8k8 New York City may require hotels to have ‘license to operate’ soon
Updated:2024-10-25 03:31 Views:132
FILE – The New Yorker Hotel sign glows at dusk, Wednesday, April 17, 2013 in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
NEW YORK — In New York City, you need a license to cut hair, work as a tour guide or operate a doggy day care. But you do not need one to run a hotel.
That’s likely going to change after city lawmakers passed legislation Wednesday that would require hotels to get a license and maintain it by complying with a slate of new rules on day-to-day operations, from how often rooms are cleaned to who can staff the front desk.
Article continues after this advertisementIf signed into law by the mayor — whose office said he supports the bill — advocates say the bill will reduce criminal activity, increase cleanliness and service levels, and improve labor standards at New York City’s roughly 700 hotels.
FEATURED STORIES BUSINESS BCDA strikes deal to sell Naia Terminal 3 to government for P65B BUSINESS BIZ BUZZ: Ares invests in Belo Medical Group BUSINESS Best Employers in PH unveiledThey run the gamut from luxury five-star venues in Manhattan, where rooms cost upward of $1,000 a night, to budget inns in the outer boroughs.
READ: New York City closes tunnel supplying half of its water
Article continues after this advertisementMost major U.S. cities, including Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles, have some form of hotel permit, but in the Big Apple, hotels are regulated only by separate business, health and building regulations.
Article continues after this advertisement“There is desperate need for regulation,” City Council Member Julie Menin, a Manhattan Democrat and the bill’s sponsor, told lawmakers ahead of the vote, citing an example of a hotel that received complaints but that the city couldn’t shut down.
Article continues after this advertisementUnder the proposed law, front desk staff, housekeepers and bellhops will have to be employed directly, rather than subcontracted. They’ll be entitled to a panic button system to be able to quickly alert a security guard if something goes wrong. Menin said that the rules on subcontracting would increase accountability by hotel owners “instead of shifting responsibility to third parties.”
For guests, the bill sets a floor for service: continuous coverage from a security guard and front desk operator, fresh linens upon request, and daily room cleaning unless a guest asks not to be disturbed. Following the pandemic, many hotels across the U.S. cut costs by cleaning rooms less than once per day, or only when a guest asked.
Article continues after this advertisementWhen first proposed, the bill was supported by the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, the union for hotel workers in the city, but faced strong pushback from some hotel owners.
In response, more sweeping regulations on the use of subcontractors were scaled back.
The bill passed Wednesday will grandfather in existing subcontracts, exempt hotels with fewer than 100 rooms from subcontracting rules, and allow all hotels to continue subcontracting a range of secondary roles such as parking valets, food workers, and specialty cleaners like people who wash windows, marble floors or aquariums.
The final version of the bill also watered down the consequences of violating its provisions from the instant revocation of the hotel license for major violations to a 30-day grace period to correct the deficiencies.
The bill passed in a 45-4 vote.
American Hotel & Lodging Association interim CEO Kevin Carey called the bill a “special interest victory at the expense of small and minority-owned businesses.”
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
“The updated version of the bill — while including some concessions thanks to the advocacy efforts of hundreds of hotels and hospitality professionals — still unfairly and arbitrarily targets hotels with 100 or more rooms with regulations that have nothing to do with the bill’s stated goal of increasing health and safety8k8,” Carey said in a prepared statement.
READ NEXT Boeing reports $6.2B loss as it awaits vote on end to strike US fines Apple and Goldman Sachs over Apple Card EDITORS' PICK 7 overflow bridges in Isabela not passable due to Kristine LIVE UPDATES: Tropical Storm Kristine Quiboloy ordered killings, ex-followers tell Senate Gov’t office work, classes in Luzon suspended on Thursday, October 24 PBA Finals: Kobe vs Jordan? Brownlee, RHJ face off for title again PH bracing for steeper drop in rice harvest MOST READ Tropical Storm Kristine slightly intensifies; Signal No. 2 in 5 areas Taxing Pogos did not make them legal, says Sotto Walang Pasok: Class suspensions on Wednesday, Oct. 23 LIVE UPDATES: Tropical Storm Kristine View comments
Category