Study Implies $15 Minimum Wage Would Have Outsized Impact on Hotels
Nearly Two-Thirds of Hotel Staff Paid Below Proposed Threshold
The Biden administration has proposed a new federal minimum wage of $15 an hour as part of its COVID-19 relief program.
Just as the hotel industry has felt the worst of the economic impact from the pandemic, hoteliers may have to bear an outsized share of this new pay hike. A study of more than 5,000 hotels across the U.S. has found that 64% of the country's hotel workers currently earn less than $15 per hour. In some states, this proportion reaches nearly 90% of workers.
The $20 billion annual cost is not spread evenly across the country and will have a greater impact in secondary and low-density markets than in population centers. Hotels in these markets tend to be owned by small, family-owned companies.
