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As a travel reporter at The New York Times and member of the Times Fellowship, a program for journalists early in their careers, I’ve written about the first run of a new high-speed train, A.I. travel tools, wildlife safety and protests against overtourism.

But it isn’t every day that I — or any travel reporter — get to cover news just a few blocks from The Times’s office in Midtown Manhattan.

That’s exactly what happened last month, however, after an editor shared a CBS News report with the Travel desk about multiple hotels under the brand LuxUrban that had suddenly shut down, at least one of which still had guests staying inside.

I volunteered to walk over to the hotels and see what was going on.

When I arrived at the first hotel, an employee inside, probably thinking I was there to check in, quickly started to explain that the hotel was closed. I identified myself as a reporter and said I was curious why the hotel, the Herald by LuxUrban, had shut down and whether anyone else was still there.