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The Tampa Bay region's booming tourism industry might be having a trickle down effect on the wages of hourly hotel and motel workers, who are enjoying higher pay, on average, than their peers in many other popular U.S. tourist destinations, according to a new report.
In early October, members of the Hillsborough County Hotel Motel Association gathered to hear the results of a salary and benefits survey conducted by Marissa Orlowski, assistant professor with the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida.
Orlowski found that non-tipped, hourly employees “are earning anywhere from 12.3% to 121.5% over minimum wage at hire in 2017. This is an increase from 2016 ... and is outpacing the national average.”
Tampa Bay's tipped workers, such as bartenders, didn't see as much of an increase, but with an average starting hourly wage of $7.03, plus tips, they make about $2 more than the minimum wage for such positions.
HCHMA executive director Bob Morrison says the survey, compiled with support from Tampa-based Lykes Insurance, effectively refutes the perception of hoteliers as “low-wage, no-benefit, dead-end career job creators.”
Morrison adds: “Unfortunately, our historic response has been almost uniform silence, with no data to counter the negative description placed over our hotels and hospitality partners. The 2017 HCHMA Tampa Bay Hotel Wage and Benefit Survey offers a different conclusion. We believe this survey provides a unique snapshot of what we as an industry deliver to Tampa Bay's workforce.”
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