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Project BackgroundResponsible Hotels:
Creating a new economy with good jobs and thriving communities requires both public investment and public accountability. For years, the City of Long Beach has invested millions of taxpayer dollars in the tourism industry, and has been so successful in attracting visitors that it was listed by the Urban Land Institute as “one of the top ten revived downtowns in the United States.” A recent study released by LAANE on behalf of the Long Beach Coalition for Good Jobs and a Healthy Community found that Long Beach taxpayers have invested over $750 million in the tourism industry in hopes of creating a new source of revenue that would revitalize the city and bring new jobs to the city’s residents. But the industry has failed to offer a fair return on the public’s investment, contributing to poverty in local communities with low-wage jobs that leave many workers dependant on public assistance. Indeed, despite Long Beach’s thriving tourism trade, the city’s concentrated poverty rate is among the highest in the country. To address this issue, LAANE has helped organize an alliance of local community, labor, religious and student leaders and organizations in an effort to ensure that Long Beach City’s tourism industry provides good jobs, strengthens our community and is accountable to the public. We believe that the Long Beach hotel industry can and must invest more in its workforce in order to guarantee long-term success, benefit Long Beach residents and businesses and create more jobs that can support Long Beach families. |
In Focus
Video: Hope for Housekeepers
Hotel housekeepers marched in Downtown Long Beach to raise public awareness of the high risk of injuries for room attendants in Long Beach hotels.
Report: "A Tale of Two Cities: How Long Beach's Investment in Tourism in Downtown Has Contributed to Poverty Next Door" | Read More »