New York City is hosting the homeless, undocumented migrants, and asylum seekers while visitors pick up the tab.
If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com.
If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add us today.
Regardless of Political Persuasion
The migrant crisis in the United States is a hot topic often bitterly divided along party lines. There are, however, aspects of this that are simply facts and do not appeal to either party.
Regardless of political affiliation, both parties agree that undocumented migrants have significantly increased crossings in the last few years from hundreds of thousands to several million.
No country in the world has an open border policy.
Both parties agree that some migrants are genuinely seeking and applying for asylum and that the asylum process can mean eight years before they have their cases heard – simply too long.
Members of both parties agree that there needs to be a solution but differ dramatically on what that solution is.
New York Has Taken 20% Of Hotel Rooms Off The Market
Matthew wrote yesterday that 20% of New York City hotel rooms are completely under contract to the city’s Sanctuary Hotel program. I speculated in the past that this could be the case causing significant price increases at open hotels simply by reducing the amount of available beds.
The program, as outlined by the New York Times, pays hotels $139-185/nt every night, for every room, occupied or not and is set to cost New York tax payers $10 bn over the next three years.
What that also means is that hotel occupancy rates for the next three years will be elevated with diminished supply.
Hoteliers Win
City shelter systems have long been flooded and the additional arriving migrants compound the issue. Mayor Eric Adams has estimated the influx of migrants to be north of 150,000 but the official figures in The NY Times article suggests the number is closer to 65,000.
Every hotelier wins. Participants seeking shelter in the program are filled at rates and occupancy levels they couldn’t imagine performing at even during peak travel periods let alone for 1,000 nights straight. Shelter limits are unlikely to significantly improve in the near term according to city officials.
Those that aren’t in the program are absorbing the occupancy that would have otherwise been distributed over a wider market. That pushes nightly rates up across the board and leads to fewer unpaid perks like free upgrades to elite members from loyalty programs.
It derisks the entire New York City market for the largest hotel brands for a predictable length of time. And it will line their coffers for the foreseeable future. I’d suspect that sales leaders in the major chains would encourage cities struggling with the same migrant influx and similar policies like Chicago would seek to replicate the program and their participation. California, which has struggled with homelessness in specific in Los Angeles and San Francisco and Governor Newsom might find Marriott, IHG, and Hilton on the other end of the phone with a solution.
Hotels can also continue to add (and increase) “Destination Charges” – where’s the junk fees police when you need them – because there’s fewer hotels in the mix not offering them
Visitors Pick Up The Tab
The truth is, while New York tax payers are picking up the tab for the $10 billion commitment for the next three years, so are visitors. Visitors, whether foreign or domestic, leisure or business are paying higher rates to stay elsewhere. The city has in essence shifted some of the cost of its program to guests to the city.
And while those tourists are not directly contributing to the program, they are in the form of taxes and fees.
Another fun contributing factor is New York City disallowing Airbnbs for less than 30 days shifting those visitors to hotels as well. When Matthew and the New York Times accurately accounted for the 16,000+ reduction in available hotel rooms, what is harder to gauge is the amount of homeshare stays that will be forced into hotels at the same time. Interestingly, the number of lost short stay homeshares is just over 15,000 properties. Some of those properties would have included accommodations for more than just two people, so it’s possible that even that number is short of its effect.
Directly, both New York City and State are able to recover some of their investment. By moving visitors into accommodations where nightly occupancy, city, and state taxes are all incurred, and by those rates rising abnormally high, New York will make more on fewer rooms than they did before.
- New York City Tax = 8.88%
- New York State Tax = 5.88%
- Occupancy Tax (flat) = $7.00
- Destination Charge Tax = 14.5%
In a simple example, Dreams Midtown from Hyatt was historically about $75 cheaper per night. The Andaz 5th Avenue (also Hyatt) was typically $550-600/night, now $900 on an Advanced Purchase rate. If we take the example of the Andaz 5th Ave alone, and assume a prior nightly rate of $600, the difference in taxes on that 50% rate increase is $44.28/night. Adding in the destination charge which would not be collected at an Airbnb adds another $10.34 for a total of $54.62.
