Feature 
 

Tourism

Great Opportunity for Pakistan

The Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, New York City, is owned by PIA but had to be closed down due to Covid-19. The high-end property can be used by PIA and the Pakistan government to effectively project Pakistan’s soft image.

January 2022

In the wintry drabness of Manhattan in New York City, there looms an imposing ten storey building called The Roosevelt Hotel. It is a historic hotel located at East 45th Street (between Madison Avenue and Vanderbilt Avenue) in Midtown Manhattan.

Named in honour of President Theodore Roosevelt, the Roosevelt opened on September 22, 1924 and closed on December 18, 2020.

There are a total of 1,025 rooms in the hotel, including 52 suites. The 3,900-square-foot Presidential Suite has four bedrooms, a kitchen, formal living and dining areas, and a terrace. All the rooms are traditionally decorated, with mahogany wood furniture and light-coloured bed coverings.

There are several restaurants in the hotel, including: the “Roosevelt Grill”, serving American food and regional specialties for breakfast, the “Madison Club Lounge”, a bar and lounge with a 30-foot mahogany bar, stained glass windows, a pair of fireplaces and the “Vander Bar”, a bistro with modern décor.

The Roosevelt has 30,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space, including two ballrooms and 17 additional meeting rooms ranging in size from 300 to 1,100 square feet. It has a business center, a concierge, fitness center, safety deposit boxes, valet, laundry, self-parking and 15 retail outlets.

The Roosevelt Hotel is owned since the1970s by PIA Investments, a subsidiary of the Pakistan International Airlines. While the hotel was doing good business, it stopped taking guests and doing future bookings from December 2020.


Reason: the COVID-19 pandemic which has seriously curtailed travel and tourism and it has become difficult for PIA to maintain the property.

The hotel has appeared in a long list of Hollywood films, including The Irishman, Quiz Show, Men in Black 3, 1408, Wall Street, The French Connection, Malcolm X, The Dictator, Man on a Ledge and Maid in Manhattan.

Famous as a landmark, The Roosevelt also served as the backdrop to other historic events, such as Presidential candidate Thomas Dewey’s famously unsuccessful election night in 1948. From 1943 to 1955, The Roosevelt served as the New York City office and residence of Governor Thomas E. Dewey. His primary residence was his farm in Pawling, in Upstate New York, but he used Suite 1527 in the Roosevelt to conduct most of his official business in the city. In the 1948 presidential election, in which Dewey lost to incumbent Harry S. Truman in a major upset, Dewey, his family, and staff listened to the election returns in Suite 1527 of the Roosevelt. It was also the site where bandleader Guy Lombardo first broadcast the song “Auld Lang Syne” on New Year’s Eve, a tradition that continues to this say in Times Square.
The iconic hotel became victim to what New York City experienced as a result of Covid-19.

However, since Pakistan has a special connection to The Roosevelt, all efforts should be made to safeguard this great property and the hotel must not be sold to another party. It can be utilized as an important tourist tool to showcase Pakistan in America and the Western world.

The name of The Roosevelt needs to be changed to suit Pakistan’s modern image. The great advantage of its iconic location, its rooms and features and its historic past, offers a great PR opportunity for Pakistan.

To start with, it can be turned into a more affordable hotel for visitors to the city as it is so well-located at a strategic point in Manhattan. Its restaurants and bars can be refashioned to present Pakistani ethnic cuisine.

The PTDC can offer its well-appointed meeting rooms for business meetings, conferences and seminars. It can become a centre for Pakistani art and performances and special film shows can be held, projecting Pakistan’s tremendous tourist potential. Those Hollywood films in which the hotel has appeared can also be screened as tourist attractions.

Under its new name, the hotel can be used as an official facility for Pakistani and dignitaries of friendly countries. The Pakistan President and Prime Minister, along with their delegations, can stay at the hotel.

The Pakistan consulate can be located at the hotel. Pakistan’s tourism authorities can house their offices at the hotel while PIA can move its sales office here.

The iconic address can also be offered to Pakistani businesses at discounted rates. The property is so big that businesses from many other countries can also be accommodated here.

The ownership of the property can be shared between the PIA and the Pakistan government but at no cost should the potential of earning sizeable profits and projecting Pakistan from the location should be lost.

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