When COVID initially hit, few people were staying at hotels. At first, most were at home, either on their own volition or because of lockdowns. When things started to get better, some looked at ways to get away but still have some degree of separation. That’s how we wound up going on a whole lot of road trips and having a change of heart about Airbnbs.
But then things started to get better and people were once again flying (even now, I smile when I remember Joe’s anecdotal, 100% foolproof way of knowing that people were traveling again) and staying at hotels.
Even when the pandemic started to improve, there were still changes at hotels. For example, daily housekeeping in hotels – making the bed, removing the trash, replacing the towels, etc. – frequently went by the wayside.
The reasoning for housekeeping services decreasing so substantially varies, and, of course, it depends on who you ask. But you typically hear:
- They can’t hire enough housekeepers due to The Great Resignation (Me: Depending on where you look, hotel housekeepers’ pay appears to average anywhere from $10.68 to $11.56 to $13.71 per hour. That’s no living wage! Pay them well and don’t treat them like dirt, and “not being able to find anyone who wants to work” wouldn’t be a problem)
- Guests don’t want housekeeping services (Me: True, a few probably would prefer their privacy. I think more would appreciate it if their overflowing trash can was emptied on a consistent basis)
- It’s cheaper to not offer housekeeping every single day ([*cough*] Me: Bingo! [*cough*])
Meanwhile, in the 10-12 or so hotels I’ve been in since the pandemic started, housekeeping services have been very inconsistent. A total of one hotel still gave daily housekeeping. Some others came some days but not others, with no rhyme or season (I’m not saying a pattern like every other day. I mean 2 days in a row, then 1 day not, then again on the 4th day). Still others offered nothing until you stayed for “X” amount of days. And at least one hotel didn’t even seem to know what counted as housekeeping.
Anyway, our experiences set aside, there’s some good news out of California, where Los Angeles has declared daily room cleanings will be standard practice for hotels.
This is thanks to a new ordinance called the “Hotel Worker Protection Initiative,” which was recently approved by the Los Angeles City Council. The measure was backed by Unite Here Local 11, a labor union that represents roughly 32,000 hospitality workers throughout Southern California and Arizona.
In addition to making daily room cleaning a requirement, the initiative includes various protections around fair compensation (there, ya see?), minimum wage laws, as well as measures to keep hotel workers safe (for example, panic buttons – which, HELLO, we wrote about 3 years ago and they’re STILL not everywhere???).
A final hearing for the ordinance is scheduled for June 28th and the new rules should go into effect about a month after that.
Feature Photo (cropped): Hotel du Vin & Bistro / flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
1 comment
Just got back from Disney Fort Wilderness cabins. Housekeeping came every other day, empited the two trash cans and took the tip.