News

Survey: Minimum wage rules significantly impacting restaurants, hospitality venues

April 11, 2019

Minimum wage mandates are having a significant impact on restaurants and the hospitality industry with 45% experiencing a labor cost rise of 3% to 9%.

That’s a top finding from the 2019 Hospitality ad Food Service Wage Inflation Survey released by Harri, a software provider that helps restaurants and hospitality venues build, manage and engage teams.

The survey polled 4,000 restaurants and over 112,000 employees in the U.S., according to a press release.

Those polled report a 26% labor increase, from 9% to 15%, and 12% had labor costs increase by more than 15%.

"Restaurants and hospitality organizations across the country are facing unprecedented challenges in maintaining the economic integrity of their business. Since nearly 50% of states imposed changes to the minimum wage policy on Jan. 1, 2019, markets like New York have been driven into a recession-like environment," said Luke Fryer, Harri founder and CEO, in the release.

"These findings reveal an alarming industry snapshot as many operators are forced to make lose-lose decisions, including reducing employee hours and even eliminating jobs altogether. Ironically, the legislation that was intended to improve employee conditions in the hospitality industry is having a direct, adverse effect."