Spanish Hotelier to Open Gay Hotel In New York

The Spanish hotelier Axel Hotels will bring its gay hotel chain to New York City in 2011, On Top Magazine has learned.

Axel currently operates “hetero-friendly” hotels in Barcelona, Berlin and Buenos Aires, considered the gay capital of South America. Visitors can choose between the typical “do not disturb” sign or the more risky “please disturb.”

In an email, Renate Siebenhofer, development director of the hotel chain, confirmed the group's plans to open its fourth five-star hotel in the U.S.

“We are pleased to inform you that we have been able to identify a site in New York we consider spot-on for our group: The AXEL HOTEL NEW YORK will be located in Hell's Kitchen and is slated to open its doors to the public in spring 2011,” Siebenhofer said.

New York City is increasingly courting the gay travel dollar.

Last year, in a marketing effort titled Rainbow Pilgrimage Campaign, the city spent $1.9 million to promote the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The riots, which took place in Greenwich Village, are often credited with sparking the modern gay rights movement when patrons of the Stonewall Inn, mostly drag queens, rebelled against police harassment in 1969. Rioters violently fought back against officers over the course of several days.

Officials say an estimated 10 percent of the city's 47 million visitors in 2008 were lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

The hotel chain's ambitious plans include three additional U.S. hotels to be built in its most gay-friendly cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami.

Amsterdam, London, Paris and Miami are considered high priority projects, according to internal documents.

The gay and lesbian tourism market is red hot due in part to the fact that gays on average travel more often and spend more. A 2006 study by the U.S. Travel Association found that gay men spend an average of $260 more per trip than their straight counterparts.

A Famous Fire Island Hotel Goes Up in Flames

Fire Island hot spot Ice Palace and the Grove Hotel went up in flames Tuesday morning, causing damage to 18 rooms. With the summer season ending this weekend, employees will use the winter to rebuild.

A smoky fire damaged more than a dozen rooms at Fire Island's famed Grove Hotel early Tuesday morning.

The blaze broke out in a housekeeping shed along the north side of Cherry Grove's two-story Grove Hotel shortly before 2 a.m. Firefighters from the Grove, the Fire Island Pines, and other Fire Island and Long Island departments responded to the scene.

The four people inside the hotel evacuated safely, but local firefighter Ian Levine told the Fire Island News the thick smoke made it difficult to find the fire’s source.

“The smoke ran through the entire building,” he said.

The flames damaged 18 rooms and power remains off throughout the hotel because the blaze melted wires.

“The north end of the hotel is completely burned down,” Grove Hotel manager Ramón Peña-Sierra told Advocate.com.

Shortly before the Grove Hotel caught fire, another fire was reported in a nearby trash can. There is no evidence to suggest the two incidents are related, and investigators have yet to determine what sparked the Grove Hotel fire.

Located in downtown Cherry Grove, the hotel and the adjacent Ice Palace nightclub are among Fire Island’s largest entertainment complexes. Comedian Wanda Sykes, Lady Gaga, and DJ Susan Morabito are among those who have performed in the Ice Palace in recent years.