Originally Posted by
Happy Traveling Consultant
Not sure if this is a joke or not, but in NY, people are being paid approximately $21/hr in combined state and federal unemployment. Offering even $25/hr for, in your words, lower end jobs, is not working. Who in their right mind would take a job that is $4/hr above sitting at home on their couch?
My favorite family owned restaurant here right outside Chicago is down to being open 3 days per week because the dishwashers and busboys quit showing up so that they were fired and could collect unemployment. The family members staff every position for 3 days, but they can't find anyone to take a job for what they can afford to pay.
You are either ignorant or blind. Everywhere near me I see help wanted signs for lower end jobs.
This is something a lot people consistently failed to recognize.
PHNY operates in NYC. The labor cost is one of the highest. Not sure if they are related to hotel union. But the employees treat PHNY just like any of the hotels in NYC. The "flagship" does not mean anything to the employees. I do not think they make much more than working at another Hyatt next block. This is NYC, the capital of capitalism.
This is why a lot folks comment on PHNY nice with hardware, short on software. It is true. They run about the same software at Hyatt Place.
Also, you can't compare PHNY vs Hyatt in Bali or in another Asian country. The labor cost and the attitude are entirely different. Hyatt does not have much control over all this.
PHNY is a relatively small property. With folks paying with points or papers, the hotel can't afford to hire a lot of staff with the high wages and other costs in NYC. The service was not "flagship" before and it won't be much better with the labor situation after the pandemic.