Latest news with #HotelAngeleno
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
L.A. Hotels Push Back Against Wage Hike Ahead of 2028 Olympics
A sweeping proposal to raise the minimum wage for tourism workers in Los Angeles is facing sharp resistance from some of the city's top hotels just three years before it hosts the 2028 Summer Friday, the L.A. City Council voted for a second and final time in favor of an ordinance that would gradually raise the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $30 an hour by July 2028. The measure passed an initial vote on May 14, though not unanimously. It now goes to Mayor Bass' desk for including local labor unions, argue the wage increase would improve living standards for hospitality workers, reduce turnover, and strengthen the local economy. But several hotel operators say the ordinance could backfire. Now, they're threatening to walk away from Olympic-related least eight hotels, including major names like the Hilton, Hotel Angeleno, Hotel Per La, and the Hollywood Roosevelt, are now threatening to withdraw from deals to offer discounted rooms for the Games. These agreements are considered vital to accommodating the influx of tourists and personnel expected during the Olympics.'If the City continues down this path and only listens to one side of the equation, there will be hotel closures, lost jobs and lost opportunities for all,' warned Kara Bartelt, general manager of the Hoxton Los Angeles.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
L.A. hotels threaten to withdraw from Olympics deal over minimum wage hike
Los Angeles hotel operators are threatening to withdraw from agreements to provide discounted rooms for the 2028 Olympic Games over a city ordinance that will significantly boost the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers. On Friday, the L.A. City Council will vote for a second and final time to hike the minimum wage for tourism workers to reach $30 an hour by July 2028. The ordinance passed the first round of voting on May 14 but did not get unanimous support. At least eight hotels say they will back out of the room block agreement if the measure passes. That agreement includes discounted rates for officials, sponsors, and even the media at hotels across the city. The hotel operators, including Hilton, Hotel Angeleno, Hotel Per La and Hollywood Roosevelt, argue that the increased labor costs are financially unfeasible. In-N-Out raises prices in response to California's minimum wage increase 'Common sense says you cannot raise wages over 30% in less than a year when revenue is flat,' argued Mark Beccaria of Hotel Angeleno. If this increase in labor costs passes, we will be forced by the City to consider converting this hotel in the heart of residential Brentwood into a homeless shelter.' 'If the City continues down this path and only listens to one side of the equation, there will be hotel closures, lost jobs and lost opportunities for all,' said Kara Bartelt, General Manager of Hoxton Los Angeles. Under L.A.'s Olympic Wage ordinance, the minimum wage for airport and hotel workers will increase incrementally. It is set to rise to $22.50 an hour in July 2025, followed by annual increases of $2.50 each July. This phased approach will see the wage reach its peak at $30 an hour by July 2028, coinciding with the start of the Olympic Games. Supporters, including labor unions, argue the wage boost will help keep workers in the city and benefit the local economy. 'City leaders have an opportunity to ensure the Olympic and Paralympic Games benefit hard-working Angelenos, and this ordinance does just that,' Unite Here Local 11 co-president Kurt Petersen told the city council. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Los Angeles hotel executives warn distress to follow wage hike
The Los Angeles City Council will hold a final vote on a proposal to increase minimum wage for hospitality workers to $30 an hour by 2028 on Friday, May 23. If it passes, which most expect it will, and Mayor Karen Bass signs it, distressed hotel sales and skittish investors and developers could follow. 'I've never seen so many hotels on the market right now, and none of them are selling,' Hotel Angeleno owner Mark Beccaria said. 'No one wants to pay anywhere close to what they're worth,' because they know the cost they'll incur owning a hotel in Los Angeles. One expansion has already been killed. Los Angeles' hotels suffered throughout the pandemic and haven't fully recovered. More labor costs mean more pain. Hotel sales will fall further, Atlas Hospitality Group president Alan Reay believes. 'The higher the wages, the lower the net operating income, the lower the net operating income, the lower the sales price,' Raey explained. Sellers want to sell at what they believe the hotels are worth, but buyers can't purchase at that price while considering operating costs. Increasing hotel costs when revenue is flat is a concern, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust chairman and CEO Jon Bortz said. Adding that he won't expand his Los Angeles portfolio. 'We won't make any further investment,' Bortz said. 'There's no return on that money…there'll be no transactions in the market other than lenders taking properties back. There'll be no new development—doesn't pencil, doesn't make any economic sense, and it's not financeable.' The proposal requires hotels with more than 60 rooms and companies that do business at Los Angeles International Airport to increase wages over a three year period ending 2028, the same year the Summer Olympics will be held in the city. For hotel workers, it's a 48-percent increase. But for hotel owners, developers, brokers and investors, it's the last nail in the coffin. Beccaria didn't mince words: 'It's only going to get worse once this goes into effect.' Hotels will have to reduce services and amenities, raise rates and lay off workers. And when hotels raise rates for stays, people go elsewhere, and they lose business, he said. In anticipation, his hotel has made layoffs. Beccaria's loan comes due next July. Hotel Angeleno has also already defaulted on that loan. He doesn't know that he'll secure another, so he is holding off on renovating. Beccaria may consider selling or choosing another location where he'd get a better return. Beccaria and Bortz mentioned an earlier piece of legislation that reduced hotel housekeepers' workloads, capping floor space cleaning. Bortz said that was the last straw, but that was before the current proposal. Bortz said he'll probably shrink or eliminate food and beverage at his hotels; Beccaria floated getting rid of valet. In either case, it appears jobs will be lost. Not to mention, it could hurt the Olympics atmosphere. Bortz suspects hotels will be in poor conditions and provide poor service once the Olympics come around. Beccaria said some hotels are attempting to pull out of their Summer Olympics stay agreements. 'The L.A. hotel industry is in a depression,' Bortz said. 'I'm not exaggerating. It's horrible.' At ICSC, retail smiles through headache of macro uncertainties Celebrity restaurants at hotels drive up average room rates, revenue Stream Realty OK'd for 100K sf warehouse in Cudahy This article originally appeared on The Real Deal. Click here to read the full story.
