Thousands of Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott Hotel Workers Go on Strike — What to Know

03.09.2024 - 16:56 / travelandleisure.com / L.A / Gwen Mills

Thousands of hotel workers are on strike across the country, demanding better wages and workloads and a reversal of COVID-19-era cuts.

The striking workers, which include housekeepers and other employees represented by the UNITE HERE union, walked off the job at 25 hotels in nine cities across the country, including in Baltimore, Boston, Greenwich, Honolulu, Kauai, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle. The workers are employees at major hotel chains like Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott.

“Ten thousand hotel workers across the U.S. are on strike because the hotel industry has gotten off track,” Gwen Mills, the international president of UNITE HERE, said in a statement. “During COVID, everyone suffered, but now the hotel industry is making record profits while workers and guests are left behind. Too many hotels still haven’t restored standard services that guests deserve, like automatic daily housekeeping and room service… We won’t accept a ‘new normal’ where hotel companies profit by cutting their offerings to guests and abandoning their commitments to workers.”

Each city’s strike is expected to last up to three days. Additional strikes have been authorized in New Haven, Oakland, and Providence, according to the union.

While affected hotels will still be open, UNITE HERE warned potential hotel guests that picket lines would run outside affected hotels for up to 24 hours a day.

Michael D’Angelo, the head of labor relations for Hyatt in the Americas, told Travel + Leisure the hotel group had “contingency plans in place to minimize impact on hotel operations related to strike activity.”

“Our colleagues are the heart of our business, and Hyatt has a long history of cooperation with the unions that represent our employees, including UNITE HERE,” D’Angelo said. “We are disappointed that UNITE HERE has chosen to strike while Hyatt remains willing to continue bargaining in good faith.”

Representatives for Hilton and Marriott did not immediately respond to requests for comment from T+L. A representative for Hilton similarly told the Associated Press the hotel was committed to negotiating with workers.

UNITE HERE has a proven track record of hotel strikes. A previously organized strike in Southern California resulted in significant wage hikes, increased employer contributions to pensions, and fair workload guarantees with 34 hotels, according to the AP.