2010 a banner year for new hotels in NYC

According to the Wall Street Journal, a total of 44 new hotels will open this year in the city, the largest number in several decades, with almost 80% in Manhattan alone. New hotel development is just one indication that the city's hotel industry is clearly on the road to economic recovery. Occupancy rates have continued to spiral upward since March, with some experts estimating 92% for May alone, far above everyone's expectations. Room rates have been experiencing a far more modest rise, which is good news for visitors and may be one reason why occupancy rates continue to climb.

More surprising is the fact that many of the new hotels have been developed in locations removed from the traditional tourist enclave of midtown: The Ink48 recently opened on the Westside; Lower Manhattan is home to the newly-opened and/or soon-to-open Andaz, W NY Downtown, Eventi Hotel, Gansevoort, James Hotel SoHo, World Center Hotel, Holiday Inn Express Wall Street, Fairfield Inn, The Nolitan, and Dream Downtown); Harlem will have the new Aloft Hotel; and Brooklyn the Cambria Suites Hotel, Sheraton, Aloft, Hyatt Place, Hotel Indigo, La Quinta Inn & Suites, Sleep Inn, Best Western, Holiday Inn Express.

Pictured: the Eventi Hotel.

To see the Wall Street Journal's interactive map of new hotel developments in New York City, click here.

Hudson, Kris. Room for All? Rush of Hotels Check Into City. Wall Street Journal. July 9, 2010.