Dive Brief:
- Nearly 2,000 hotel workers in Honolulu ratified a contract with Hilton Hawaiian Village, Hawaii’s largest hotel, ending a 40-day strike at the property, according to hospitality union Unite Here.
- The contract includes “significant” wage increases, more affordable health care and staffing and workload protections, the union said. Some 1,800 workers are expected to return to work today, according to a post by the union on social media platform X.
- According to Unite Here, the agreement signifies “momentum” in nationwide hotel strikes, which also saw workers in Boston and San Jose, California, ratify contracts last week. Approximately 1,930 hotel workers are still on strike in San Francisco.
Dive Insight:
Union workers at other properties in Hawaii are still working without contracts, and “could strike at any time,” according to Unite Here Local 5, which represents 10,000 hospitality workers in the state, on X.
Hilton Vice President and Senior Counsel for Labor Relations Adam Wit said the deal struck at Hilton Hawaiian Village is beneficial to both workers and the hotel. “We look forward to welcoming our Team Members back to work,” Wit told Hotel Dive.
In a statement, Unite Here International President Gwen Mills said “momentum is building as hotel workers across the U.S. fight for decent pay and fair workloads.”
“Our recent settlements prove that jobs at Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott can be genuinely good, family-sustaining jobs, and strikes will continue until workers in all our cities have won contracts that deliver on that promise,” Mills added.
Last week, some 750 workers at four Hilton hotels in Boston, and 650 workers at Hilton, Hyatt Hotels and Marriott International properties in San Jose, California, ratified new contracts with raises.
In a third-quarter earning call last week, Hilton Hawaiian Village owner Park Hotels & Resorts said strikes negatively impacted the real estate investment trust’s performance.
On the call, Park Hotels & Resorts CEO Tom Baltimore said third-quarter RevPAR declined by a combined 8% at the owner’s two Hawaii hotels, and the REIT’s overall RevPAR was impacted by roughly 70 basis points from a combination of Hurricane Helene and strike activity. “The [Hilton Hawaiian Village] hotel has never closed and it's continued to provide services to guests,” he noted.
Some guests, however, were not happy with the quality of those services, staging a protest in response to reduced service, according to Island News. Hilton did not comment when asked about the service disruptions.
