Located on East 40th Street, near Grand Central Station and just a few avenue blocks away from Times Square, The Renwick Hotel got its start in 1928. From the hotel’s website:
“The building that would eventually become The Renwick Hotel was a renowned and respected residence for creatives who had come to the city to seek both vision and fortune. Influential writers such as Thomas Mann, John Steinbeck and…F. Scott Fitzgerald were all early residents of this storied structure, and did some of their most lauded work within its walls.”
The building was converted into a hotel in the early 2000s and subsequently changed hands several times. By late 2015, it was known as the Renwick Hotel, with rates starting at $459/night. The owners, Meadow Partners, defaulted on their $46 million loan during the pandemic and the building was shuttered. Although word on the street was that the space was going to become a homeless shelter, it never did.
The Renwick was purchased for $15.5 million in early 2022 and was reimagined into what it is today.
Perhaps taking some of the creativity of the building’s former life, the Renwick began a very interesting policy in April of this year.
They offer a “weather guarantee,” which allows guests to buy protection that allows them to get back the cost of their room if it happens to rain that day.
The hotel is working with Sensible Weather, a tech company that provides “weather insurance” for its users.
During an interview with T+L, the founder and CEO of Sensible Weather, Nick Cavanaugh, said the guarantee is based on day-of forecasts from NASA, the National Weather Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
From T&L:
Travelers opt in for the guarantee when booking their stay, and if it is projected to rain for two hours or more between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., then their daily hotel rate is reimbursed. Even if it rains for a bit and things clear up for the rest of the day, you get your money back. Guests can’t cancel their trip ahead of time because of the forecast, though. This is for those who have actually traveled to the hotel, only to get a day of their vacation ruined by the rain.
If it does rain, guests receive a text message that lets them know about the bad weather, and their reimbursement. They then receive 100% of their nightly rate back – in real time! – via PayPal, Venmo, or a statement credit to the credit card of their choice. Here’s what it looks like on your phone (PC: The Renwick):
Prices for The Renwick’s weather guarantee aren’t on its website, nor that of Sensible Weather. However, Bloomberg suggests you can expect to pay roughly 8% to 12% of your total reservation price.
NYC gets about 46.6 inches of rain per year, with an average of about 120 days with precipitation (rain, sleet, snow or hail). April tends to get the most rain, followed by May, June and July. So if there was any time to try out Renwick’s weather guarantee, right now is a good time for it! 😉
Feature Photo (cropped): Christopher Michael / Wikimedia / CC BY 2.0
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