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NOW THAT THE HOLIDAY season - one in which deep discounts kept Big Apple hotels hopping is over, the industry is joining the pink slip parade.
Tourists have skipped town, leaving in their wake plummeting occupancy rates and hotel managers who have little choice but to trim their staffs.
Nearly every hotel in the city, from Marriott properties to the Waldorf-Astoria to budget brands like Comfort Inn, are either temporarily laying off employees, reducing hours, eliminating jobs entirely or planning to do so soon. Some are closing entire floors.
Housekeepers are taking the biggest hit right now, but front-desk clerks, bellmen and concierges could be victims of downsizing as well.
"If you don't have rooms to clean, there is no point in keeping people on the payroll," says Mujo Perezic, general manager of The Kimberly, a boutique hotel on East 50th Street that has experienced a dramatic decline in business this month.
More than 10% of the city's 42,400 hotel workers are expected to lose their jobs some only temporarily - this year, according to Lodging Investment Advisors. In early December, occupancy rates were down 4.5 percentage points...