NYC Hotel Union Deal Sets Cleaners Up for $100K Salaries

Some New York City hotel workers are on track to become six-figure earners under a tentative labor agreement that would reshape the economics of the city’s hospitality industry.

The powerful Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and the hotel industry have reached a tentative eight-year contract agreement covering nearly 30,000 workers at more than 250 hotels across the five boroughs. The deal, announced ahead of the union’s June 30 contract expiration, includes what the union described as the largest pay increases in its nearly 100-year history.

Under the agreement, wages would rise by more than 50 percent on average over the life of the contract. Non-tipped workers are slated to receive an additional $21.20 per hour by 2034, while housekeepers’ hourly wages would jump from about $40 to more than $61. By the sixth year of the deal, annual pay for housekeepers would surpass $100,000.

The agreement arrives as hotel owners are already facing mounting expenses from New York City’s Safe Hotels Act, which has driven up operating costs across the industry, along with a dwindling pipeline of new supply thanks to a rule from former Mayor Bill de Blasio that requires a special permit for any new hotel to be built.

The contract still needs to be ratified on Thursday, and not every hotel has signed on. But Richard Born, longtime New York hotelier behind BD Hotels, said the agreement is all but certain to win approval.

“It was a very hard-fought negotiating session,” Born said. “I think that the union got a very good deal for their workers, and my hope is that the hotel industry flourishes, so that we can pay all these obligations.”

Despite speculation that the contract would automatically drive up hotel rates, Born argued that businesses set prices based on what the market will bear. Whether expenses rise or fall, the goal is always to maximize revenue.

“It will absolutely, positively affect my bottom line. There’s no question about it,” Born said. “The raises are substantial and they compound over time. My hope is that revenues from room rates can continue to increase at a rate equal to our payroll obligations.”

Industry leaders framed the deal as costly but necessary to avoid a potentially devastating labor showdown ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is expected to flood the region with visitors starting next month.

“A strike would not have been good for the city, would not have been good for the World Cup,” said hotel consultant Daniel Lesser of LW Hospitality Advisors. “It would have been a real disaster,”

Lesser speculated that owners would likely respond by pushing room rates higher, especially during peak travel periods.

“Owners are not going to just sit there and take it,” he said. “What are they going to do? They’re going to raise their revenues.”

That could further inflate already-high room prices in Manhattan, where rates averaged almost $334 in 2025, the highest among major U.S. markets, according to CoStar data.

There were 204 union hotels out of 785 total in New York City, according to a 2025 report from the New York City Independent Budget Office.

Despite record occupancy rates in the 85 percent range, hotel owners argue the industry remains financially fragile. During a press conference last week on the state of the industry, Vijay Dandapani of the Hotel Association of New York City said hotels continue to grapple with inflation, tariffs, labor costs and weaker international tourism due to federal policies.

Dandapani pointed to disappointing early bookings during the upcoming World Cup, saying hotels were only 18 percent booked for June and 20 percent booked on the night of the tournament final on July 19 as of April.

“We are proud the New York hotel industry will continue to provide the best pay and benefits in the country — especially since we are facing tremendous economic headwinds,” Dandapani said in a statement after the agreement was reached.