Broback's Blog

I don’t get it. Wall Street is in the process of losing tens of thousands of incredibly high paying jobs:

Wall Street salaries average $340,000, or more than five times those in the rest of the city’s economy. Each securities job creates two others, according to the state comptroller’s office, meaning the hurt will be felt everywhere from retail and restaurants to law and accounting. Economists have predicted the city will shed as many as 90,000 jobs during this downturn.

Business travel (and tourism) should be affected:

To make matters worse, some economists are worried about tourism, which has continued to set records in New York even as it has withered in the rest of the country. The global nature of the financial crisis may pare travel everywhere. Some tourists may not want to visit the city at the center of the financial turmoil. And the rebounding dollar means the city is no longer as cheap as it once was.

SO. Why are hotel rooms still going for a kings ransom?

Here’s my 2003 reservation confirmation for a stay at the Muse Hotel:

Now look at my attempt to book a room next month:

Seems like the tourism industry is still pretty healthy. This level of demand surprises me though…