Rapes, assaults and drug-related crimes in New York City hotels have surged in recent years, even as the citywide crime rate continues to decline.
Between 2011 and 2015, hotel and motel crime grew by 19.3 percent as crime citywide fell 6 percent, according to statistics compiled by an industry research firm from NYPD data.
Hotel crimes were reported throughout the five boroughs, including at high-end lodgings such as the Waldorf Astoria, the Essex House and the St. Regis where room rates begin at $550 a night.
In 2015, there were 2,178 hotel crimes reported to police, including 56 rapes, which soared 40 percent from the total five years earlier. Overall, rapes in the city declined 16 percent in 2015 from 2011.
In April 2014, a 30-year-old tourist from Oregon was raped in her room at a Midtown hotel after she opened her door to a man who said he was a police officer. The tourist said that her attacker threatened her with a knife and stole $100 after the assault at the Manhattan Hotel Times Square on Seventh Avenue.
Hotel drug crimes rose 16 percent from 25 to 29 incidents despite a citywide drop of 38.5 percent during the five year period. In one of the most high-profile incidents, six people were arrested at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Times Square carrying 100 pounds of cocaine in their suitcases in October 2012.
Even five-star hotels were the scenes of brazen crime.
In 2011, thief James Bennett pilfered $250,000 worth of cash and luxury goods, including a Rolex, from the Plaza Hotel suite of Dubai Princess Arwa Al Qassimi. Bennett simply slipped into the hotel room when the princess was out shopping; the door had not been properly closed. It was Bennett’s seventh heist in a crime spree that included thefts from the St. Regis, Essex House and Waldorf Astoria hotels.
While hotel crime dipped slightly between 2014 and 2015, data from the first nine months of 2016 indicates that rapes, other sex crimes and incidents involving dangerous weapons and drugs may be on the rise.
Between January and September 2016, there were 53 hotel rapes, compared to a total of 56 in 2015. There were 76 felony assaults, compared to 81 for all of 2015. There were also 23 dangerous drug crimes in hotels in the nine-month period, compared to 29 for all of 2015.
And 2016 robberies may also surpass the previous year, with 76 reported in the first nine months, compared with a total of 81 in 2015.
In January 2016, a 53-year-old Maryland woman was shot in the chest as she tried to protect her daughter from muggers in the parking lot of the Hampton Inn near Kennedy Airport. Andrea Koller, a hotel guest, survived.
A spokeswoman for the Hotel Association of New York City said that hotel security teams are being vigilant and cooperating with the NYPD.
“New York City is the safest big city in America, and our hotels provide safe and enjoyable experiences to the vast majority of guests,” said Lisa Linden.
A spokesman for the NYPD said that the majority of hotel crime is “nonviolent property crime.” With a record 60.3 million tourists visiting the city last year, the NYPD’s “commanding officers are continuing to work with local hotels to ensure their safety,” he said.
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