Do you want daily housekeeping at Hawaii hotels? Some hotel managers think not, but the employee union believes otherwise.
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87 thoughts on “Hawaii Hotels: Extreme Staff Shortage And Now Expired Contracts”
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We’ve been at the Imperial Waikiki for years. Can’t recall if it’s new, but they clean 1 or 2 times a week for timeshare owners. Not sure if it’s the same for renters.
Here’s what I’d like – fresh towels every day, empty trash cans every day. Full cleaning 2x a week is fine with the option to ask for extra cleaning.
Yes I do want my room cleaned and food service at the bar back at hotels and timeshares. When you go on vacation it’s the amenities of being pampered that make your trip relaxing and more fun. Just got back from Maui. The food was too expensive along with the price of the drinks and yet the higher cost did not include pool side delivery or or food at the bar. Had to go get it and bring it in.
No need for daily cleanings for us !! Once a week is great. We can get extra towels if needed 🌺
Room cleaning every third day is sufficient for us. I’d really rather not have strangers in and out if my room every day.
For the many of you that are saying “Hotel cleaning every day is a must”, what part of “There are not enough hotel workers employed to clean up after you” are you not understanding? This is a serious problem, currently without a solution.
Cast another vote for me for reducing cleaning. There is also being green to think about. So much water use cleaning the room and washing all those linens, at a time of severe drought in Hawaii. I’m happy to go without that for a week or more. Just because I’m on vacation doesn’t mean I should be irresponsible. I can spend 5 minutes a day tidying up my own room.
What so hard about asking the room guests upon their checkin what they would prefer? I’d guess 50/50 either way.
This is a service industry and the customer is paying top dollar…..I’d say it should be offered to each guest.
I would prefer daily housekeeeping as it was prior to Covid. I feel like due to staffing concerns the rooms have been left dirty and the attention to detail is just not there. Cleanliness matters now more than ever but some hotels have numerous excuses for their lack of providing this daily service. Some have you call/text for services that used to be standard. I’m not happy about those changes.
Hi Rob+Jeff I recall a program at the Princeville Westin where you could exchange a day of room cleaning for a free breakfast. Saves energy as far as washing bedding is concerned. Give the guests their own choice when they check in.Maybe one time during their stay depending on how long they’re there. Then cleaning schedules can be more efficient.Guests could request more towels, etc, by their room phone. And guests please leave your housekeepers a tip when you leave. 10-20 dollars helps them out for all their hard work in having a room you can enjoy being in during your stay.Mahalo and enjoy your vacation.
Hi Debra.
Great points. Thanks for that.
Aloha.
Hi Debra,
Agreed, the Westin had a great ‘Green’ option at all their properties. For every night you declined housekeeping, you had a choice of rewards points or a food/drink voucher. Sadly, it went away when the Westin got sucked up by Marriott.
I personally don’t ask or need someone to clean every day but I do need supplies from their carts or to throw away my trash. So I appreciate seeing them daily on my floor so I don’t have to carry everything through the hotel. I get cleaning every other day.
House keepers pay is low …please make sure you tip the house keepers …it should be left up to the guest if they want daily cleaning it should be asked when you make reservations or at check-in …big business greed …
Personally, I am somewhere in the middle. I like a daily light touch cleaning including emptying waste basket, replenishing towels, and quickly sanitizing the bathroom. Every three nights, I like a full cleaning of the room.
Aloha, we plan on spending the week in Hawaii again this year in December. We stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Daily housekeeping should definitely be an option. We could possibly manage every other day but trash would become a problem. The cans in the room are small and do not hold much. We pray the shortage is resolved at the hotels and airports by then.
If the hotels want to cut services, then the price needs to show in the cost of rental. It’s all well and good to increase prices because everything has gone up, but they need to drop the price if something isn’t being provided.
They don’t need to do any such thing. As long as visitors continue to book, hotels will continue to cut services and raise prices.
I don’t mind cleaning every other day but the room needs to be clean in the first place. We’re staying at the Hawaiaan Village next April, our first time in Hawaii. I really hope everything is settled by then
See if you can get yourselves in the Alii Tower, smaller and right on the Beach and away from the crowded lobby.
I will say that Daily, or every other day, housekeeping in hotels has become acceptable Only because there aren’t enough people to perform it. Hilton Hawaiian Village, for an example, on a 7 day stay offered housekeeping for 2 days due to shortage of staff. If we wanted towels, sheets, etc. they would send it up for Us. Valet Parking was unavailable. I blame a sub culture of people who don’t want to work. We enjoyed our stay but would have preferred more service. Did notice that the Sales Department was fully staffed, guess some things are more important than others!
When we travel to Hawaii we use our time share, and it doesn’t offer daily housekeeping, which is fine with us. On a recent trip to San Diego at a Hilton property, we were asked if we wanted daily housekeeping and opted out of it, since we’d only be there 4 days. We’re not neat freaks, but we don’t really need someone to make our bed each day. On the other hand, resorts in Hawaii are so short staffed that maintenance is sometimes not getting done based on what we saw last November, and in April. From what staff told us there, it’s not just because the hotels aren’t hiring, it’s because people aren’t applying for the jobs. Thanks for keeping us up to date. Hoping things get back to “normal” soon.
Oh it’s definitely not because hotels aren’t hiring! They have more visitors and business than they know what to do with. It’s just no one on the islands wants to work in those jobs. It’s the same in the restaurants; tons of empty tables but they still can’t seat you because there is no one to serve you! There’s a big shift happening, and not just in Hawaii.
