Westwood hotel workers said they supported the Los Angeles City Council’s motion to increase minimum wage for tourism workers.

The LA City Council voted May 7 to increase minimum wage for some workers in the tourist industry to $30 an hour. The increase is set to be implemented for employees of private companies serviced at LA International Airport, as well as hotels that have over 60 rooms.

The policy, which passed in a 12-3 vote, will be fully implemented by 2028. The policy is backed by organizers of the UNITE HERE (Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees) Local 11, which represents workers in Southern California and Arizona, but faced opposition from both local hotel owners and chains.

Katherine Gruetter, a food runner at Plateia – a restaurant located within the UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center – said the increase would help student employees whose primary income stems from their work at the conference center.

“I know a lot of my coworkers depend on their income for the Luskin for things like tuition and food and housing, and so a pay increase like that obviously helps them substantially,” said Gruetter, a first-year English student.

Gruetter added that the increase would also benefit her non-student coworkers who use their incomes to support their families.

The policy was introduced in part by Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky in 2023, whose district includes Westwood and UCLA. Leo Daube, Yaroslavsky’s communications director, said the councilwoman introduced the policy to support local workers due to the high cost of living in LA.

“The councilwoman believes that people who work to make Los Angeles a world-class destination and work to support a tourism industry and show off Los Angeles to the world deserve to be able to afford to live here,” Daube said. “And you know right now, that is not the case.”

Critics of the policy have expressed concern that the increase in labor costs could lead to local businesses shutting down. Hotel owners have warned policymakers that they plan to take action in response to the motion, including placing holds on room blocks designated for the 2028 Olympic Games and pausing further investments in LA hospitality services.

Representatives for the Olivia Hotel, Pali Hotel, Hotel Palomar and the Westwood location of the W Hotel did not respond to requests for comment on the motion.

Jordan Conaway, an assistant manager atPlateia, said he was unsure how his employers would plan for the increase in labor costs.

“It’s just an interesting thing that’s going on with budget cuts, and it’s just hard to find the money, but I’m sure it’s there somewhere,” Conaway said. “They just got to figure it out.”

Daube said Yaroslavsky is working to implement further policies to support the tourism industry. He added that she hopes the wage increase will help the regional economy.

Conaway added that despite concerns, he believes workers will benefit from the increase and are deserving of the motion.

“With the state of the economy and current situation going on just in the country, I think everyone deserves as much as they can get,” Conaway said.