Hotel labor strikes with no end in sight ramp up in major US cities

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It's been more than a month of labor strikes at hotels in some of the top destinations in the U.S., and a resolution doesn't appear to be in sight.

More than 5,000 combined workers are on strike at hotels affiliated with Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton and Omni in Boston, Honolulu, San Francisco and Seattle. While earlier strikes were shorter multiday protests, most of the ongoing ones are indefinite, with workers saying they will continue to strike until they get a new contract.

Around the country, local Unite Here chapters representing hotel workers — including housekeepers, front desk agents, cooks, dishwashers, servers, bartenders, bellhops and door attendants — have been negotiating for higher wages, better working conditions and more employee protections. Many hotel labor contracts expired Aug. 31.

Related: Major US hospitality labor group calls for investigation into hotel loyalty programs

Nearly 700 additional Boston hotel workers went on strike this week at the city's largest hotel, the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport. While most of the strikes underway across the U.S. are indefinite, a weeklong strike at two Hilton-affiliated hotels in Seattle — the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Seattle Airport and the Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center — is slated to conclude before this weekend.

Hotels with indefinite strikes also include the Hilton Boston Logan Airport, the Hilton Boston Park Plaza and the Omni Parker House. In Honolulu, workers are indefinitely on strike at Hilton Hawaiian Village. In San Francisco, indefinite hotel worker strikes are currently underway at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, the Hilton San Francisco Union Square and the Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square.

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"Hotel workers are tired of working long hours while barely getting by. Hotel workers keep walking out on strike because hotel corporations like Hilton can afford to raise wages," Gwen Mills, international president of Unite Here, said in a statement. "The hotel industry is not only recovering from the pandemic but making record profits by cutting staff and guest services. Strikes will continue in the hotel industry until Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott show they respect our work by settling contracts that help our members recover too."

Spokespeople for major brands like Hilton and Hyatt previously told TPG there are contingency plans in place to minimize disruptions during a strike. But Unite Here warns guests that services will likely be suspended while hotels operate with skeleton staffing.

Picket lines will run outside the affected hotels for up to 24 hours each day, and hotels may suspend some services while operating with a limited staff. If you have an upcoming trip to one of the affected hotels, call ahead of your arrival at your hotel to see if strikes have an impact on operations.

If there is a silver lining to all this, some earlier strikes appear to be leading to a detente. Workers at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront ratified a new labor deal with the hotel after nearly 40 days of strikes. Hopefully, other labor deals will follow suit elsewhere in the country.

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