A security officer who worked at two Manhattan hotels was arrested on Saturday and charged with setting eight fires at the hotels over four years.

According to the New York Times, Mariano Barbosa Jr., the director of security at the Yotel on 10th Avenue and 42nd Street, set the fires in an attempt to make the hotels less popular and his job more manageable.

Barbosa had also worked as a security officer at the SoHo Grand on West Broadway.

He is accused of starting the fires, the first in 2009 and the last this month, in hallways, in stairwells and in front of exit doors to maximize the potential damage. He was on duty when the fires broke out, the Times said. All of the fires, which were set between 10:11 p.m. and 5:09 a.m., were quickly extinguished.

Barbosa was arrested, the Times said, after he submitted to voluntary questioning. It became clear during those interviews that Mr. Barbosa was the likely culprit, Mr. Long said.

A spokeswoman for the SoHo Grand declined to comment.