New York Building 16,500 New Hotel Rooms

New York City is seeing a dramatic increase in tourist numbers, and in response is planning to build an astounding 16,500 new hotel rooms.

STR, a provider of hotel data, reports the total number of hotel rooms in the works in most American cities is growing rapidly — some 180,000 units are under construction around the country, a 35 percent increase over last year. And New York City leads the way.

The city is looking forward to the opening of Arlo Hotels, which offers tiny, micro-rooms for rent; other newcomers in the Big Apple include The William Vale in Brooklyn; The Beekman, owned by Thompson Hotels, near Battery Park next to the iconic Brooklyn Bridge; and The Williamsburg Hotel, also in Brooklyn. Plenty others are in the works, too.

Other cities are following New York’s lead with the hotel building boom: Los Angeles, Dallas, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Nashville and Miami are all expanding their capacities to host overnight visitors. Still, none come close to matching NYC; Los Angeles is the closest rival, but it’s building only 6,000 hotel rooms.