After being closed for over four years due to the pandemic, the Four Seasons Hotel New York in Midtown Manhattan is set to reopen in three months. The reopening, scheduled for September, comes after Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts—owned by Beanie Babies founder Ty Warner—and the Four Seasons reached an agreement, according to Travel and Tour World. A similar agreement will also allow the Biltmore Santa Barbara to resume operations next spring.
The reopening follows nearly a year of negotiations to resolve an ownership dispute that had delayed the process. The dispute, which began last summer, primarily involved disagreements over construction costs and management fees. Ty Warner had been concerned about the high operating costs of the hotel, while the Four Seasons was unwilling to reduce its management fees. The hotel, which has been closed since March 2020, initially planned to reopen in spring 2022, but the dispute halted these plans.
Ty Warner purchased the 368-room property in 1999 for $275 million, seven years after it was developed at a cost of $475 million. The hotel’s reopening is timely, as New York’s hospitality industry is experiencing a revival, with revenues surging nearly a year after Local Law 18 significantly impacted the short-term rental market. Additionally, new competition for existing hotels has been limited by a 2021 law requiring a special permit for new hotel construction.