How the UN and Fashion Week send NYC hotel prices soaring
This September, the city plays host to two of the most high-traffic events in the calendar: New York Fashion Week, which began on September 11, and the United Nations General Assembly’s high-level week following soon after on September 22. Both events draw large numbers of visitors to New York, and they all need hotel rooms.
I had to see what Ramp data could tell us about the localized impact. When everyone wants a room in the same city at the same time, hotel prices jump. That’s Econ 101. But looking at the data shows how steep those jumps can be, and how it can affect buyers in unexpected ways.
In the run-up to Fashion Week, average nightly hotel rates in New York climb from a baseline of about $347 to $526, a 52% increase. That’s already a hefty markup. But then the UN arrives, and prices leap again, another 24%, averaging around $653 a night. By the time diplomats fly home, rates quickly deflate, falling back down to $409. Is the UN hotter than Fashion Week? Quantifiably, yes.
But the story doesn’t stop at the luxury end of the market. When the high-end hotels fill up, spillover demand cascades into mid-tier and even budget chains. This is where the data gets especially interesting.
During this September stretch, brands like Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, and even Holiday Inn saw their nightly rates rise to levels that, in normal times, you’d only expect from upscale hotels. For example, Holiday Inn rooms that usually go for under $300 spiked 33%. Courtyard jumped similarly, from $428 to $575. Prices for no-frills spots were suddenly overlapping with what you’d typically pay for a room at the W or Renaissance in a quieter season.
That’s scarcity economics in action. When demand is high, budget and luxury brands compete for the same buyers, because all that matters is availability. For most New Yorkers, Fashion Week and the UN mean traffic snarls and blocked-off streets. But for anyone booking a room, whether a fashion publicist, a diplomat’s aide, or just a regular business traveler caught in the middle, scarcity shows up in the bill.
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