Asian Hospitality: Edition 220
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8 ASIAN HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2023
ore than seven in 10 Americans
would be deterred from booking
a hotel room in Los Angeles if
hotels there are forced to house homeless
people next to paying guests, according
to a recent poll by American Hotel &
Lodging Association. The survey was
released as the city considers a proposed
ordinance that would require hotels to
house homeless individuals alongside
paying guests, a change opposed by
AHLA and AAHOA.
Los Angeles residents will vote in
March 2024 on the ballot initiative
proposed by Unite Here, a labor union
representing L.A.-area hotel workers.
The AHLA study highlighted the
significant impact such a policy would
have on tourism and hotel occupancy in
the city. However, if Unite Here's ballot
initiative passes, Los Angeles would
be the first city in American history to
require hotels to house homeless people
alongside paying guests.
Concerns about safety
The Morning Consult survey,
commissioned by AHLA, took place from
Sept. 18 to 20, involving 2,203 U.S. adults
nationwide. The topline results may
have a margin of error of plus or minus 2
percent.
The findings include:
71 percent are concerned about safety
risks to hotel staff and guests due to the
housing mandate.
72 percent of Americans would
hesitate to book a hotel room in Los
Angeles. For prior visitors, this figure
jumps to 83 percent.
71 percent would be discouraged from
leisure trips to L.A. Among past visitors,
this figure rises to 80 percent.
70 percent of Americans would
reconsider attending a business
conference in Los Angeles. Among
prior L.A. visitors, this figure rises to 79
percent.
71 percent worry about hotels reducing
amenities or quality if the housing
mandate is enforced.
70 percent express concerns about
potential damage to hotel property.
75 percent believe the policy overlooks
the root causes of homelessness, and 74
percent worry about inadequate focus on
long-term housing solutions for homeless
individuals.
Ballot withdrawal
deadline: Dec. 8
According to L.A. regulations, Unite
Here can retract the ballot initiative as
long as it does so 88 days prior to the
election or by Dec. 8. However, Unite
Here has refrained from taking this step,
AHLA said in the statement.
The organization's leaders have
emphasized the inclusion of housing
for homeless individuals next to paying
guests as a focal point in negotiations
with L.A.-area hotels and have demanded
hotel support for the practice.
Also, the Los Angeles City Council
has not yet held a hearing regarding the
economic impacts of the proposed policy.
AHLA is urging the council to promptly
conduct an economic impact hearing and
pass a resolution in opposition to Unite
Here’s ballot measure.
“Homelessness is a serious and
complex problem that can only be
addressed by professional social and
health care workers with specialized
training,” said Chip Rogers, AHLA
president and CEO. “Unite Here’s
insistence on forcing hotel workers
and guests to deal with this issue is
dangerous. If Unite Here succeeds in
turning all L.A. hotels into homeless
shelters, eventually there will be no
hotels – and no hotel workers – left in the
city.”
“Safety concerns will prevent workers
from taking hotel jobs and drive tourists
to other locations,” Rogers also said.
“That’s a fact, and these poll results
prove it. That’s why we’re calling
on Unite Here to drop its dangerous
demand to turn hotels into homeless
shelters, in LA or any other city where
they might try it.”
A spreading issue
AAHOA has similar concerns about the
proposed ordinance.
“We're being very, very involved
because whatever happens in L.A.
could then expand up and down the
West Coast and throughout California
as well,” said Laura Lee Blake, AAHOA
president and CEO. “It could go up to
Oregon, Washington, Chicago, it starts
moving across the country. Of course, we
care a lot about anyone that's unhoused,
anyone that's living on the streets, but at
the same time, hotels and hotel owners
and hotel teams are not equipped to
handle the complexities of sometimes
what this would involve, such as people
with addictions or physical or mental
disorders.”
Poll: Many concerned about safety with
proposed L.A. hotels homeless housing mandate
AAHOA, AHLA also oppose the ballot initiative put forth by Unite Here hotel workers’ union
More than 70 percent of Americans would rethink booking a Los Angeles hotel room if homeless individuals
were housed alongside paying guests, according to a recent poll by the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
In March 2024, Los Angeles residents will vote on a ballot initiative proposed by hotel workers union Unite Here
that would require hotels to house homeless individuals.
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