For Xochitl Mendez, a housekeeper who has worked at the MGM Resorts in Las Vegas for the past 14 years, cleanliness (or lack thereof) is a safety issue.
“The rooms are not cleaned every day, and every day we see very, very annoyed guests. They get angry and insult us,” Mendez, 55, told us wealth. “Sometimes we don’t want to go into the room because the guest is so angry.”
Mendez said that at one point, an angry guest yelled at her and threw a magazine as she entered the room, shouting, “I paid so much, why isn’t this room cleaned?”
She said she and her colleagues immediately reported angry guests, but security either showed up or didn’t. Mendez worked the housekeeping shift (5 p.m. to 1 a.m.), earning $21 an hour and rarely receiving tips. Wages haven’t kept pace with rising food, utility and gas costs, she said.
Alone in the building
The debate over hotel room cleaning has become so heated that one of Nevada’s most powerful unions could go on strike over it. Last month, members of the Culinary Union, which represents Mendez and 60,000 other housekeepers, laundry attendants, bartenders and servers who live primarily in Las Vegas, voted overwhelmingly to authorize the shutdown. Union members also picketed in front of MGM and Caesars hotels.Stewards demand panic buttons, minimum staffing levels and higher wages — and make required Vegas hotels must provide daily housekeeping, according to the union.
Mendes told wealth She saw people carrying guns into the resort, which made her even more afraid of facing angry guests.Earlier this year, union officials testify Lawmakers were attacked while alone on floor, according to Nevada Legislature las vegas review magazine. But it wasn’t enough to prevent the passage of a law that repeals daily cleaning requirements passed early in the pandemic. The hotel industry and the Henderson Chamber of Commerce opposed the measure, saying it stifles economic recovery and is something many guests don’t want.
When asked about Mendez’s experience, an MGM spokesperson said, “Nothing is more important than the safety of our employees and guests, and we take every situation and complaint seriously,” noting MGM Resorts Guns are prohibited in all hotels.
An MGM Resorts representative testify this spring According to the agency, more than 40% of guests refuse room service or use the “do not disturb” sign review journal.
Virginia Valentine, head of the Nevada Resort Association, told the media review journal The bill is not a cost-saving measure for hotels and would provide daily housekeeping services to guests who request it.
“If they want daily housekeeping, they will have daily housekeeping,” she Tell Paper. “You don’t have to bargain through state law.”
MGM told wealth The company “has a long history of working with unions on contracts that support employees and their well-being,” and said it “continues to negotiate a contract that works for everyone.”
“House prices are skyrocketing”
The hotel industry’s remarkable recovery from the pandemic has raised questions about its need for support.
“House prices are skyrocketing; the number of guests visiting is booming, and we anticipate that if these companies are doing well, then workers should share in that prosperity,” union secretary-treasurer Ted Pappageorge told reporters last week express.
Las Vegas home prices hit record high Record According to data from local KSNV TV station, the average night is $213, 60% higher than 2019 levels, and occupancy rates are close to pre-pandemic levels.
Across the country, hotels have seen significant growth in operating profits, according to data compiled by Unite Here. Las Vegas isn’t the only place where janitorial work has become politicized.In Washington, D.C., the City Council last year passed a Interim law Daily cleaning required; hotel staff hope the law becomes permanent.
Housekeepers say it’s not just a matter of keeping their jobs: less frequent cleaning means the rooms become messier, placing a greater burden on housekeepers.
Lucy Biswas, a housekeeper at the Washington Hilton, said cleaning rooms only at checkout means more time, more cleaning products and more work. According to Biswas’s union, Unite Here Local 25, at the height of the pandemic, hotels sometimes had just six housekeepers to clean a full building, instead of the 40 housekeepers a typical day required before the outbreak.
“When they leave a room for three days, it smells like garbage and is all over the floor,” Biswas said. “When a family comes in, there’s a lot of sawdust, syrup, dust or crumbs on the table… Sometimes we don’t even finish decorating the rooms because they’re so dirty.”
Hilton said it is adding more frequent housekeeping services. “Starting this fall, guests at all Hilton Worldwide’s luxury, full-service, lifestyle and Embassy Suites hotels will receive automated daily housekeeping service,” a company spokesperson told Fortune in an email. “Guests at any Hilton brand can share their preferences upon arrival or during their stay and customize a room service schedule based on their individual needs.” However, the company currently has about 8% fewer employees globally than in 2019, while The number of rooms it owns has increased by 14%.
The math doesn’t work, Papageorge said.
“If companies are generating record profits while reducing jobs by cutting back on daily room cleaning… or expecting workers to permanently fill vacancies, as they have done during the pandemic, that’s not going to work,” he said. .”
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