The announcement was made on the hotel’s website that the hotel will close from October 31
Hotel Roosevelt, the crown jewel of PIA located on the 45th Street in Downtown Manhattan, will shutter at the end of October. The Hotel announced the sad move on its website.
“Due to the current economic impacts, after almost 100 years of welcoming guests to The Grand Dame of New York, The Roosevelt Hotel, is regretfully closing its doors permanently as of Oct 31, 2020,” the announcement said.
When a spokesperson for the hotel was reached, she confirmed the news. “Yes, it is closing down as announced on the website,” the spokesperson said. However, she asked to email questions for any further details on the move.
An unexpected move
Recently, the management of the hotel had talked about the need to evolve the business model of the establishment. It was also brought to attention that the hotel had its first loss in 2019 in decades. The management give the impression that the services may be outsourced, as move that can take months to years.
PIA’s overseas asset
PIA owns 99% stake of the hotel since 2005. Prior to that, Pakistan had a partial stake with Prince Faisal bin Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia being one of the partners. The hotel was originally leased in 1979 with an option to buy after 20 years, which was exercised.
Failed privatization attempts
The hotel is located in one of the prime locations in New York and the building itself is worth between $1 billion and $2 billion. At least three previous governments have tried to sell Hotel Roosevelt without much success. In recent times, there was talk that U.S. President Donald Trump may be interested in the property though there was no official move to acquire the property. It wouldn’t be surprising that Pakistan’s government may yet again try to offload the asset, especially with PIA in dire straits and the hotel closed.