If New Yorkers want to continue hosting migrants in hotels on take-or-pay contracts for a three-year period, that’s their choice – except when they pass it off to consumers.
What do you think?
No one if forcing visitors to go to NYC. If they don’t like the price, go elsewhere. NYC is doing its part to help house and feed newly arrived immigrants who have no one else to go. The Big Apple has a BIG HEART.
The market decides the rates. Nothing new here. If NYC is too expensive for you, then don’t visit. The migrant crisis has been made worse by right-wing politicians who have trafficked humans, at taxpayer expense, from one state to another.
You mean illegal criminals, right? They are selling their meal money, selling p#say out of the rooms and sh#ting in the hallways. The sooner they are sent back to wherever they came from, the safer and better the United States will be. Most are barely human with their actions and cannot be trusted. They know we have many in government who fall for their garbage so they come here and exploit us.
If that’s your attitude then you should move to another country. America is a land of immigrants, and all of them are welcome. Where would this country be without them? Focusing on the bad behavior of a few and ignoring the contributions of the millions is not only wrong it’s just stupid. Your xenophobia and stupidity might be the majority of the MAGA Republican party but not of America as a whole. You are the minority.
Clearly our immigration policies need to be changed but the far right law makers who have cheated their way into positions of power are not interested in fixing them. What would they have to run on? How would they trigger bigots like yourself?
Republican politicians and their constituents are not interested in fixing either the border or immigration policies as it doesn’t help either of their interests. Republican politicians have no ideas and only want America to go back in time. That is the biggest problem in American politics today as one party wants to fix things, and the other one wants to do nothing but complain.
If you don’t want to pay additional taxes and fees in NYC or LA that support assisting immigrants and homeless people than don’t. Stay in Florida and Texas and continue to focus your attention on controlling women’s vaginas and attacking trans people. We’ll see how that works out for you.
“America is a land of immigrants,”
Legal immigrants sure. Illegal, law breakers, no. The left never differentiates between the two.
Weren’t the people who established the US illegal immigrants?
these issues are caused by the left and their open borders policies.
They want these policies because they use the grieavance and race id politics to run on.
The entire immigration system was destroyed by the 1965 immigration act that was designed to replace the demographics of this country.
Left wing politicians need low iq voters to win elections and the best way to get them is to import them from the 3rd world. They promise welfare and handouts to get them to vote for them.
democrats are more worried about grooming young children to become trans.
Always good to see Koggerj providing his usual ignorant and racist fake new comments on here. He and his klan mates must really be crying these days.
I find these progressives who argue the most are often the same ones that pays the least tax.
Where is your proof that they are all doing this?
No proof just comm9n sense, sure a few of you ass f#ckers pay your fair share because you can’t have kids. But the majority of the illegals work sh#t jobs and never pay one dollar in Federal Income Tax because they never make enough after legal deductions to pay anyth8ng.
That said we all need ditch diggers. Sadly AIDS didn’t take enough of you non breeders out but hey, there is always the next opportunity when you guys F another ape in Africa for “pleasure”.
Lol whatever you say, Koggerj , er sorry, I mean Dave. You ignorant racist/sexist/homophobic/xenophobic/etc diatribes all sound like they are being written by the same person…
In any case, that isn’t common sense, those are just your opinions. Which are just the opinions of an @sshole. Please let us know when you are ready to provide facts, Koggerj Edwards.
Lol it’s that’s funny
The migrants are here because the left allows it and enables it.
@lavanderialarry
absolute lunacy.
Where do you think these migrants would go once they cross the border? Stay in el paso? All 10 million of them?
Left wingers really are brain dead morons. Way to prove that.
they can go back to their own countries.
I agree with viapanam. The market dictates the rates. People are paying the higher rates. If they refused to and occupancy went down, rates would go down. Is the City benefiting with higher tax revenue, I suppose, but that’s how a flat tax works.
I don’t think people are entitled to cheap hotels in New York, and while occupancy may be high, it’s certainly not difficult to find a room, so I just don’t see how this is a problem.
