The standoff between Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and a billionaire hotel owner who built his fortune on Beanie Babies appears to be over.
Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts and Four Seasons have reached agreements and plan to reopen the Four Seasons Hotel New York this fall and the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara in the spring of 2025. The two properties have remained closed since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic forced most hotels around the world to suspend operations.
Originally believed to be opening in September, reports now show that the Four Seasons Hotel New York is more likely to open in November. On the hotel’s online booking calendar, stays before Nov. 15 show “unavailable,” while nights on and after are no longer blocked.
Four Seasons did not respond to a request for confirmation before publication of this article.
Signs emerged last year that both properties were inching toward reopening, but bringing two ultraluxury properties back from longer-than-expected closures is also tedious. The company announcement indicates both hotels are “undergoing enhancements” and that further reopening plans will be revealed in the coming months.
However, a Bloomberg report from last year noted that the reopening process required rehiring furloughed staff at both hotels, and the New York hotel website last year indicated “substantial infrastructure and maintenance work” was underway at the property. The same report indicated that the lengthy suspended operations were due to a dispute between Warner and Four Seasons over rate expectations and operating costs. Four Seasons didn’t want to raise rates at the two hotels, Bloomberg reported.
But considering how sky-high hotel rates have gone in New York City since the pandemic — and since the arrival of the nearby Aman New York — there shouldn’t be much hesitation in sending an ultraluxury hotel’s nightly rates into the stratosphere.
Warner, who made the bulk of his fortune from launching Beanie Babies in the 1990s, bought the 368-room Four Seasons Hotel New York in 1999. He bought the 206-room Four Seasons in Santa Barbara the following year.
“For more than three decades, both iconic properties have hosted discerning travelers and locals alike, and Ty Warner’s team and Four Seasons look forward to welcoming guests back to these celebrated properties,” reads the company announcement.
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