Union attacks on the hotel industry have left Los Angeles in poor shape for 2028 Olympics

Los Angeles’ “hot labor summer” of 2023 is a case of “the means don’t justify the ends.” A recent rosy media spot check on the health of Los Angeles hotels after last year’s rolling strikes doesn’t paint an accurate picture. 

Leaders at hotel union UniteHere Local 11 deployed 14 months of disruptive tactics that were cited in a Los Angeles Times article as being only noisy picketing in the early morning, surprise work stoppages and marches through hotel lobbies that pressured hotel managers. 

The Times failed to mention that UniteHere also:

• Held Los Angeles hostage with its sponsorship of a Homeless in Hotels ballot measure campaign that froze potential travelers who, rightfully, were worried their visits would amount to staying at a temporary homeless shelter without mental health and addiction services
• Lobbied for an unnecessary Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance that cost LA $603 million in direct economic activity and lost 5,856 jobs because of reduced spending.
• Forced six conventions to move or cancel, including the large and prestigious American Film Market, which left for Las Vegas after more than 30 years in Santa Monica, thereby denying hotels and associates significant revenues and wages.
• Instigated a violent protest that ruined a couple’s peaceful wedding at the Hotel Maya in Long Beach.

This blatant self-interest damaged LA’s already shaky reputation for unchecked public safety and unsuccessful management of its ubiquitous homelessness. Unfortunately, it’s highly inaccurate for the Times to declare that the “strike isn’t expected to have a lasting impact on the region’s hotel industry.”

Here’s why:

• Since the pandemic, most LA hotels operating costs have increased 40% while their cash flows decreased nearly 40%. No business can survive long with that math. 
• Through July, LA hotels’ operating cash flows have declined 20% since 2023 as occupancy and average daily rate dropped 2.8% compared to 1.1% increase nationally.
• As a result, many hotels are being foreclosed on or are in default on mortgages in downtown and West LA and another 11 LA hotels with 3,159 rooms are at risk of loan default.
• Hotel property values have declined between 30% and 50% due to these operating declines and the continued view of Los Angeles as a volatile and hostile business environment.
• There are NO new hotels being built and NO hotels being renovated, denying significant jobs and profits to the construction industry and its workers, many of whom are union members.

Let us be clear: Our hotels are suffering because of the “any-and-all-means-possible” approach by UniteHere. The union’s leaders are not interested in a partnership to grow tourism, business travel, the economy and thereby profits and wages for all. They are only focused on an “us vs. them” approach.

As a result, LA is precariously unprepared and under-hoteled to host the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics. Many bookings already are going to Anaheim and outside LA County because guests who plan to attend these global showcases want certainty about their accommodations. UniteHere’s 2023 “winner-take-all tactics” only hardened LA’s negative reputation. Future guests are voting with their feet and staying elsewhere. 

Let’s be doubly clear: We are true advocates of the careers, well-being and safety of our dedicated hotel associates. Our wages and benefits are outstanding, some of the highest in the nation, our training programs are instrumental for career growth and advancement, and our safety records are unsurpassed – even before UniteHere’s zealousness last year.

We are proud to have a significant number of associates with 20-plus years of service. They recognize the benefits of being valued members of our teams. It’s important to note that more than 30 percent of our colleagues came to work last summer despite UniteHere’s don’t-cross-the-picket-line demands. It’s a good reminder of how our employees really feel. 

We also are working diligently to restore LA’s reputation. Yes, it’s in our interest to do so. More importantly, it’s in the interest of our hotel associates, LA’s hospitality community, and frankly, the city, which depends on tourism-generated taxes to fund police and firefighters. 

Recovering from the long-term damages of UniteHere’s 2023 campaign that undermined LA’s reputation, is now all our jobs. We have worked closely with elected officials, other hospitality leaders and those organizing the World Cup and Olympics to promote the City of Angels as a safe, welcoming and entertaining place to visit. We will continue to do so. We hope UniteHere will as well. 

Jon Bortz is CEO and Chair of the Board of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, which owns nine hotels in Los Angeles. Lynn S. Mohrfeld is President and CEO of California Hotel & Lodging Association.