Hotel Marketing in New York City
New York hotels compete for tens of millions of visitors with booking sites, chains, and every other independent on the block. We help independent, boutique, and small-group hotels across the five boroughs grow direct bookings with fast booking-focused websites, search and metasearch campaigns, content that sells the neighborhood, and guest CRM that turns one stay into the next.
The New York City hotel market
Sixty-five million visitors
Visitation grew 0.7 percent in 2025 to 65 million people, with 12.6 million traveling for business, according to the city's tourism organization, and said it booked 1,515 meetings and events with almost 345,000 room nights. JFK handled 62.6 million passengers and LaGuardia 32.8 million in 2025, per the Port Authority. Demand is enormous, and so is competition for it.
Hotels and the rental crackdown
County Business Patterns counted 790 hotels and motels in the boroughs in 2023, 491 in Manhattan with 39,369 employees. Short-term rentals face strict limits: Local Law 18 requires hosts to register, and the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement reported about 3,000 active registrations, against an estimated 60,000 illegal listings in 2018. Hotels outside Manhattan can win travelers who once booked rentals.
Winning direct bookings in New York
Direct beats commission
Every booking moved from an online travel agency to your own site saves commission. A fast booking engine and clear reasons to book direct make the shift possible.
Sell the neighborhood
Guests choose location as much as rooms. Content on nearby attractions, dining, and transit helps an outer-borough or off-Midtown hotel compete.
Groups and business travel
Meetings and business travelers fill Monday through Thursday. Dedicated pages and outreach for planners and corporate travel managers balance leisure-heavy weekends.
Services for hotels
Areas we serve
Hotel campaigns can court travelers headed to these boroughs and neighborhoods:
- Manhattan
- Brooklyn
- Queens
- The Bronx
- Staten Island
- Long Island
- Westchester
- Williamsburg
- Astoria
- Long Island City
Questions and answers
Make booking on your own site fast and rewarding, invest in Google Hotel Ads and metasearch, and stay in touch with past guests. With 65 million visitors in 2025, the opportunity is large, but direct channels need steady attention.
Local Law 18 requires short-term rental hosts to register and bars booking platforms from processing unregistered rentals. The Office of Special Enforcement reports about 3,000 active registrations, far below the illegal listings once estimated. Hotels can market to travelers looking for neighborhood stays.
Yes. Brooklyn, Queens, and other boroughs can emphasize neighborhood character, value, and transit access to Manhattan, plus proximity to JFK and LaGuardia for hotels near the airports. Content about the area helps travelers picture their stay.
Sources
- New York City Tourism + Conventions: 2025 visitation report (March 2026)
- Port Authority of NY and NJ: Facility volumes for December and full year 2025
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 County Business Patterns, five NYC borough counties: restaurants and hotels
- NYC Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement: Short-term rental registration law
- NYC Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement: Report on Local Law 18 (FY25)
Checked 2026-10-31.