence of people, says the 38-year-old construction contractor from the AFP news agency.
Despite support for the crisis from the federal government, some 200 of New York’s 700 hotels have been allowed to close and some 25,000 hotel workers are unemployed.
– It begins with the UN General Assembly, congresses, vacations, The Rockettes. But now the whole season will be over.
Tough city
New York City was hit hard by the spread of the coronavirus this spring. At worst, thousands of people get sick every day, although the tests were limited at first.
But by the end of the summer, the city had managed to slow the spread of the infection, with only a few hundred confirmed cases a day. However, recently there have been concerns about several local outbreaks in Brooklyn and Queens, where schools were allowed to close.
The United States has more than 7.6 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 213,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. New York State is approaching half a million confirmed cases and more than 33,000 deaths.
