by Roland deMilleret and Nicole Roantree

The New York City borough of Manhattan is among the strongest, most diverse, and most dynamic hotel markets in the world. Manhattan’s resiliency has been borne out over the course of recovery from three national recessions since 1989. The following report examines the effects of past recessions on hotel performance in Manhattan, as well as the dynamics of hotel supply and demand and forecasts for the health of the local lodging industry in the near term.

Historical Hotel Performance in Manhattan

Through year-end 2016, demand growth modestly outpaced increases in supply; on a twelve-month moving average, supply increased at 4.9%, compared to 5.4% demand growth. This trend continued through year-end 2017, even as supply in Manhattan continued to register a nearly 5% increase on a trailing-twelve-month basis. For the period through December 2017, 3.7% demand growth outpaced growth in supply of 2.6%. The trend of inventory growth recorded from 2009/10 through 2017 is anticipated to continue at record levels through the near term. As will be presented subsequently in this report, supply growth is expected to remain strong through 2019. This is just a sample of what you’ll learn from the Q4-2017 Manhattan Hotel Market Overview: