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LA hotel leaders warn Mayor Bass’ $30 wage mandate is killing business ahead of World Cup, Olympics
Members of the Los Angeles hotel industry are “sounding alarm bells” as they struggle over a city-mandated minimum wage hike signed into law by Democratic Mayor Karen Bass. Industry leaders warn the policy could lead to a severe shortage of room availability just as the city prepares to take the world stage.
“We are absolutely sounding alarm bells. If the city doesn’t start working with the business community, by 2028, things will be very different in terms of room availability at hotels,” President and CEO of American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) Rosanna Maietta told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
The timing is critical. Los Angeles is set to host a string of high-profile global events, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium, the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open Championship, and the 2028 Summer Olympics. Maietta warned that for these events to succeed, hotels must be fully staffed—a task made increasingly difficult by rising labor costs.
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“We’ve already seen that impact. I think about 100 restaurants have closed in the last year. If you think about just 6% of workers who have lost their jobs in less than a year. Times that by four more years of this, it’s just going to continue to have a negative ripple effect across the Los Angeles community,” she said.
The phased-in mandate requires a massive pay hike for airport and hotel workers. The law, signed by Mayor Bass last year, requires hourly wages to increase by $2.50 annually until they reach $30 per hour by 2028.
A recent AHLA report suggests the mandate has stripped the industry of the flexibility needed to navigate fluctuating market conditions. According to the data, the policy has already led to:
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While Mayor Bass did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez—a staunch supporter of the wage hike—dismissed the AHLA’s findings.
“Billionaire corporations spent millions of dollars trying to avoid paying their workers and providing them healthcare, and they failed,” Soto-Martínez told Fox News Digital on Monday. “Now, instead of paying their workers a living wage, they’re pouring even more money into misleading studies, ignoring independent findings that paying workers fairly would provide a massive boost to our economy.”
However, the AHLA noted that the study was not merely a private initiative. Under a 2015 ordinance, the city is required to commission an economic study every three years to review the state of the local economy. The city contacted the AHLA to conduct this specific analysis and provided the questions used to gather member responses.
The AHLA is the largest hotel association in America, representing more than 30,000 members from all segments of the industry nationwide. Its methodology stated it was a “member survey of Los Angeles hotel operators and owners” that featured “16 questions in multiple-choice, select-all-that-apply, and ranking formats.”
“The city was required to do this analysis, and so we complied,” Maietta said, noting the irony of the Councilmember’s criticism. “Our hotel employees in Los Angeles are paid some of the highest wages in the country, and we’re proud of that. It’s not just about wages; we provide a pathway to growth and opportunity.”
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The report found that none of the members believe Los Angeles is a favorable environment to make investments and 80% said that the city is not a good place for long-term hotel investment. Almost all the members surveyed said that rolling back the regulations would make the city’s market more attractive.
The consequences are already being felt by guests and residents alike, Maietta noted.
“People in Los Angeles are seeing what’s happening. You’re seeing retail stores and local restaurants that have been staples for years shutting down,” Maietta said. “When you go to the hotel bar and have to wait 20 minutes for a drink because there’s only one bartender, that doesn’t lead to a great experience.”
She concluded: “People want their communities to thrive. They want good-paying jobs, but they also want local businesses to stay open. That is why the community is so concerned about the direction we’re headed.”
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Pandemonium: Pro Wrestling kickstarts WrestleMania week with hard-hitting action in Las Vegas
Pandemonium: Pro Wrestling was among the companies to kickstart WrestleMania week in Las Vegas on Wednesday night.
While a relative unknown promotion among pro wrestling fans, Pandemonium held their “Whatever Forever” show as part of Shooting Star Fest. Dozens of fans poured into the Bizarre Bar in Las Vegas for hard-hitting action in an intimate setting where they had no other choice than to feel the wrestlers’ pain.
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AMIRA took on Janai Kai and Saya Ida in the main event for the Pandemonium: Pro Championship. AMIRA walked into the venue as the champion and left the same way. She successfully powered through all of Kai’s kicks and Ida’s knife-edge chops.
After getting Ida out of the ring, AMIRA put her attention on Kai. She hit the world’s strongest slam on Kai and pinned her for the win.
