Re “Tourism workers deserve $25 an hour” (Sept. 7): Mikey Knab’s commentary demanding a 45% increase in pay for tourism workers lacks a basic knowledge of the hotel industry. As executive director of the San Diego County Lodging Association, I work with a diversity of hotels.
First, the big brands don’t own hotels, they manage or franchise them. Hotel owners are separate from brands, responsible for investments and costs.
The majority of hotels are family-owned businesses that cannot survive this increase without significant changes. Even the city exempted itself from the $25 minimum wage because it can’t afford to pay that rate.
This tourism-only wage will hurt our economy. Just as California’s restaurants lost 23,000 jobs after imposing a $20 fast-food wage, San Diego hotels will lose 4,000 jobs annually and generate fewer taxes, reducing funds for essential government services.
With hotels offering fewer amenities and fewer jobs, visitors will go elsewhere. To think otherwise is completely unrealistic.
— Fred Tayco, Mission Valley