Photo: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
The Empire State Building, which has inexplicably become a necessary celebrity-press-junket stop, is planning to enact “dynamic pricing” for access to its famous observation deck. Tony Malkin, CEO of Empire State Realty Trust, revealed the plan in the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday.
Ticket prices already vary depending on time of day (up to $90 for a sunset viewing) or levels of fame ($0 if you are willing to debase yourself in one of its TikToks), but the new policy would algorithmically “monetize high-demand times through the day,” according to Malkin. The observatory is on an apparent upswing in popularity: According to Crain’s New York Business, its net operating income was $28.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, up 6 percent year over year. “We expect continued growth in 2025,” Malkin said Thursday.
As congestion pricing hangs in the balance (maybe?), a version of it will live on at the most attention-hungry building in New York City. Beautiful!