@Jerry – Just so we are all on the same page here, if New York City tomorrow disallowed rideshares Uber, Lyft, etc. then contracted 20% of the taxis off the roads for the next three years you’d say “the market dictates rates”? I wouldn’t disagree that the market determines the rates, the government is telling hotels what to charge, but it’s a pretty heavy hand, isn’t it?
Kyle, I get the point you’re trying to make regarding AirBnb, but let’s say NYC got rid of ride-sharing overnight… You’d still have a robust subway and bus system that runs 24/7. You’d still have all the other T&LC licensed businesses (which, of course, Uber and Lyft currently are). You’d have the ability to walk. In addition, if you’ve ever flown to JFK, which I know you have, you’re aware of all the unlicensed cabs that work in NYC. People would be just fine. There’s still plenty of competition. No different than it was 12 years ago.
With no Airbnb and 20% guaranteed occupancy, there isn’t a shortage of beds for those who need them in NYC. You can also stay at some really attractive places outside of the city (Hyatt Regency Jersey City, for example). I don’t think anyone is actually suffering, and I don’t that any sort of market manipulation is at play.
Much to the shock of people your age, Kyle, we actually did get around quite fine before Uber. I realize that this is a difficult thing for you to imagine, but it existed. And still does. Innovation is nice. I like Uber. But I also know how to change a tire when needed. Or find other forms of transport.
@Stuart- ok, let’s focus on this issue directly. Airbnb was about 20% of the market. That’s gone. Another 20% of capacity is gone for the next three years. You might be able to grab a subway for transportation but you can’t build a hotel fast enough to replace 40% of the market.
Kyle, I feel like you’re missing the point, buddy. Hotels are expensive, they’re not full. People are voluntarily paying what they’re charging.
You used the comparison, not me. I was specifically commenting on Uber. Not hotels.
The only innovative thing about Uber has been its unprecedented access to unlimited venture capital/shareholder funds for software development, marketing, and lobbying. The core business model of ‘ridesharing’ is decades older than Uber. Private hire vehicles have been a thing in England since forever, and the advent of mobile phones made it possible to offer that service in a very efficient way, and, back in the nineties, countries like Poland and Czechia pioneered the concept of taxis offering lower prices for pre-booked trips than the official (typically set by local Councils) rates for hailing on the street.
these Scottish and Irish and polish and Italian immigrants seeking asylum HAVE to go. Agreed. Never mind that they are DOCUMENTED and legal (on Ellis Island as they arrived and crossed into our borders). Somehing’s got to give and it definitely can’t be tourists going on vacation who are affected. Nope. Not on my hard-earned social security dollar which said immigrants are subsidizing for me to get.
@Joe – The comment you’re making pretends that American immigration policy of the late 1890s to the 1940s should remain now. It asserts that the needs of the country weren’t different at that time vs this time. It also suggests that just because the law changed, it shouldn’t be followed because it wasn’t always that way. Wouldn’t that also lend to the notion that we can settle disputes by duel because that used to be the law?
@Jerry: You’re completely correct. If it were too expensive and to a point that it drastically reduces demand, things would change. Add in the amplified effect of each dollar spent that goes into wages for hotel staff that they then spend… and restaurants and tourist attractions and such that visitors use. If all that dropped 25% tomorrow and sustained the drop, that would certainly cause some drastic changes. But it isn’t happening, people continue to fill hotels at whatever price, flights to/from NYC continue to be full, etc.
democrats are destroying their own cities. The usual movie we’ve seen.
Jerks like you are destroying the country.
Oh, I’m sure it’s more than just visitors that are being taxed; every federal tax-paying sod in the country is somehow paying for this. And between this and funding two overseas wars, poopypants-in-chief is just fine with that.
The Sanctuary Hotel program, while well intended, has really caused this mess. Apparently the group of city council members, did not make a clear plan to settle the migrants before committing to long term leases at rates double their actual value. The extra money should have been used for migrant training and placement to produce tax paying citizens not warehousing people.
And to think Pakistan is receiving $220 million for the Roosevelt. Maybe they can redeem a repossessed PIA plane
“If New Yorkers want to continue hosting migrants in hotels on take-or-pay contracts for a three-year period, that’s their choice – except when they pass it off to consumers. ”
I’m having trouble understanding the last section here. Why is this not “their choice”?
