The Definitive Source For Salaries In Lodging Now Available Through AHMA

The survey also revealed that salaries and wages for U.S. lodging employees are highest at hotels with the greatest number of rooms, the most expensive room rates, and the greatest revenue, with cost-of-living differences across regions having little impact on salaries and wages. For almost all positions, union properties have higher wage and salary levels for both management and nonmanagement employees than nonunion properties do.

• The most salient and consistent finding is that earnings increase with size, price segment, and revenue for almost all positions. For example, the median salary for general managers in properties with more than 175 rooms is $85,000, compared with $32,000 for those in properties with fewer 75 rooms. In addition, the median salary for general managers in the luxury segment is approximately $112,000, compared with $34,000 for those in the budget/economy segment. Finally, the median salary for general managers in properties that yield more that $4 million in revenue is approximately $64,000-twice the level of pay for those in properties that earn less than $1 million.
• The data demonstrates moderate variation across regions. In general, wage and salary levels are higher in the Northeast and Pacific regions for both management and nonmanagement positions. This variation appears to be consistent with cost-of-living differences across the regions. However, supplemental analyses show that a cost-of-living index, based on county-level economic data, was weakly related to earnings for only a small number of positions. This finding suggests that variation in compensation levels is due to factors other than cost-of-living differences.
• Chain status does not appear to have a substantial impact on wage and salary levels. No consistent trends emerged when comparing earnings for each position in chain-affiliated and independent properties.
• Compared to wage and salary levels, there is less variation in employee benefits across region, property size, price segment, revenue, and related characteristics. In addition, most properties share the costs of benefits with employees. The primary health benefits offered by properties in this study are major medical, PPO, and HMO plans. Most properties also offer dental and vision insurance, as well as prescription plans. However, fewer than half of the respondents provide childcare and elder care benefits. Moreover, such family-oriented benefits are more likely available to management than nonmanagement employees. About two-thirds of the properties in this study provided a 401(k) retirement plan. The majority of those surveyed do not offer profit-sharing or related types of financial benefits.
• There were significant differences between management and nonmanagement positions in the types of measures used to assess performance for merit/incentive plans. The primary measure used to assess nonmanagement employees is guest satisfaction. In contrast, a wider array of measures is used to assess management performance. Common measures include gross operating profit, hotel revenue, inspection scores, and employee satisfaction. Despite the differences in the types of measures used to evaluate performance, most properties provide cash as the primary performance incentive for both management and nonmanagement employees. In addition, items such as watches and plaques were provided by many properties as a performance incentive.

Compiled by RealTime Hotel Reports, LLC, and funded by the American Hotel Foundation, the 2000 survey included 2,275 industry respondents, a total that is six times greater than the number of respondents from the 1998 survey, making it one of the most accurate profiles of lodging industry compensation and benefits ever produced.

"The outstanding success of the 2000 survey is the result of unprecedented industry support and involvement," said Brian Ferguson, president and CEO of RealTime Hotel Reports, LLC. "This year's survey provides invaluable statistical accuracy and specificity in an easy to use layout. It is our hope that it will serve as an invaluable resource to decision makers across the hospitality industry."

The 2000 AH&MA Compensation and Benefits Survey is $80 for members and $160 for nonmembers. To order, call (301) 705-7455 or visit the AH&MA Web site, www.ahma.com.

AH&MA, founded in 1910, is a federation of state lodging associations throughout the United States with some 11,000 members worldwide, representing more than 1.4 million rooms. AH&MA provides operations, technical, educational, marketing, and communications services plus governmental affairs representation to the lodging industry.