This is great, Emma! Mark Hoplamazian did an interview with WSJ this week and was asked about industry salaries. I was super happy to see his response:
“Hoplamazian: These are our colleagues, first and foremost. And our colleagues really care about what they do when they come to work and how they do it.
So we don’t want to be too distracted with the evolution of wage rates. By the way, it’s not just in the hotel industry that wage rates are increasing. That’s a natural evolution given inflation and other circumstances.
While our owners will be paying more per hour for individuals, if we can really make sure that we create the best possible environment, the result will be continued financial success for our owners.”
Excerpt From
“Hyatt’s CEO on the World Cup and $100,000 Housekeeper Salaries”
Beautifully written Emma, and I agree wholeheartedly. The strongest service cultures are built from within and sustained by how people are treated behind the scenes. That’s also why they can erode so quickly when growth, cost pressure, or leadership decisions begin pulling in the opposite direction. Culture is difficult to create—and even harder to restore once it starts slipping.
Thank you so much Pierre! You’re right that companies that had wonderful culture in the beginning can easily start slipping when put under pressure to grow or cut costs. But doing that often ends up eroding the value proposition of hospitality, unfortunately
Exactly right! This is true to the point where my friend whose family owns a hotel (and takes very good care of their employees) says that no one should open a hotel with the expectation of having insane profit margins or low operating costs. Having a good product means caring for staff, point blank
The first signs of poor management lacking any self awareness or ability to correct is thinking that staff costs are the problem. Of course they'd never consider taking home 5% less (which could probably cover the pay of 3 hotel staff for a year)
It’s quite literally the dumbest thing I’ve heard, it’s such an incompatible mindset with hospitality (let alone luxury hospitality!!!!) as your product
yess to more devotion!!
My theme for the rest of 2026!!!
such a good one!!! i also want to revisit mine, it was consistency, but i feel like something more bubbly now
This is great, Emma! Mark Hoplamazian did an interview with WSJ this week and was asked about industry salaries. I was super happy to see his response:
“Hoplamazian: These are our colleagues, first and foremost. And our colleagues really care about what they do when they come to work and how they do it.
So we don’t want to be too distracted with the evolution of wage rates. By the way, it’s not just in the hotel industry that wage rates are increasing. That’s a natural evolution given inflation and other circumstances.
While our owners will be paying more per hour for individuals, if we can really make sure that we create the best possible environment, the result will be continued financial success for our owners.”
Excerpt From
“Hyatt’s CEO on the World Cup and $100,000 Housekeeper Salaries”
Allison Pohle
The Wall Street Journal
https://apple.news/AR3qNUf0sQCWf5YWXwitKhQ
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Thank you for pointing me to this article Anne Marie! And nice to see a leader in the industry not be a wuss about salaries, refreshing really!
He’s great. I met him years ago at a WTTC event.
Beautifully written Emma, and I agree wholeheartedly. The strongest service cultures are built from within and sustained by how people are treated behind the scenes. That’s also why they can erode so quickly when growth, cost pressure, or leadership decisions begin pulling in the opposite direction. Culture is difficult to create—and even harder to restore once it starts slipping.
Thank you so much Pierre! You’re right that companies that had wonderful culture in the beginning can easily start slipping when put under pressure to grow or cut costs. But doing that often ends up eroding the value proposition of hospitality, unfortunately
Investment in human capital is essential for hospitality. It’s exactly what’s remembered and why guests keep returning year after year
Exactly right! This is true to the point where my friend whose family owns a hotel (and takes very good care of their employees) says that no one should open a hotel with the expectation of having insane profit margins or low operating costs. Having a good product means caring for staff, point blank
another exquisite 'sletter
Thank you kind lobster for being here I appreciate you 🦞
The first signs of poor management lacking any self awareness or ability to correct is thinking that staff costs are the problem. Of course they'd never consider taking home 5% less (which could probably cover the pay of 3 hotel staff for a year)
It’s quite literally the dumbest thing I’ve heard, it’s such an incompatible mindset with hospitality (let alone luxury hospitality!!!!) as your product