The City Council on Wednesday approved a controversial new hotel regulation that critics had called a “nuclear bomb” against the industry – and now hotel companies will have to pay $350 for licenses.

The plan enjoyed a landslide victory at City Hall, with Poles voting 45 to 4 in favor of the legislation which had been substantially amended since it was first proposed, winning the support of many hotel owners.

The bill, known as the Safe Hotels Act, will require Big Apple hotels to obtain a license for two years and comply with strict licensing requirements, or face fines of up to $5,000 in the event of an infringement.

The law requires lodging companies to staff the front desk at all hours and provide panic buttons for employees, as well as staff training to identify human trafficking.

Business owners had opposed the bill because it would prohibit establishments from contracting out most services, meaning they would have to employ many workers directly. Revisions to the bill added exemptions for certain jobs and “grandfathered” many existing subcontracts.

Council Member Julie Menin (D-Manhattan) said she supported the law after seeing NYPD reports of 39 murders since 2009 and more than 14,000 criminal complaints between 2019 and 2023.

“Our bill is extremely important for public safety,” she said, adding that providing training to staff to identify human trafficking would also be a priority.

“Look at the P Diddy case, where is this bad activity taking place? A lot of this happens in hotels.

Menin said the law also addresses “deplorable working conditions and wage theft” by banning subcontracting for hotels with 100 rooms or more.

“It gives the city the power to silence bad actors,” Menin said, citing the example of a notorious Queens hotel called Umbrella, which closed its doors after a homicide on New Year’s Eve 2021.

“There was finally a murder after the neighbors had been complaining for years. The city couldn’t shut it down right away because they didn’t have legal jurisdiction, that would mean they could,” he said. she declared.

The bill’s safe passage through the council was assured when an agreement was negotiated between powerful industry groups, the Hospitality Trades Council and the New York City Hotel Association, after they had initially opposed it.

Last week, a key provision was added allowing an exemption for small, mostly non-union hotels with 100 rooms or fewer to comply with the ban on contracting out “core employees.”

But some criticisms remain.

American Hotel & Lodging Association interim president and CEO Kevin Carey said large hotels were being “arbitrarily targeted.”

“From the beginning, this rushed and haphazard legislative process has served one purpose:; to achieve a unique victory for special interests at the expense of minority-owned small businesses,” he said.

“This bill will cause material harm to the businesses and tax revenue that hotels generate for the city’s economy and result in higher costs for travelers.”

Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, is expected to support the bill.