An advocacy group consisting of New York City-based hotel owners from minority demographics has been formed to challenge proposed legislation that they consider to be harmful to their businesses.
The NYC Minority Hotel Association (NYCMHA) encompasses 50 minority hotel owners from all five boroughs that own a combined total of approximately 120 hotels and employ more than 900 hotel workers, most of whom are minority women. Approximately 85% of the hotel owners in the coalition are first-generation Americans, and the NYCMHA said its members are franchisees to major hotel brands including Marriott, Hilton, Choice Hotels, IHG Hotels & Resorts and Wyndham.
The legislation that the NYCMHA opposes is the New York City Council’s proposed Intro 991, also known as the “Safe Hotels Act.” The bill requires hotels in the city to obtain a license that would be renewed every two years; there is a license fee of $200.
The bill also requires hotels to maintain continuous front desk coverage and large hotels would be required to have continuous coverage by at least one security guard. Licensees would also be required to directly employ core hotels, and all hotels would be required to maintain the cleanliness of each guest room.
In a press statement, the new coalition argued the bill would add “significant cost to hotels, jeopardize their ability to operate, and put the 265,000 New Yorkers whose jobs are supported by hotels at risk, all while straining the tourism industry and threatening the estimated $5 billion in tax revenue it brings to the city each year. Scores of hotels across the city are expected to close if the legislation becomes law.”
Intro 991 is already opposed by the Hotel Association of New York City. Vijay Dandapani, president and CEO of that organization, recently used an op-ed column in amNY.com to declare the bill “would impose a broad set of onerous requirements on the industry at a time when we can least afford costly new regulations.”
“As it is currently imagined, Intro 991 has the potential to destroy all that progress, put thousands of people out of work and shut down small businesses all over the city,” said Mukesh Patel, a New York City hotelier and a founding member of NYCMHA. “We are always ready to work with our elected leaders to improve our industry, but this legislation is the wrong way to do that.”
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