Los Angeles’s Democratic leaders are banking on a tourism boom — but a planned $30 minimum wage for hotel staff has owners seeing red.
As the city gears up to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics, a new law aimed at raising hotel workers’ pay has sparked a high-stakes clash between unions and the travel industry.
Hotels with more than 60 rooms must pay workers at least $25 a hour from July, rising to $30 for the Olympics, under the bill signed by Mayor Karen Bass on May 27.
Supporters say the law is overdue, noting that a single adult in LA County now needs around $28 an hour just to cover basic expenses.
‘Hotel workers often live paycheck to paycheck and are frequently forced to work two or three jobs,’ the measure reads.
But business leaders warn the wage hikes could devastate the city’s tourism economy.
Rosanna Maietta, CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, blasted the plan as ‘economically disastrous,’ arguing it could crush profits, push up room rates, and ripple through restaurants, event venues, and small businesses that rely on tourism.
Almost immediately after the law’s passage, a coalition of hotels and travel groups gathered over 100,000 signatures to pause it and force a voter referendum, likely in June 2026.
Hotels will need to pay their staffers a minimum of $30 by 2028, if a recently-signed bill gets the required approvals
The city clerk confirmed on July 23 that the petition qualified to move forward, pausing enforcement.
Now, the petition itself is at the center of a legal battle, as unions for hotel workers allege the signatures were inappropriately collected.
Several California lawmakers signed an open letter echoing the concerns and demanding that signature collection efforts stop.
Depending on how the legal challenges pan out, the minimum wage fight could be decided by vote in June 2026.
Wage hikes could cut into profits at some of Los Angeles’ most popular lodges.
Hotel prices for FIFA are expected to jump dramatically during the FIFA finals and Olympic games. DailyMail.com found a Holiday Inn that typically charges around $150 to $200 each night.
In the week leading up to the end of the FIFA tournament, the same hotel is charging between $490 and $550 for the same room.
The Olympics have similar price jumps: Paris, the 2024 Summer Olympic host, saw average hotel prices jump 226 percent during the games.
The city’s Mayor, Karen Bass, who has sifted through several crisis this year, has remained steadfast about the support of hotel workers
California’s minimum wage sits at $16.50 an hour.
Meanwhile, California’s other industry-specific minimum wage laws have already sparked automation, higher wages, service changes, and restructuring.
In 2024, the state raised wages to $20 an hour for fast food workers at large chains and up to $25 for healthcare employees, depending on facility size.
Research this month said the fast food wage has lead to the loss of 18,000 jobs across the state since it was rolled out.
The wage hike was also behind Mexican chain Rubio’s Coastal Grill filing for bankruptcy and closing 48 locations in the state in June last year.
Meanwhile, California’s economy keeps growing — it recently surpassed Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest by GDP.
As hotel lobbies fight to keep wages lower, travel industry employees are currently making less than the average American worker.
In the US Labor Department’s June reading, the average American worker made $36.30 an hour, an increase of 3.7 percent in the past year.
