The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to a proposal to boost the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers with the intent of reaching $30 an hour by 2028 in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Elected officials are considering a plan to raise the minimum wage for these workers to $22.50 an hour beginning in July, followed by a $2.50 increase over three years. The workers would earn $25 an hour in 2026, $27.50 an hour in 2027 and $30 an hour in 2028.
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WATCH HEREOn Wednesday, the council voted 12-3 in favor of authorizing updates to the city's Living Wage and Hotel Workers Minimum Wage ordinances, which regulate the minimum wage for such workers. The issue will return to the council May 23 for a second vote.
Council members Curren Price and Hugo Soto-Martinez have advocated for the minimum wage increase, which they say is about supporting workers. Price introduced the proposal two years ago alongside Soto-Martinez and four other council members.
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SIGN UP “For years, our hotel and airport workers have done the heavy lifting -- welcoming millions, keeping LA moving and powering the city's growth,” Curren Price said in a statement. "This policy is about respect, recognition, and fair pay for the workers who've always been essential to LA's success.”
Under the proposal, employers would be required to provide a new $8.35 per hour payment to cover health care, starting Jan. 1, 2026. The city would also establish a public housekeeping training requirement as well, similar to policies in Santa Monica and West Hollywood, but it would only affect hotels with more than 60 rooms.
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Such a program would mandate no less than six hours of training for hotel workers. It would inform them of their rights and employer responsibilities, how to identify and respond to human trafficking, domestic violence or violent conduct, among other things.
The City Council would be required to update the city's Living Wage and Hotel Workers Minimum Wage ordinances.
The Living Wage Ordinance applies to city contractors and ensures that employees are paid a set living wage, setting a cash wage rate and health benefits. The Hotel Workers Minimum Wage ordinance requires hotel employers with 60 or more guest rooms to pay their employees the specified minimum wage and provide 96 compensated hours of off time, and at least 80 additional hours of uncompensated time off per year.
Hoteliers and airport concessionaires criticized the wage-increase proposal, saying it would raise labor costs and could force some businesses to shut down at a time when the tourism industry faces challenges.
“Hotel employees in Los Angeles are paid the highest wages in the country, but right now their jobs are at risk,'' Rosanna Maietta, CEO of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, said during a news conference at City Hall on April 29.
“City leaders are considering a damaging proposal that will jeopardize these jobs; it would devastate much needed tourism related tax revenue and lead to the closure of hotels that are desperately needed to successfully host the 2026 World Cup, the 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympics.”
In late April, Visit California reported that statewide travel dropped by 8.8% in February and 12.1% in March. Air travel to California from Canada dropped 15.5%, from Mexico 24.2% and from the United Kingdom 22.1%.
The nonprofit develops and maintains marketing programs to boost tourism in California.
Gov. Gavin Newsom previously announced that tourism grew in the state last year, reaching a record-high impact of $157.3 billion, an increase of 3% compared to 2023. He also forecasted a 1% decline in overall visitation and a 9.2% decline in international visitation in 2025.
Meanwhile, Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11 -- the union backing the minimum wage hike -- said the measure would boost the local economy and support working families. In a statement, he said, “City leaders have an opportunity to ensure the Olympic and Paralympic Games benefit hard-working Angelenos, and this ordinance does just that.”
Mark Davis, the president and chief executive of Sun Hill Properties Inc., which manages the Hilton Los Angeles Universal City Hotel, has previously warned of investors choosing to do businesses elsewhere if the elected officials sign off on the wage increase.
On Tuesday, Davis told the Los Angeles Times that a future $250-million expansion of the hotel site, which would add a second 18-story tower, could be lost unless the proposal is reworked. The tower would open in time for the Olympics, adding more than 300 hotel rooms that would be available as part of a room block agreement with LA28.
“Our board was very adamant that if [council members] go forward with this nonsense, that it's dead,” Davis told The Times. “They're going to move the project somewhere else.” Councilman Soto-Martinez told The Times that he didn't accept Davis’ reasoning, noting that nearby competitors, such as the Sheraton Universal Hotel, have already been paying a higher wage to unionized workers.
