PIA's iconic Roosevelt Hotel not to be sold: minister

ISLAMABAD: The Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan on Monday refuted reports circulating in certain quarters regarding the sale of PIA’s Roosevelt Hotel in New York, ARY News reported.

“There is no agenda or program under consideration to selling the iconic Roosevelt Hotel New York,” said Minister of Aviation Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan and termed the news circulating in certain quarters as “speculation” and nothing more than “political point-scoring.”

Explaining the trajectory of PIA’s Roosevelt Hotel, a prime real estate located in the heart of Manhattan, the financial hub of the world, he said that PIA had acquired this 19 storey building in 1979 on the partnership, from its own profits and as a part of PIA’s diversification strategy.

“Right after fully acquiring the hotel, PIA undertook the renovation of the hotel and it went into profitability straight away which continued till 2018.”

However since 2019, the financial position of Roosevelt Hotel has been in the red, despite the fact that it is run by World’s premier hotel management company, he said in a statement.

Explaining the main reason behind the downfall of the hotel, the minister said: “Its downfall is progressive decline of its infrastructure and depleted room conditions, further reinforced by the global COVID-19 Pandemic.

On a question of closing down of Roosevelt Hotel, he said that the hotel was currently operational and has valid contracts till December this year with various other airlines.

Read More: PIA’s Roosevelt Hotel announces to permanently close doors after nine decades

Multiple options are being considered for its future and all decisions are made collectively by Hotel’s Board and the Government of Pakistan, he added.

Last week, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York had announced to permanently close its doors after suffering financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a message posted on its website, the Roosevelt Hotel announced that due to the current economic impacts, after 100 years of welcoming guests to the “Grand Dame of New York”, it is regretfully closing its doors permanently from October 31, 2020.