At a historic Buffalo, NY, inn, fair wages mean there’s no such thing as a labor shortage
At a historic Buffalo, NY, inn, fair wages mean there’s no such thing as a labor shortage
“My Economy” tells the story of the new economic normal through the eyes of people trying to make it, because we know the only numbers that really matter are the ones in your economy.
In 2011, Joseph Lettieri and Ellen Carlstrom bought a historic mansion called the Hewitt House, sight unseen, at a Buffalo city tax sale. They transformed the home into a boutique hotel called InnBuffalo off Elmwood Avenue, which they own and operate together. “Marketplace” spoke to Lettieri at the inn in early October.
“I refer to this as a ‘magic carpet ride,'” Lettieri said. “We got challenged by some lenders early on that Ellen and I didn’t have any hospitality experience. But I owned a maintenance company, and I felt like I’d been in training to do this restoration for 30-plus years.”
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent downturn in the travel industry almost bankrupted them in 2020, Lettieri said. They put the inn up for sale as a 12-room single-family home, but there were no buyers.
“If it wasn’t for PPP, I would not be standing here today,” he said. “I am proud to say we’re the busiest we’ve ever been.”
Starting wages for housekeepers at the inn are $25 an hour, and Lettieri said they also offer bonuses.
“I’m experiencing some windfall, so I’m going to share it with my team,” he said. “I don’t have any trouble finding housekeepers. And I think the people that are complaining about the [labor] shortage, maybe they should look in the mirror. You don’t have trouble when you’re fair.”
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