Skift Take
New York City has tightened the rules for hotel operations. After having supported a campaign to rein in short-term rentals, the city's hotel sector has now gotten a taste of greater regulation of itself.
The New York City Council on Wednesday passed a hotel licensing bill that has sparked an intense debate between supporters who claim it will improve safety and working conditions and opponents who argue it will hobble the hotel industry.
The 45-to-4 vote, with one abstention, was a veto-proof supermajority — meaning the bill will become law and Mayor Eric Adams can't veto it. It requires hotels to obtain a new license to operate in the city.
"Licensing is a critical regulatory tool … [but] oversight of the hotel industry has essentially been laissez-faire," said Manhattan City Council Member Julie Menin, who introduced the bill.
What the Hotel Licenses Re