By Keith Kefgen and Rosemary Mahoney, April, 1966
There has been endless debate throughout business and political circles concerning equal pay for equal work. Our recent compensation study with NYU’s Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Travel Administration addresses compensation trends for female and minority managers in the U.S. lodging industry.
Our survey garnisheed a 40.2% response rate, or 661 properties of a sample size of 1,645 hotels. The survey covered 28 management positions and questioned respondents concerning their salary, bonuses and benefit policies. In addition, the survey categorized properties by type, location, class, size, ADR and affiliation.
We caution readers that the data shown in this article represent s only a small portion of the survey information, and as such, we recommend using the full study for any in-depth analysis.
Table 1 profiles compensation for five top property level positions. Minority and female executives of the 661 hotels were compared with the survey group as a whole. As you can see, minority and female managers earned less in base salary as a group in four of the five position categories. They also earned less incentive pay as a percentage of base salary in four of the five position categories.
Table 2 delineates that minority and female managers represented 45.4% of the entire survey group. On a percentage basis they represented only 34% of all general managers, but 87% of all human resources directors. Our research showed that the class and size of a given hotel had the greatest effect on compensation predictability. Class described the quality of the property and the level of guest services. Size was defined by the number of rooms in the hotel. According to this and other survey we have conducted, the overall trend is for compensation to increase when there are more rooms, guest services and operational complexities.
When comparing females against their male counterparts, the differences were even more dramatic (see table 3). Females represented 43.4% of the total survey group, while males accounted for 57.6%.
In certain respects, the industry has come along way in offering employment opportunities to women and minorities, but there is much work to be done. There still exists glass ceilings in the upscale and luxury markets. Additionally, in terms of compensation, women and minorities lag behind their (white male) counterparts. Based on our survey finding, the strides of women and minorities can only be categorized as incremental successes. We see these successes in sheer numbers. We do believe, however, that through open and honest dialogue there can be solution to any inequities that exist in today’s lodging industry.
For additional information contact the firm at