Working as a housekeeper at the Moxy hotel in downtown Boston can be overwhelming for Fatima Amahmoud, as she is tasked with cleaning up to 17 rooms during each shift. One incident that stood out was when she discovered three days’ worth of blond dog fur scattered across the curtains, bedspread, and carpet, which made it impossible to finish within the designated 30 minutes per room. Some hotel guests decline daily room cleaning, a practice promoted as environmentally friendly but also perceived as a cost-cutting measure for hotels amid labor shortages exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unionized housekeepers are advocating for a return to automatic daily room cleaning at major hotel chains, citing unmanageable workloads, reduced hours, and income. The labor dispute represents broader concerns among hotel employees, who faced extended job losses during pandemic closures and returned to an industry grappling with persistent staffing shortages and changing travel patterns. Over 40,000 workers represented by the UNITE HERE union are engaged in challenging contract negotiations with prominent hotel chains, including Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Omni, seeking improved wages and a reversal of service and staffing cuts.
Close to 15,000 workers have voted to authorize strikes if agreements are not reached after contracts expire at hotels in 12 cities across the nation. The series of strikes commenced with over 4,000 workers walking off the job at hotels in cities such as Boston, San Francisco, and Seattle. While some hotels, including where Amahmoud works, have authorized strikes but have yet to initiate them, the hotels have put contingency plans in place to minimize the impact of strikes, expressing disappointment at the decision to strike while remaining open to negotiating.
The ongoing labor unrest underscores the lasting effects of the pandemic on low-wage female workers, particularly Black and Hispanic women overrepresented in customer-facing service roles. Despite a general return of women to the workforce post-pandemic, a gap remains in employment rates between women with and without college degrees. The hotel industry, employing around 1.9 million people, has seen a decline of some 196,000 workers since February 2019, with nearly 90% of building housekeepers being women.
The UNITE HERE union aims to secure equitable compensation for service workers akin to more male-dominated sectors, emphasizing the undervaluation of hospitality work, primarily carried out by women and people of color. The union looks to replicate its recent accomplishments in southern California, where repeated strikes led to substantial wage increases and improved benefits for hotel workers. However, challenges persist, with the hotel industry reporting significant staff shortages, especially in housekeeping roles.
Hotel staff assert that the reality on the ground differs from the industry’s rosy narrative, with workers like Maria Mata, a 61-year-old housekeeper at the W Hotel in San Francisco, struggling to make ends meet and facing irregular work schedules. UNITE HERE has succeeded in reinstating daily room cleaning at some hotels following pandemic challenges but faces renewed battles as contracts expire, aiming to prevent hotels from subtly encouraging guests to forgo daily housekeeping services.
Though the U.S. hotel industry has rebounded post-pandemic, with average occupancy rates still below 2019 levels, revenue per available room is projected to reach a peak in 2024. However, challenges persist for unions like UNITE HERE, battling to preserve daily room cleaning standards as hotels view service reductions as a long-term cost-saving measure. Workers, already grappling with financial strains, seek fair compensation and improved working conditions amid the ongoing labor disputes.
