Mayor Bill de Blasio’s next big idea to rev up the Big Apple’s economy from the pandemic is a gift to tourists — and to Hizzoner’s longtime ally, the Hotel Trades Council.
De Blasio said Wednesday he will offer a reprieve from the city’s 5.875 percent occupancy tax in a new effort to lure travelers back to the five boroughs during June, July and August. The levy holiday for holidayers will cost the city’s treasury about $30 million, officials estimate.
“As our COVID rates continue to plummet and we continue to drive a recovery for all of us, tourists will be coming back to New York City in droves. We’re ready for them,” said de Blasio in a release. “By eliminating the hotel room occupancy tax for this summer, we’re accelerating our economic recovery, saving jobs and providing relief for one of our hardest-hit industries.”
The break will save tourists about $6 for every $100 they would have spent on a hotel room.
That would pencil out to a roughly a $40 savings for a traveler staying in a one-bed room at the Times Square at the New York Marriott Marquis for three nights over the July 4th weekend, according to bookings priced out by The Post.
It’s the first major major industry-wide tax initiative launched by City Hall — and it is going to a sector that was particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic and to a workforce represented by HTC, which has a long history of close ties to de Blasio.
In 2019, HTC gave de Blasio one of the very few endorsements his failed presidential campaign netted and its members flooded his campaign with donations so he would qualify for the early debates in the 2020 Democratic primary.
The endorsement came as City Hall sided with HTC on two key matters — cracking down on illegal AirBnBs and requiring City Council approval for any new hotel to open, which would give the politically powerful union new leverage over hoteliers.
De Blasio has been batting away charges of a quid-pro-quo with the union ever since.
“Ridiculous,” replied press secretary Bill Neidhardt, when asked if City Hall’s relationship with HTC explained the giveaway. “If you’re against the hotel industry coming back, you’re against New York City, America’s tourism capital, coming back.”
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