New York City Hotel Rates Soar to Record Heights as Holiday Travel Nears

For a recent Friday night at a Hilton in Times Square: $537, including a daily $35 “destination charge.”

A night at a Hotel Indigo in Lower Manhattan: $414.

The Aloft Hotel overlooking LaGuardia Airport in Queens: $351.

New York City has never been a budget destination, but many travelers are experiencing sticker shock over the high cost of a night at a hotel, especially as the peak holiday tourism season begins.

The average price of a hotel room in New York City in September climbed to $417, the highest monthly rate ever recorded in the city by CoStar, a real estate analytics company, since it started tracking the data in 1987.

The only place with more expensive hotels for that same time period was Maui, according to CoStar.

In New York, room rates can vary wildly across hotel classes, and it is not uncommon for high-end properties in Manhattan to charge more than $1,000 a night. A king room on a Friday night in November at the St. Regis New York costs $1,854, after fees and taxes.

But hotel rates overall have climbed as tourists are once again filling the city’s sidewalks, reviving an economic pillar that ground to a halt during the coronavirus pandemic.