I’m not trying to defend the contracts themselves, but I fail to see how tourists have a right to anything in particular?
The problem is not completely due to migrants occupying hotels. The problem is that Airbnb type places are practically banned. Let hotels do what they want. Let people do what they want with their apartments, as long as it isn’t a crack house.
Ultimately, business travelers with a well funded expense account will stay in NYC hotels. If they occupy most of the hotels, they will squeeze out the tourists, who will either not spend money in NYC by avoiding NYC or will stay in Long Island and NJ and spend some of their money there.
I just checked… I can book the Dream Midtown tomorrow night for $124, so I’m missing the entire premise of this whole “NYC is expensive because of migrants” theory.
Gild Hall $158
Hotel 50 Bowery $144
The Time $124
Hyatt Herald Square $138
Hyatt Grand Central $138
Come on!
I searched:
Gild Hall $250+$33 dest. fee
Hotel 50 Bowery $250+$33 dest. fee
The Time $190+$33 dest. fee
This is using just Google search quickly, I didn’t bother to check your remaining two because you are clocking in at half the rates I am seeing. where are you seeing those super low rates?
I put in my corp rate code. I’m sure most people have one… Or a few.
Not sure that applies then.
Right, so I guess I can claim DL is the cheapest airline out of the big 3 because I have status with them and hundreds of dollars of gift cards I can use. How disingenuous.
Indeed. Just saw $136 all-in for a Hyatt hotel in Manhattan when Hyatt is asking 20k Hyatt points for tonight. And I would get
4pm late check-out (breakfast) tomorrow for that as a Globalist.
I shopped June and I’d caution against anyone using Google maps (which displays rates far lower than the actual end price) rather than a checkout page. Google Maps doesn’t factor in taxes, destination or resort fees, etc. I’m not sure if this is where the pricing came from and I’ll also note that you didn’t name the Hyatt in Manhattan so it’s possible that I missed one. Also most folks don’t shop for tonight, it’s usually a couple of weeks or months out. People that are committed at rates three weeks from now may be very different than a last minute rate.
I didn’t use Google to get the rates. I was looking at the hotel apps and hotel websites themselves and looking at what I would have to pay in cash to spend that night inclusive of taxes and whatever else the hotels charge for the room night. So the figure I shared was the cost being advertised directly on the hotel apps/websites — but your comment is a good reminder to others to be wary about what is advertised on aggregator sites and on Google.
The Hyatt in Chelsea. A Hyatt in Midtown was about $3 more all-in than the Hyatt in Chelsea for that night. I was actually sort of shocked when I saw that pricing and so dug all into it to look at what they would charge if I no-showed on a points-earning rate. It was so low that I wanted to make sure that I hadn’t traveled back in time to Memorial Day weekend in 2001 or 2002.
Kyle needed a click bait headline/article?
Australia and New Zealand are full of immigrants too. But just try to do it illegally. There isn’t a country in the world with open borders other than the US.
One day we’ll come to our senses and the pendulum will swing back.
The US was created because there were no open borders at the time.
There is a perfectly fine bipartisan drawn plan for the border that is ready and waiting. And has been for weeks.
Can we all accept that it is going nowhere until after November? Not because of anyone else other than Trump who has made it clear that Republicans need to block it so that he has something, anything, to run on.
Should Biden have shepherded this earlier. Of course. Mistakes were made. But if Republicans are going to scream that the sky is falling and there is a solution right in front of them (partly drawn up by a very Conservative Party member) than step up or shut up. The solution has been waiting since the winter.
Biden, through executive order, can fix this mess tomorrow.
He consciously chooses not to.
Or more importantly, the actual people running the country choose not to.
Biden is Biden, God bless him. He believes in the system. And he actually attempted to allow for compromise. Including a solution drawn up by Republicans but which Trump made clear he won’t allow.
This just happened Thursday. Watch what happens now in the next few weeks. Biden tried to do things the old way, the right way, but now the Nuclear option is all that’s left.
Remind me when NYC was cheap???
Lately no side is without fault on the issue of immigration. Full stop. We should look forward and quit looking back. We need workers. Migrants need jobs.
