New York City has spent over $1 billion in taxpayer funds converting hotels into shelters for migrants, with nightly rates averaging $156 per room and some costing up to $300, according to a New York Post report. The city’s total expenditure on the migrant crisis exceeds $4.88 billion, with nearly $2 billion allocated to housing. Most shelters used by the city are motels or inns, not traditional shelters. The contracts with hotels like Row NYC and Crowne Plaza JFK, amounting to millions per month, have drawn criticism from local business owners who argue that their revenue has been impacted. Despite concerns, the city has extended contracts, sparking debate over the financial strain on taxpayers amid the ongoing migrant influx.

Hotels are slated to receive well over a billion dollars in taxpayer subsidies for converting their buildings into migrant shelters.

As reported by the New York Post, an internal document obtained by the publication reveals that 153 (or over 80%) of the city’s 193 migrant shelters, which house 65,300 people, are hotels, motels, or inns.

According to officials, New York City spends an average of $160 per hotel room to shelter migrants, however, some operators reportedly charge more than $300 per night after migrants began being bussed up from the southern border in spring 2022. According to the city, the taxpayer expense for daily migrant shelter costs averages $352 per household.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, of the estimated $4.88 billion spent on the migrant crisis through May 31, $1.98 billion went toward accommodation, which includes not only hotel bills but also other shelters like the enormous tent cities at Floyd Bennett Field and Randall’s Island.

According to the June board of directors report, one of the more astonishing migrant shelter contracts is a $5.13 million per month agreement between the 1,331-room Row NYC hotel in Midtown Manhattan and the city’s Health + Hospitals department. The Crowne Plaza JFK in South Jamaica, Queens, has earned a $2 million per month lease for use of its 335 rooms, according to the article.

William Shandler, manager of Iron Bar, which is across from the Row hotel, said he and other businesses in the neighborhood were “hit at both ends” by the city’s choice to lodge migrants in luxury hotels that were previously full of customers.

“Our taxes are being used to pay for the migrants, and where are we supposed to make revenue?” said Shandler. How as a business could we function?”

According to a CoStar survey from November, hotels have pulled more than 16,000 rooms off the market to lodge migrants.

And that’s a problem, according to Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens), who claims hotels were created for tourists, not to shelter the multitudes of immigrants that cross our borders every day.

“These locations were meant to boost the economy of this city, but instead they’ve become a net drain and are costing us enormously,” she told the audience.

According to the city’s Department of Planning, the flood of wealth has bolstered the hotel industry, which saw 21,000 additional rooms come online in the four years preceding the plandemic.

When vacationers avoided New York City in 2020 due to the epidemic, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio handed a financial lifeline to several hotel operators by contracting abandoned commercial buildings to house the city’s homeless in individual rooms rather than congested shelters.

Mayor Eric Adams has continued the trend.

In September, the Post reported that the city extended a contract with the Hotel Association of New York City for three years at a staggering $1.3 billion — nearly five times the original value of $275 million — solely for rental fees for migrants. However, the agreement can be terminated if the city determines that it no longer requires the space.

In January, the city signed a $76.69 million emergency contract with HANYC to offer “last resort” accommodation for migrant families at 15 hotels in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx until July.

Vijay Dandapani, the group’s president and CEO, stated that he is working with the city to guarantee that the expenses and commitments for hosting migrants in its members’ hotels “were as low as possible.”

“We’re proud of the work we’ve done as an industry to aid the city in its mission to care for asylum seekers who arrive in NYC,” he told the crowd.

According to Ken Girardin, research director of the Empire Center for Public Policy, sheltering migrants costs taxpayers a lot of money.

“The migrant crisis is a gash on state and local finances, and housing is where taxpayers are bleeding most,” he told lawmakers.

Last month, GreatGameIndia reported that amidst NYC hotel room shortages, 20% are used as migrant shelters. Mayor Eric Adams’ policies have led to increased rates and enforcement of short-term rental laws, as the city grapples with $10 billion in costs related to the migrant crisis.