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Hotel Boom In Queens Leads To New Concerns

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Record tourism in New York City has opened the door for the construction of dozens of new hotels in Queens year after year.

However, as CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported, hotels can't keep up with the competition and may have to close.

A record 58.3 million people visited New York last year, up from 56.5 million in 2014.

Ray Keane of Z Hotel in Long Island City said they have no trouble attracting guests, but there's more and more competition popping up every year.

"They want something that isn't Midtown Manhattan, that they want to be in Queens and explore different places," Keane said.

Currently, there are 219 new hotels being built in New York – 145 in Manhattan, 33 in Brooklyn and 31 in Queens. There are nine being built in the Bronx and one on Staten Island.

Rob Mackay of the Queens Economic Development Corporation said hotels in his borough are doing well, but he's concerned the hotel supply will eventually supersede the demand.

"It's always in the back of our heads that kind of a worry that the market will go sour and some of the hotels will go out of business," Mackay said.

The Verve hotel opened up less than 10 years ago in Long Island City and closed last winter to hotel guests. It's now a 200-bed homeless shelter for women.

Seven New York City hotels have been converted from hotels to shelters, including the famed Pan American Hotel which is also a full-blown homeless shelter.

Forty-two use a portion of rooms to house the homeless.

Keane said hotels need to stay relevant to survive.

"By being more creative, by really working, keeping your property in better shape and just keeping on top of things, we just stay on top of the game and we just don't get lost," Keane said.

New York City tourism officials said they anticipate tourism to increase another 1.4 million people this year.

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