There can be even more assistance. Think about a 1% tax on ALL groceries, to ensure that immigrants do not have to pay for food. Also, a 1% (or possibly slightly less) increase in property taxes would relieve them from housing needs more permanently than hotels. Some of this money could be used to build free housing, with ongoing funds used to pay, for instance, for utilities and upkeep and any taxes they might face. Property tax increases, especially on those who can afford it best, would also provide education to migrants, as would preferential hiring practices. Finally, either gasoline (electric could be exempt, for now) taxes or a small tax for non-immigrants who use public transportation could be instigated to ensure that the transportation needs of this generation and all future generations of immigrants are 100% covered. These measures would alleviate immigrants’ expenses and allow them to enjoy the dream of the worry-and-stress-free life they are seeking by coming here.
Given NYC is now the richest city in the world according to the latest report last week, your solution seems fair. I’m sure a small tax increase would be easily afforded and help to also establish the migrants into the workforce which is very much needed there.
Hi Chi Hsuan.
I know you miss the real Billy Bob. I do also ; )
That degenerate can go continue to touch grass and never come back for all I care. Zero contribution to travel insights and a self-admitted political hack.
I remember how you feel. But now we have a faux Billy Bob. Probably wearing a service dog vest. Have a great Memorial Day! ; )
That bipartisan plan is a joke- it allows 5000 in EVERY DAY. Biden could close down the border at any time- he’s always had the power to do so. He just doesn’t want to. Easier to blame Republicans or Congress for the mess he made.
I think most Americans are smart enough to know this and will hold him responsible.
It’s only a joke because it was blocked at Trump’s directive.
So now bipartisan plans are a joke? What would you propose as an alternative? I mean, umm, this was written primarily by Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, who is about as conservative as they come. Along with Sinema who is about as right leaning an Independent as you will find. And it’s fully endorsed by Biden as acceptable.
Seems like you are less about solutions and more about salivating. A compromise is one that gives on all sides and forms a reasonable policy. If you want everything you can start a civil war.
@Stuart – You’re absolutely right that there was a conservative who wrote an immigration bill that would have added some 1,500 border agents to the count. And I don’t disagree that voting it down was a political ploy by the right to exacerbate the problem in an election year. That said, while we are both engaging in fair dealing, that immigration bill was deeply flawed as many have mentioned reducing the number of permitted illegal crossings to 5,000/day or 1.825MM+ which is more than under any prior administration’s single year. While adding more asylum judges to reduce the backlog was part of the deal, it would not have brought that number down to a level that’s going to credibly solve the problem. And it didn’t do anything to stem future crossings. It was also a political play by the democrats who wanted to tout that they co-sponsored a bill and overwhelmingly supported it while knowing it would never pass and then they could also point the finger at the other side saying they didn’t really want to solve the problem.
It shouldn’t be this way especially if we all agree there’s a problem. It should just come down to negotiating the can’t miss components for each side. You’re quite right, you can’t get everything you want and shouldn’t. But the bill was bad and just because it was *an* option, doesn’t mean that it was a viable option.
It may be deeply flawed.. I agree. But if you can’t even bring it to the floor for debate how can you negotiate? Bring it to the floor. Work on it. You know, the way things used to happen in DC before Trump and MAGA decided that the white 1950 agenda was the only way forward.
Let’s not forget that on Thursday, Lankford, The Oklahoma Republican who primarily wrote the bill and was blocked in February from putting it on the floor (By Trump) actually voted against the very bill he wrote when it came down to it. Because he was intimidated by MAGA enough, including censorship in his own state, to back down from what was reasonable and a starting point for discussion.
Oh, let’s not forget Mitch, who backed it in February, but suddenly retreated and voted against it also on Thursday. The same man who rewrote the Constitution to tell Obama he could not appoint a Supreme Court Justice during an election year. And then would not accept those same rules in 2019, even closer to the election,
And you wonder why people are so pissed? You wonder why Moderates like me want our country back to a time that we worked through problems with compromise and The Constitution as our framework?
It’s a joke because when Trump was President we had a remain in Mexico policy which had effectively shut the border down. You want to let in almost two million a year- illegally- while those who are trying to come here legally wait months or years. A complete farce. No other country in the world has such a ridiculous policy.
