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New York City hotels are experiencing an unexpected Y2K problem.
Despite reports that New York is all but sold-out for the millennium, hotels here still have thousands of rooms available, and many in the hospitality industry say demand has not been nearly as feverish as anticipated.
In fact, the incessant hype surrounding New Year's Eve-not to mention prices that are as much as 50% higher than already lofty peak-season rates-may be leading some potential visitors to think twice about celebrating the new millennium in New York at all.
The New York Convention & Visitors Bureau is so concerned that it recently rushed a press release to travel editors nationwide assuring them that rooms are available.
"There is a misperception out there about availability," says Nell Barrett, vice president of communications for the CVB. "The city is not sold-out."
Few doubt that the city eventually will fill up for New Year's Eve, as it does every year. But the slow pace of bookings suggests that many facilities may not get the sky-high prices they are seeking. It also casts a shadow over the efforts of numerous restaurateurs, cruise line operators and special-event promoters that also are scrambling to cash in on millennium fever with high-priced events.
"People read about the price gouging, and that's off-putting. Or they think, "The city is sold-out anyway, so why bother?" says Raymond P. Kane, president of Pisa Brothers Travel Service, which has been serving corporate and leisure...