Manhattan's Four Seasons Hotel to Reopen in 2024
Owner agrees to deal with operator Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
Billionaire Ty Warner and his operating partner Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts have reached an agreement ending a three-year contract dispute, clearing the way for the reopening of the Four Seasons Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
As a result of the deal, the Four Seasons Hotel and the Biltmore Santa Barbara will be reopening in fall 2024—both owned by Warner and operated by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts—Bloomberg reported.
The luxury hotels in Manhattan and Santa Barbara have been closed since March 2020. The Four Seasons reopened during the lockdown, when Warner invited doctors and nurses caring for COVID patients in NYC to use the hotel rooms for free.
However, in the midst of a robust recovery of NYC’s luxury hotels, the Four Seasons remained closed as the operator and Warner, who built his fortune with Beanie Babies, hammered out a new deal. According to Bloomberg’s report, the contract discussions revolved around operating costs, profit margins and room rates.
Warner bought the 368-room Four Seasons, located on East 57th Street in Midtown, for $275M in 1999.
Manhattan’s luxury hotels are back: NYC’s most luxurious digs are raking in the big bucks from a burst of tourism in the Big Apple. Last month, NYC’s luxury hospitality sector notched a year-to-date RevPAR (revenue per available room) of $334, which exceeds the pre-pandemic level of $297 in 2019—three times higher than the RevPAR in June 2021, according to data from STR.
Tourists are flooding into Manhattan and business travel is showing a stronger pulse, pushing occupancy and room rates at high-end properties back to the stratosphere.
The Four Seasons, a 52-story tower designed by I.M. Pei in 1993, has been closed for three years along with another Manhattan landmark, the Plaza. Most of the Plaza’s hotel space has remained shuttered, including the famous Oak Room bar and a basement space occupied by the Todd English food hall.
In 2005, the top floors of the Plaza were converted in a $400M renovation to luxury condos, with 282 hotel rooms remaining in the bottom floors. The Plaza, built in 1907, was acquired by Katara Hospitality—a wealth fund of Qatar—for $600M in 2018. According to WSJ, Katara is planning to renovate the hotel after it selects a new manager.