Agree to disagree.
I personally know many who came here over the past few years on the lottery system. As well via H1-B visas. The U.S. is very much open to immigrants who want to come here legally. I agree that it is far too open for people who want to come here by other means. However, a plan has been presented. It’s reasonable. And it’s quite a balanced approach to assure that we will have enough workers in this country over the coming years to fill jobs that those who come via the lottery or H1 are far too qualified to ever do.
America is a business. Do you only want to hire upper level management? Who is going to do everything else?
@Stuart – Reform is needed top to bottom.
Let’s start with you. What are you going to offer? You are MAGA. The best I see from you is redistricting, unconstitutional blocking of Supreme Court appointments, hijacking legislation and compromise, lying about election fraud, refusing to accept election results, spiting on the constitution, and destroying the fabric of our nation.
I am a moderate willing to compromise. But for the love of god you speak of reform? Reform this. Or fully expect a civil war which you will own.
That’s fine feel free to sponsor a few and put them up in your home….
Oh wait. You’re not willing to that far, are you?
Cairns,
Yes. Shortly before covid I was going to sponsor a minor league baseball player. He was very young, talented, from a kind family and needed a second home. Where I live we do that sort of thing a lot.
@Cairns. I’m so curious. You talk about Australia often and your user name seems to reinforce that. Where are you from?
This guy only writes for the clicks… an awful writer with no logic
Tevi – Send me your receipt and we will ship a refund.
Can’t really put a price on time wasted bud.
@Jim Baround – But the value in learning a lesson to never repeat the same mistake again is invaluable.
Yes, like Trump
the worst thing is that we all have to stay in the same room these 3rd world invaders stay in.
Most aren’t clean and have who knows what kind of diseases.
The only diseased one here is you.
Mental disease isn’t generally a communicable disease as much as a genetic or environmentally-triggered one, but perhaps you can do a public service by informing the public where and when you stay so you can be avoided like the plague either way? Speaking of mental disease, a communicable disease like syphilis could be an explanation for your Lord Trump’s deranged state of mind. Have you waged your “personal Vietnam” with STDs like Ye Lord Trump? Give the dude a star for having sacrificed so much for so many. Not. Now go consider a health check up before your healthcare bills run up other people’s health insurance costs and tax liabilities more than a they already do. Thank you.
By the way, you should get yourself checked for toxoplasmosis, as it may explain a disorder.
I think several people are missing the point here: a vetted immigration system is good, Any other form of immigration is dangerous and risky to any sovereign nation.
In a not so distant past, most immigrants truly *wanted to become Americans * and experience the American dream. I no longer believe this is true. What a backdoor to a computer system is to a hacker (stealth intrusion, change core system values, steal information and request values) , the current open immigration system is to the US. It is not a case for us to adapt in the future but instead for us to be forced to accept unwanted changes. At that point, the US will no longer hold the values that made it unique and attractive to the entire world for a very, very long time.
In regards to hotels, Uber, Lift, Airbnb, etc.: the commonality between them is *Tourism*. Tourism is any city silent partner. It helps pay for several different services to its citizens and provide a living to many. Limiting the choices available to tourists while raising costs for the remaining options will have a direct negative impact in the City/State economy (cut in services, job loss, etc.).
Obviously I am not from New York but I believe every New Yorker should look at it’s City/State current affairs with magnifying lenses because in the very end, when “it” hits the fan, those who caused the crisis (e.g., NY officials) will smell like roses with no changes in their net worth. As history has shown many, many times, the citizens will be the ones paying for and cleaning up their mess.
I don’t think letting 5,000 people in a day- illegally- is reasonable. Let them apply and wait. The same way legal immigrants do.
FWIW I’m a HUGE fan of legal immigration. It’s what made this country great.
BTW Maryland good on y9u. It’s nice to know you’re actually putting your money where your mouth is. Very commendable and I mean it.
Cairns.
I have to say it has been one of the most rewarding things I have done.
Whatever I know we disagree often but I do have a lot of respect for you. You’ve said some profoundly smart things on here.