Mitchell Hochberg and David Lichtenstein

Lightstone went from hosting the National Guard in its Times Square and Moxy NYC Chelsea hotels to breaking ground on two new ones, starting a 3,000-unit multifamily development, and seeing occupancy levels creep up in what’s been a whirlwind of a year for the hospitality industry.

“The great news is we survived,” Mitchell Hochberg said. “We’ve seen a significant improvement in the hotel industry post-vaccine. And we’re very optimistic that New York City in particular will return to pre-pandemic levels sometime within the next 12 to 24 months.”

Lighstone’s luxury multifamily assets suffered during the pandemic as city residents sought suburban homes, but Hochberg said rent collections remained strong and vacancies have declined to nearly pre-pandemic levels.

The company broke ground on two Moxy hotels in the beginning of 2020, at 145 Bowery in the Lower East Side and 353 Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It closed out the year by starting demolition on a 3,000-unit development at 355 Exterior Street in the Bronx.

“To have broken ground on three projects during 2020 is quite an accomplishment,” Hochberg said. “Some people may look at us and question it, but we were fortunate that the hotels were designed and ready to go with permits.”

Lightstone also reopened its Moxy East Village — part of a brand of Marriott hotels targeted at millennials — and Hochberg said the company was fortunate enough to have the capital to fund hotel operating deficits. Today, Lightstone’s inns are fully reopened, excluding some public spaces like lounges and clubs.

The company opened one in Miami Beach, too, which Hochberg said almost sold out the first date it was available.

“If there was any market in the country that you would want to open up a hotel during the past year, it was Miami,” Hochberg said.

Lightstone also started construction on a two-hotel Marriott complex in L.A., and found it to be an easier process with city streets abandoned during lockdown. While there were some slowdowns with city employees working from home, Hochberg said his team worked well remotely and is excited to head back to the office.—C.Y.