The feud between Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and a billionaire hotelier who built his fortune on Beanie Babies appears to be over.
Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts and Four Seasons have reached an agreement and plan to reopen Four Seasons Hotel New York this fall and Four Seasons Biltmore Santa Barbara Resort in spring 2025. Both properties have remained closed since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic forced most hotels around the world to suspend operations.
Originally scheduled to open in September, report now showing that the Four Seasons New York Hotel is more likely to open in November. On the hotel’s online booking calendar, stays before November 15 will show as “unavailable,” while nights on and after are no longer blocked.
Four Seasons did not respond to a request for confirmation prior to publication of this article.
There were signs last year that both hotels were slowly reopening, but bringing two ultra-luxury hotels back to life after a longer-than-expected closure has been difficult. The company said in a statement that both hotels are “improving” and that reopening plans will be revealed in the coming months.
However, a Bloomberg report from last year noted that the reopening process would require rehiring laid-off staff at both hotels, and the New York hotel’s website last year indicated that “significant infrastructure and maintenance work” was underway at the hotel. The same report suggested that the prolonged shutdown was due to a dispute between Warner and Four Seasons over pricing expectations and operating costs. Four Seasons was reluctant to raise rates at the two hotels, Bloomberg reported.
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But consider how hotel prices have skyrocketed in New York City since the pandemic hit — and since the arrival of nearby A New Yorker — don’t hesitate to charge sky-high prices for a nightly room at a luxury hotel.
Warner, who made much of his fortune from launching Beanie Babies in the 1990s, bought the 368-room Four Seasons Hotel in New York in 1999. He bought the 206-room Four Seasons Hotel in Santa Barbara the following year.
“For more than three decades, both of these iconic properties have welcomed discerning travelers and locals alike, and the Ty Warner and Four Seasons teams look forward to welcoming guests back to these popular properties,” the company said in a statement.
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Editorial Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
