Ramada Plaza JFK Hotel
| Company type | Hotel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Hospitality |
| Founded | May 8, 1958 |
| Defunct | December 1, 2009 |
| Headquarters | Queens, New York City , United States |
Area served | John F. Kennedy International Airport |
| Products | Hotel accommodation |
The Ramada Plaza JFK Hotel was a hotel operating under the Ramada brand, situated within John F. Kennedy International Airport in the South Ozone Park area of Queens, New York City, United States.
Description
During its years of operation, the Ramada Plaza JFK stood as the sole hotel located directly on the JFK Airport premises. The hotel occupied Airport Building 144 and featured six stories with a white brick exterior, offering a total of 478 guest rooms.
History
Initially opened on May 8, 1958, under the name International Hotel, the property later came under Forte Hotels management and was rebranded as the Travelodge New York JFK before adopting the Ramada identity. The airport’s owner, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), leased the facility to Westmont Hospitality Group for multiple years. In 2009, Westmont declined to renew their lease agreement.
Following the lease termination in late 2008, control of the hotel reverted to PANYNJ, which subsequently leased it to Highgate Holdings for a one-year term. The PANYNJ’s financial plan for 2010 anticipated monthly savings of $1 million by shutting down the hotel, citing decreased air traffic and necessary refurbishment costs. The hotel ceased operations on December 1, 2009, leading to approximately 200 job losses. Although PANYNJ intended to develop a new hotel on this location, JFK remained without an on-site lodging facility until the TWA Hotel opened in 2019 within the former TWA Flight Center.
Use as temporary housing
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, several aircraft accidents involving flights departing from JFK led to the hotel being informally referred to as the "heartbreak hotel." It functioned as temporary accommodation and a meeting point for families of passengers and crew members, along with media personnel.
The crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996 highlighted the hotel's role in offering lodging, grief support services, and coordinating media coverage related to aviation tragedies. Journalists from the Daily News characterized it as "a makeshift grief counseling center" for relatives awaiting recovery and identification of victims' remains. Many families resided there during this challenging time. U.S. President Bill Clinton also visited the hotel while it was hosting relatives affected by the TWA Flight 800 disaster.
Additionally, the facility provided accommodations for families impacted by Swissair Flight 111 (1998), EgyptAir Flight 990 (1999), and American Airlines Flight 587 (2001), reinforcing its importance as a vital support location during significant airline catastrophes.
See also
References
Notes
Sources
- Dunford, Martin. The Rough Guide to New York City. Penguin Books. January 2, 2009. , .
- Successful Meetings, Volume 51. Bill Communications. 2002.
- World Hotel Directory 1998. Pitman Publishing. September 30, 1997. , .
External links
- Articles with short description
- 1958 establishments in New York City
- 2009 disestablishments in New York City
- Defunct hotels in New York City
- Jamaica, Queens
- John F. Kennedy International Airport
- Hotel buildings completed in 1957
- Hotels established in 1958
- Hotels disestablished in 2009
- Hotels in Queens, New York
- Ramada
- Unused buildings in New York (state)