Johnnie Robbie, who received a ton of praise heading into the week, took on Natsupoi. The one-time Wonder of Stardom champion gave Robbie all that she could handle. Even as Robbie appeared to have the upper hand in the match, Natsupoi was able to use her speedy in-ring ability to gain momentum.
Natsupoi hit a cartwheel body press and pinned Robbie for the win.
Several other pro wrestlers on the card impressed with victories, including Joseline Navarro, Miko Alana, Jiah Jewell and the New Fever tag-team duo of Danny Orion and Shimbashi.
Indie pro wrestling companies are going to be on full display throughout the entire week, and fans were treated to the perfect appetizer for the days to come in the city of sin.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani claimed on Wednesday that threats of the city’s wealthiest residents leaving the city over high taxes were “imagined.”
Mamdani held a Tax Day public forum with economists Gabriel Zucman and Joseph Stiglitz to discuss his plans to further tax the rich, starting with a new tax on luxury properties valued at $5 million or more.
“For all of the discussion of the imagined exodus that would take place were we to tax the wealthiest New Yorkers by the appropriate amount—I say imagined because before I was a mayor I was a state legislator and I was part of an effort to increase taxes on millionaires at that time—we were told the same thing then—and what we find now is that we have more millionaires today than we did at that time even after having passed that tax,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani acknowledged New York City losing many of its residents in recent years, pointing out that the city lost 200,000 Black residents between 2000 and 2020. However, he claimed that this was an “exodus” of working-class people who can no longer afford to live there.
“And so for all of that conversation about this imagined exodus, we have to reckon with the very real exodus that we are seeing in the city, an exodus of working-class people, an exodus of those who cannot afford to live here and for many who work here who now find their residence in Jersey City or in Connecticut or in Pennsylvania, anywhere else where their dollar can go a little bit further,” Mamdani said.
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During the forum, Mamdani also highlighted his past campaign goals for free busing, universal childcare and five city-run grocery stores.
Though Mamdani was able to launch a universal childcare program within his first 100 days in office, he has yet to deliver on his plans for free busing or a city-run grocery store. The first of the proposed grocery stores is currently slated to open in late 2027.
Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.
Mamdani’s comments came in stark contrast to previous ones made by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who encouraged wealthy former state residents to move back and support social programs.
“There are some patriotic millionaires who stepped up. OK, cut me the checks. If you want to be supportive — but maybe the first step should be [to] go down to Palm Beach and see who you can bring back home, because our tax has been eroded,” Hochul said last month.
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LIV Golf CEO sends rallying memo to staff after reports Saudi funding could end after this season
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil sent a memo to his staff Wednesday in response to reports the Public Investment Fund will no longer use its resources for the league.
Sources told Fox News Digital the Saudis will stop funding LIV after the 2026 season.
“Team, (f)ollowing up on my previous message, which I realize may have led to some confusion on where we stand as a business,” O’Neil wrote in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital.
“I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle.
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“While the media landscape is often filled with speculation, our reality is defined by the work we do on the grass. We are heading into the heart of our 2026 schedule with the full energy of an organization that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before.
“The life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure. We signed up for this because we believe in disrupting the status quo. We have faced headwinds since the jump, and we’ve answered every time with resilience and grace. Now, we answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports.”
O’Neil then praised LIV golfers for contending at the Masters, noting Tyrell Hatton finished tied for third, and hyping up Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm as the faces of the league.
“To the teams in New York, London, and those on the ground here with me in Mexico: lean into this moment,” O’Neil continued.
“The noise you hear is simply the sound of a movement that is working. Embrace it. We are pioneers, and while the road isn’t always smooth, the destination is worth every mile. Let’s go out and show the world why LIV Golf is the future of the game. It matters. You mattered. Now, let’s go win.
“Long LIV Golf.”
LIV began in 2022 and has produced two major winners in Brooks Koepka, who has since rejoined the PGA Tour, at the 2023 PGA Championship, and DeChambeau at the 2024 U.S. Open. They are currently playing in Mexico City.
LIV Golf shifted from its 54-hole format, a draw for golfers defecting from the PGA Tour, to 72 beginning this season. Patrick Reed is also set to rejoin the tour.
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