For Halloween, the Walker Tribeca, New York’s luxury boutique hotel, is teaming up with the city’s iconic Haunted House, the horrific Blood Manor attraction. Housed in a former button and ribbon factory, the post-Civil War hotel has all the makings of a sleepless night.
Halloween and the hotel business? It’s a no-brainer. Just think of Stanley Kubrick’s classic Shining (1980) and the famous Room 237, set in the Stanley Hotel in the Rockies.
The hotel is the ideal setting for a chilling scenario, like the Hollywood Tower (Tour de la Terreur in France), inspired by the real-life Chateau Marmont in the Disneyland parks and featuring an adventure from the Twilight Zone series. Or the sinister motel adjoining Norman Bates’s mansion in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960).
The hotel remains a particularly well-suited place to conjure up nightmarish experiences on October 31st: large volumes, a long history and creaky wooden floors, legendary visitors, not to mention labyrinthine circuits on several levels, often plunged into silence.
Halloween is a major commercial holiday in the USA, and many retailers are capitalizing on this frenzied search for treats, costumes and horrific experiences.
The figures speak for themselves: 70% of American consumers intend to take part in a Halloween-themed activity this year, according to a survey co-conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics and the National retail Federation.
This craze is expected to generate $12.2 billion this year, compared with $10.6 billion in 2022. Also according to the National Retail Federation, US citizens are expected to spend $3.9 billion on decorations and $3.6 billion on candy. Costumes are not to be outdone, with adult and children’s models generating $2 billion and $1.4 billion respectively.
The Walker Hotel Tribeca intends to capitalize on this dynamic, which sees up to 1,500 temporary Spirit Halloween stores spring up around the world every season, with an atmosphere worthy of a haunted house.
What makes all the difference is offering a memorable experience, even if it means teaming up with an outside player like Blood Manor. Located at 359 Broadway, between Leonard and Franklin avenues, the attraction, which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary – counting its previous addresses – hasn’t been empty since it opened in 2017.
A horrific Halloween experience
The Walker Hotel Tribeca is decked out in Halloween colors, with its rooms and common areas decorated for the occasion.
Above all, the Bridgeton Development Group’s second New York establishment has developed a $295 package for two people.
In keeping with the festive spirit of this popular event, the hotel offers a welcome gift of sweets and a costume for two, delivered directly to the room.
To further personalize the event, guests are asked to specify whether they wish to take on a demonic, sexy, mysterious or comic role.
To encourage the discovery of other sites, the Walker Hotel Tribeca package also includes two drinks, which can be taken at any of the other Walker Hotel establishments.
But the highlight of the experience is undoubtedly the two tickets for the Blood Manor attraction.
