New York’s Plaza Hotel Is About to Go Dark for Years

The Plaza Hotel in New York City, a 119-year-old property run by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, will close in January 2027 to restore its landmark facade. The closure is expected to last until at least 2031 and will take out its 282 guest rooms, restaurants and event spaces, including the Grand Ballroom.

Skift Meetings uses the closure to highlight a gap in event contracts: planners often face steep penalties if they cancel but weaker protection when the hotel does. Attorney Joshua L. Grimes says both sides can generally cancel, but the party that suffers losses is entitled to damages, which for an organizer may include higher room and food-and-beverage rates and vendor rescheduling fees. Returned deposits alone are usually not enough.

Elizabeth Caragay Watts-Russell, CEO of SiteSelectionStrategist, says hotels rarely include a cancellation-by-hotel clause in a first draft, so planners must ask for one. She suggests language barring a hotel from cancelling signed contracts to take more profitable business and requiring it to help find a comparable venue and cover reasonable added costs, except in force majeure cases.

Grimes advises predetermined liquidated damages for hotel cancellations and financial penalties for late renovation notices, while Watts-Russell recommends written renovation disclosures and the right to exit without penalty if construction materially disrupts an event. Anyone holding a booking at the Plaza for 2027 or beyond has reason to read the contract closely.

Sources: Skift Meetings