Upcoming changes to ancillary hotel businesses on July 1, includes restaurants that have between 50 and 250 employees and provide food and beverages to hotel guests and to the public, with an entrance within the hotel.
Below outlines the corresponding ordinance, which businesses qualify, and the effective date based on employee counts.
Ancillary hotel business: Does it pertain to your business?
In September 2019, the Seattle City Council passed a package of four ordinances designed to protect hotel employees, which could apply to some non-hotel businesses or “ancillary” hotel businesses. The ordinances relate to employee safety protections, protecting employees from violent or harassing conduct, increasing access to medical care for employees and job retention. The ordinance language defines “ancillary hotel businesses” in three of the four ordinances as:
“Ancillary hotel business” means any business that:
- Routinely contracts with the hotel for services in conjunction with the hotel’s purpose
- Leases or sublets space at the site of the hotel for services in conjunction with the hotel’s purpose
- Provides food and beverages, to hotel guests and to the public, with an entrance within the hotel premises
“Hotel’s purpose” means services in conjunction with the hotel’s provision of short-term lodging including food or beverage services, recreational services, conference rooms, convention services, laundry services and parking.
“Entrance with the hotel premises” is an ancillary hotel business that has an entrance within the hotel and is promoted and used by the business’s guests as an access point. On the other hand, a passage that is promoted as and used by the business’s customers to access a restroom within the hotel is not considered an entrance within the hotel. A sign identifying the business for purpose of navigation to and from the restroom is not promoting the business.
Is your business an ancillary hotel business?
Examples include:
- Leased space from the hotel with an entrance that opens into the hotel, promoted, and used by hotel guests as access into your business
- Parking garages onsite, or that contract with the hotel to provide parking for hotel guests
- Restaurants located within the hotel
You may be exempt if your business:
- Leases space from the hotel, but do not share a primary entrance into the hotel
- Leases space from the hotel within the building, but have a separate entrance from the hotel
- Leases space from the hotel, have a separate entrance but share access to a hotel restroom facility
For a more information on these laws please review our full Seattle Hotel Employee Protection Ordinance toolkit.
If you would like to see the ordinances, click the links below: