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March 3, 2009

Hard Times for Brooklyn Hotels

hotel-le-bleu-0309.jpg
It's a tough time to be a hotelier in Brooklyn, according to a Daily News article today. Nightly rates at the Sunset Park Days Inn are down from $199 last summer to $50 and rates at the Nu hotel have gone from as high as $647 to $167. At Hotel Le Bleu, the days of $429 rooms are long gone, and the $1,000 spa packages appear to be not far behind. “We’re paying our bills — we’re not turning a profit or anything,” said Todd Cahill, director of Le Bleu's operations. “This year is going to be very unstable. It’s going to be very challenging.” Even the Downtown Marriott, prices are $60 lower than last year. "Brooklyn . . . is hurting pretty bad," said hotel developer Sam Chang, who built and sold five Brooklyn hotels in recent years. "There are too many hotels."
Plenty of Rooms - But No One's Staying [NY Daily News]
Brooklyn Hotels Hurting [Curbed]




Posted by Brownstoner at 10:59 AM | Comments (24)
Categories: Hotels

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Comments

Stop the press! "Hotels affected by recession"

Posted by: the chicken at March 3, 2009 11:10 AM

There was a glut of hotels even before the economy turned sour. Now the amount is laughable.

And Sam? Stop building hotels where the bathroom is in the actual bedroom and not in a separate room. Those are fine when you're traveling alone or with your long term significant other but there's no way I'd stay in one of those if I were just dating someone.

Some things require adequate privacy.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at March 3, 2009 11:11 AM

Incroyable, mes copains dans Le Bleu. Who could possibly, in a million years, have foreseen a day when $600-a-night rooms next to a dialysis center and a taxi depot wouldn't pack 'em in?

Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at March 3, 2009 11:11 AM

Another $50 less and the Le Blue will be perfect for Le Hooker.....

Posted by: fsrg at March 3, 2009 11:12 AM

Brenda what are you saying? You don't want to spend $1000 for a spa package in the tropical resort destination of Brooklyn??

Seriously, what are they smoking??

Posted by: TownhouseLady at March 3, 2009 11:13 AM

I wonder what percentage of hotel rooms in this city wind up being used for NSA sex, paid for or otherwise??

There is a huge glut of rooms in Manhattan now after they renovated all those flea-bags like the Roger Smith, etc.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 3, 2009 11:16 AM

you are 'just dating' someone and sharing a hotel room? and you use 'lady' in your moniker?

Posted by: Petebklyn at March 3, 2009 11:17 AM

Regardless of the intensity of one's relationship, who wants to 'drop the kids off at the pool' with someone watching???

Posted by: InsertSnappyNameHere at March 3, 2009 11:20 AM

The real question is - if the "hip" Le Blue is going for $160 a night - what is a room at the Holiday Inn Express(s) in Gowanus - (1 on Union & 1 on Butler) going for?

Posted by: fsrg at March 3, 2009 11:28 AM

Finally a girl can work and not have her profits eatin' into!

Posted by: bayridgegirl at March 3, 2009 11:45 AM

why any tourist or business traveler would want to stay in brooklyn is beyond me. Love it here, but hell i hate my commute every day...

Posted by: saminthehood at March 3, 2009 11:45 AM

Hotel rates are like airline ticket prices. Wide range of prices depending on when booked, day of week for resv, time of year. Prices can change all the time.
As far as Holiday Inn Express - they were both showing $126-$184 for a saturday in May and 1 was showing $179-$250 for weekday in April whereas Union st showed the $126-$184 range.

Posted by: Petebklyn at March 3, 2009 11:52 AM

as to saminthehood why someone would stay at Brooklyn hotel-
check the holiday inn express...on the same weekday in april - 2 of the expresses in manhattan had no availability and the others were (at minimum prices) $64 per night more.
So price would be 1 factor. Also - some business travelers maybe doing business in downtown Brooklyn neighborhoods.
And after a tourist has been to NYC a few times may get tired of visiting same tourist traps/haunts of midtown and may want to explore a little deeper beyond the superficial.

Posted by: Petebklyn at March 3, 2009 12:04 PM

BRG, the client pays for the room. Or so I read some place.

Posted by: g man at March 3, 2009 12:28 PM

"There was a glut of hotels even before the economy turned sour."

Not true. See "Hotel Development Fact Sheet" here: http://nycgo.com/?event=view.researchanalytics&id=78830

"Over the past two years, hotel occupancies have reached virtual capacity,
averaging 86.5% in 2007 and 85.6% in 2006. Effective demand, as measured by room nights, has risen each
year since 2001. Expected to reach almost 24 million room nights sold in 2008, a nearly 3% increase over the
2007 achievement (22.9 million)"

Although it would seem so, NYC and Brooklyn in particular are underserved in terms of hotels compared with most large U.S. cities. The hotels are suffering now, like businesses everywhere, due to the crappy economy.

Posted by: East New York at March 3, 2009 12:35 PM

g man outed as Eliot Spitzer.

Posted by: Back40 at March 3, 2009 12:41 PM

That Nu Hotel has roughly the same rates at the BH Marriott. I can't see that working out well.

Posted by: broadwayron at March 3, 2009 12:50 PM

I just love Hotel le Doom
I just can’t wait to rent a room

I’m coming all the way from Sydney
Going next door to treat my kidney

Love the traffic, love the noise
Love the Staples and Pep Boys

Some might think they have some gall
To charge so much next to U-Haul

I say it’s cheap at twice the price
That view of Novo’s mighty nice

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 3, 2009 1:26 PM

200k people in 11215, 11217, 11231, 11232

lots of weddings, birthdays, etc.

more tourists every day.

there are still more hotels at the corner of two interstates in illinois than there is in brownstone brooklyn.

decades after the zoning change of 1961 things are picking up. still a ways to go.

go bleu!!!

Posted by: bkn4life at March 3, 2009 2:41 PM

Snark- what can we say? Another brilliant hit. (Marry me and we can share my tiara- the one you....ahem...awarded me)

Posted by: bxgrl at March 3, 2009 3:54 PM

If you can find it in your heart to share your tiara, surely the bf can find it in his to share yours truly.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 3, 2009 4:31 PM

Looks like they willl be renting rooms by the hour soon. "Just so my girlfriend and I could rest for a few hours"

Posted by: hannible at March 5, 2009 12:20 PM

When I heard this and saw that they failed to mention a source for their quote I was immediately skeptical. I called the hotel and spoke with a man named "Patel" who told me he most certainly was not renting rooms for $1500 a month. He was renting rooms for $99 a night, double the price quoted in the Daily News. I am tired of the News and The NY Post citing a source as "unidentified" when they make up a quote or an opinion just to beef up a story. This is lazy journalism and should not be tolerated. Not to mention, here it's an outright lie. This is the only one in the area: 437 39th Street Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 853-4141

Posted by: mumbles at March 6, 2009 12:13 PM

I have just stayed here 4 nights as an intro to brooklyn while I find an apartment. It is clean comfortable and user friendly amazing location, and fun surprise in the bathroom. i wish the Nu hotel every success

Posted by: rachelsopher at October 6, 2009 10:36 AM

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