In September, the San Diego City Council voted to raise the city’s minimum wage for certain hospitality workers to $25 an hour over the next four years, with the first increase taking effect in July 2026.
With Coronado serving as a major tourism hub — and many of its hospitality workers commuting from San Diego — the neighboring city’s decision raises a key question: Will Coronado follow suit?
The ordinance applies to hotels with 150 guest rooms or more, as well as amusement parks, event centers and zoos. San Diego City Council member Sean Elo-Rivera, who introduced the proposal, said the measure was intended to help hospitality workers keep up with rising living costs and remain in the city where they work.
When asked whether Coronado would consider a similar wage increase, Mayor John Duncan and Council member Amy Steward declined to comment. Council members Mark Fleming, Kelly Purvis and Carrie Downey did not respond to requests for comment. Minimum wage increases have not appeared on a Coronado City Council agenda in the past year.
According to a June 2025 budget report from the City of San Diego, a single adult without children in the region would need to earn $30.71 an hour to meet basic living costs. A household with two working adults and two children would need $35.72 an hour.
Coronado’s cost of living is even higher. Housing expenses are approximately 367% above the national average, according to the Economic Research Institute, which ranks Coronado among the most expensive cities in the country.
Bridgette Browning, president of Local 30 of Unite Here, said the union represents workers at Hotel del Coronado and Loews Coronado Bay Resort only and because of that, their wages are better.
“Union workers make good money, they’re almost making $30 an hour,” she said.
She said workers in Coronado would like to earn higher wages, but the union has not pushed for a wage increase in Coronado because most workers cannot afford to live in the city and therefore cannot vote, limiting their political influence.
“I mean, I’ve never seen them (Coronado) do pro-worker legislation in the 25 years I’ve worked for the union. Unless the City Council wants to make a big change, it wouldn’t make sense to try to push this in Coronado,” she said.
“Hotels are big income generators, they’re doing very well and at least in the city of San Diego they’re highly subsidized by the tourism marketing district. I think if we’re going to spend more than $50 million of tax money subsidizing an industry, they should be creating good middle-class jobs,” she said.
Todd Little of Discover Coronado declined to comment, and the Coronado Chamber of Commerce referred questions to David Spatafore, owner of Blue Bridge Hospitality, which operates several Coronado restaurants. He said most of his employees earn minimum wage plus tips.
Spatafore said some restaurants adjust wages to remain competitive with San Diego employers, but Blue Bridge Hospitality uses a tip pool system that includes kitchen staff so employees can earn significantly more than minimum wage.
“We looked at two of our guys in December that make pizza. [They] make $37 an hour,” he added. “That’s pretty good.”
He said mandated wage increases contribute to rising costs for businesses. “It’s a vicious cycle,” Spatafore said. For his businesses, higher labor costs could lead to reduced hours or layoffs.
“Last year we had to eliminate a couple of our salaried positions within our company, which just puts pressure on everyone else,” he said.
Spatafore said he is exploring hybrid self-ordering systems, though he believes they detract from the dining experience.
“That’s a pretty dismal experience,” he said. “The only people that win in these increases in minimum wage are the government, because they take a percentage of payroll tax to the government, which rises as wages rise.”
Research on the economic impacts of minimum wage increases has produced mixed results.
One analysis by Oxford Economics, commissioned by the San Diego County Lodging Association, projects negative economic effects from a $25 an hour minimum wage for hospitality workers. According to the study, jobs supported by visitor spending will decrease by 1,200, and jobs supported by construction spending will decrease by 500, for a total direct job loss of 4,100.
When employers are required to pay higher wages, some seek to cut costs in other ways, including reducing hours, raising prices — such as hotel room rates — or limiting services. In some cases, businesses may delay or cancel construction projects, which can reduce construction job opportunities.
However, a Berkeley study released in Sept. 2024 states that wage increases do not always lead to job loss. In the press release, economics Professor Michael Reich said researchers found that “a carefully implemented” minimum wage “can raise worker pay without reducing the number of jobs or substantial consumer cost burdens.”
In 2023, under the FAST Act, California raised the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 an hour. The increase took effect April 1, 2024.
Some Coronado hospitality workers interviewed said they were satisfied with their current pay, citing tips, job stability, location and clientele. Others expressed concern about wages and said they were unaware Coronado would not be included in San Diego’s increase.
At the Ocean Club, a restaurant at Hotel del Coronado, hostess Chloe Razook said she earns minimum wage and does not receive tips. She commutes daily from downtown San Diego and described traffic from the naval base as “a mess.”
Upon learning the wage increase applies only to San Diego hospitality workers, Razook said, “Oh my gosh, I didn’t know Coronado wasn’t included in that. Hotel Del is the most popular hotel so I feel like we should be included in that.”
Shannon Upton, an employee at Veranda, another Hotel del Coronado restaurant, said she earns $23 an hour plus tips and has worked there for two and a half years. She lives in Imperial Beach and commutes daily.
“The Hotel Del pays us higher than minimum wage and the island’s beautiful too. Everybody’s really nice, everybody’s always in a good mood,” she said.
Angel Gonzales, a back server at The Henry, commutes from City Heights and earns the current minimum wage, plus tips. He said he prefers working in Coronado to downtown San Diego or City Heights because of the people and the location.
When asked how he would feel if San Diego’s hospitality minimum wage increased to $25 an hour, Gonzales said, “It would be enticing,” but added that he is currently content with his job.
Elizabeth Moriarty, a beach attendant employed by Boucher Brothers, a third-party vendor at Hotel del Coronado, said she would not work in San Diego even with higher wages because she does not want to give up working on the beach. She said summer tips help offset the hourly wage.
Moriarty did not disclose her hourly pay but said it exceeds the minimum because she is a supervisor.
