Earlier this week, the New York City Council released an updated version of its proposed hotel licensing bill, dubbed the Safe Hotels Act.
The legislation, first proposed in mid-July by City Councilperson Julie Menin, would require hotels to obtain a license in order to operate in New York City, along with other mandates. The bill has garnered mixed industry reaction from hotel associations and unions, and now, the revised version is doing the same.
The updated legislation includes changes to front desk staffing and cleanliness mandates. The changes have led one group that previously condemned the bill, the Hotel Association of New York City, to drop its opposition.
HANYC President and CEO Vijay Dandapani told Hotel Dive Thursday that the association came to the decision because the latest version “includes modifications that address some of HANYC’s most serious concerns.”
Other hotel associations that have vehemently condemned the legislation, including the American Hotel and Lodging Association and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, remain resolute in their opposition, though. Local labor union NY/NJ Hotel & Gaming Workers Union, meanwhile, is in favor of the legislation.
Now, the hospitality industry waits for the New York City Council to hear the bill on Oct. 9.
Changed minds
As of Thursday morning, HANYC has withdrawn its objections to the bill’s passage, so long as the modifications remain in place, according to Dandapani.
Those modifications include the requirements for front desk staffing. The bill no longer mandates the physical presence of a continuous front desk employee overnight, as long as the hotel operator has “scheduled an overnight security guard who is able to assist guests and has undergone human trafficking recognition training,” according to the revised version.
Additionally, guest rooms do not have to be cleaned daily if a guest has declined the service, according to the updated legislation. The revised version also states that “hotels may not impose or collect any fee or charge for daily room cleaning nor offer any discount or incentive to forgo daily room cleaning.”
The legislation’s definition of “core employees” has also changed, with only front desk and housekeeping roles being a part of that group. A previous version of the bill listed roles related to engineering as core employees. Under the act, all core employees would need to be directly employed by the hotel, not a third-party staffing agency.
Condemning voices
While recent changes were enough for HANYC to drop its opposition to the bill, other organizations still disapprove of the legislation.
In a statement obtained by Hotel Dive, AHLA Interim President and CEO Kevin Carey said that while the organization appreciates Councilperson Menin’s willingness to listen to industry feedback, the new version of the legislation “still contains language that will cause significant economic harm — primarily to small, family-owned hotels and the largely immigrant and minority-owned businesses that support them.”
“There is no question that this bill, if passed, will cause many of New York City’s small businesses to close and thousands of hard-working New Yorkers to lose their jobs.”
Kevin Carey
American Hotel and Lodging Association Interim President and CEO
Carey was among some 1,500 hotel and hospitality professionals who took to the steps of New York City Hall on Sept. 12 to rally in opposition to a proposed bill. The rally was organized by Protect NYC Tourism Coalition, made up of organizations such as the Coalition for Hotel Subcontractors, the NYC Minority Hotel Association and HANYC.
Despite recent changes to the legislation, Carey still condemns the proposed bill.
“There is no question that this bill, if passed, will cause many of New York City’s small businesses to close and thousands of hard-working New Yorkers to lose their jobs. We cannot accept any legislation that causes such disparate impacts across the industry,” Carey said in the Thursday statement.
AAHOA, which also had representation at the Sept. 12 rally, similarly remains in opposition to the bill’s passage.
“AAHOA has reviewed and opposes the union’s revised version of Int. 991 crafted behind closed doors,” Chairman Miraj Patel said in a statement. “This bill continues to ignore legitimate concerns of our minority owned small businesses members, including limitations on subcontracted workers and many other operational burdens. We urge the City Council to continue working with the industry to find a balanced solution that protects both workers and businesses.”
Mukesh Patel, a New York City hotelier and a founding member of NYC Minority Hotel Association, said in a statement obtained by Hotel Dive that the bill in its current form would have “disastrous impacts on our livelihoods,” echoing similar sentiments made by Camilo Torres, owner of Lumina HR, to Hotel Dive last month.
“A lot of people are going to be out of jobs, and ultimately they’re going to be looking into different industries,” Torres said ahead of the Sept. 12 rally. “The hospitality industry is going to suffer a lot at the end of the day.”
“HANYC has sold us and New York City out,” Mukesh Patel said in a Thursday statement.
Lingering support
For the NY/NJ Hotel & Gaming Workers Union, though, HANYC’s withdrawal of its opposition to the bill was “a victory,” the labor union wrote in a Wednesday post on social media platform X.
The union has actively supported the Safe Hotels Act, claiming it would safeguard some of the health and safety protections the union has fought for, including panic buttons, daily room cleaning and greater security measures.
The New York City Council could not be reached for comment. Councilperson Menin took to X on Wednesday to announce the City Council will hear the bill on Oct. 9.