Aloha BOH,
For us, the most important thing is keeping hotel staff safe & healthy. If that means skip-cleaning our room,we’re fine with it. We respect the long hrs & hard work staff put in. It’s obvious hotel owners/mgmt only care about profit when they will boost pay 91% to attract workers but only increase benefits 43%, which as just as critical to workers & their families!! An extra $1/hr pay or a $500 ER visit covered…the second is more beneficial, keeps staff healthy & is better for business in the long run. Continued short-sightedness by mgmt to keep jacking up rates & cutting service will lead to less reservations soon enough. The Aloha hotel staff show us is part of what makes us love coming to Hawaii. Mahalo.
I stayed at the Hilton properties and they promused Monday and Friday cleaning. Never receied the Friday cleaning! They aren’t even living up to their agreements of partial cleaning.
No daily room cleaning for us please. Once or twice a week is enough. If I need supplies I can request them.
Thanks for your coverage of this issue. During Covid everyone wanted less contact but that has changed in the minds of the travelers. Not so with Hotel management. This quote from Hilton CEO sums it up:
“The work we’re doing right now in every one of our brands … is about making them higher-margin businesses and creating more labor efficiencies,” Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta said during a February 2021 investor earnings call. “When we get out of the crisis, those businesses will be higher margin and require less labor than they did pre-COVID.”
No housekeeping experience recently in HI, however we have travelled to FL and NV this year. FL hotel chain only did full room cleaning if staying 5 days. For our 3 day visit we had to call for daily fresh towels and trash removal. In Las Vegas hotel still does daily cleaning as standard practice. Personally I’m fine with them not doing a daily cleaning unless we are staying more than 4 days. Having to call housekeeping for towels and trash removal is not a problem if they will still come in to the room to get the dirty towels and trash. If you need to leave them outside your door like we had to at a Hyatt a year ago it doesn’t seem too sanitary.
Aloha,
We stayed at the Bali hai on Kauai at the end of May. The housekeeping staff was wonderful! Granted that they only come in once during the week that we were there. However, we prefer that. Most often when we stay in hotels and resorts anywhere, we do not have housekeeping come in. We just leave up the “do not disturb” sign. I can certainly understand why hotel staff wants to be paid more. The hotels are charging more now. We love coming to Hawaii. It is my favorite vacation spot. We have another trip booked for February. Can’t wait to see the whales again !
I don’t want or expect daily housekeeping at hotels or timeshares in Hawaii or anywhere else.
We just returned from a short vacation with 2 hotel stays. Housekeeping by request only. We asked for clean towels every day and the trash emptied every day. We were fine with that.
The idea of a city requiring daily service, clearly just to pay back the local union for support, is the worst of politics. Some consumers prefer daily service, some don’t. Let the hotels figure out what their customers want and run their businesses accordingly. Politicians focus on running your city.
No matter where I’m traveling, I want housekeeping services every day. The hotel chains are raising pricing and giving less service. Part of the fun in staying in a hotel is having someone else clean up after you. If the hotels don’t want to provide this service, they should offer a reduced rate. Sort of like airlines that offer lower fairs if you don’t check any luggage.
I’ve been an owner of very nice timeshares, including on Maui, for years, so in these cases, I am accustomed to non daily service, BUT that said, when I am paying today’s exorbitant prices for even a modest hotel room, I expect daily services/cleaning. It’s outrageous to expect to have to take out ones own trash in a hotel room IMO. I worked for many years for a hospitality company renowned for their guest services. Timeshares/villas? Midweek Trash &
tidy is fine. Hotel rooms? No way. Should be daily. Guests that don’t want it can always call to advise.
Cleaners are transitioning to short-term rental cleaning en masse. They can make an average of $250-300 each cleaning, and are treated like royalty by the owners. That is multiples above what they make at hotels. Why would they stay?
You bet I want Dailey housekeeping services. When paying over 600. A night for a room we expect impeccable service!!!! Who wants to reuse a towell???? I don’t reuse them at home and I surely don’t want to reuse one on vacation.
For years now, I have preferred not to have my room cleaned every day. On shorter stays of 3-4 days I go without if allowed. On week-long stays I’ll have it cleaned once or twice. The primary reason being fresh towels.
I would rather be able to leave my things out around the room and not have to put everything away so it can be cleaned.
This is just an example of the rich getting richer. Services have definitely gone down but prices continue to rise. I can only assume that the increased rates don’t go towards employee pay. Why should hotel guests be required to call for room cleaning, toiletries, or tea/coffee? Also, the depleted housekeeping crew shouldn’t have to bounce all over the hotel based on who calls for service. The hotel laid everyone off, it’s on them to rehire staff.
Paying more, getting less services has “soured” me to hotels.
Diminished Expectations and Value, regardless of $ or Points!
Yes!
Aloha. It comes to mind the government is flying illegal aliens or undocumented workers aimlessly all over the country. It would be relatively simple to coordinate these relocation flights with the hotels staffing needs, Including in Hawaii. Since they are held in groups they can be background screened. Unions can set up large training classes at the locations. Hotels would register their needs. Their flight would arrive with trained workers. They came wanting a better life & get immediate jobs putting them into the workforce. It will reduce taxes needed to support them. Generate taxes for SS, income & more, provide healthcare. They join society & the workforce. A win-win situation. It could all accomplished in a month organized correctly.
Spot-on, the Big Hotel Groups, CEO’s of both Marriott and Hyatt were very much behind using the new uneducated workforce of those entering Illegally, and staying away from the clamor for $15/Hr., just look at the SEIU in Las Vegas, a Voting Block dependent on jobs, how much control can you have?
Uninvited immigrants need to be sent home. You want high wages – that does not come with illegal immigrants. They drive wages down.
Don’t get me wrong – I don’t care if we accept 3 million or more legal immigrants a year – as long as they come legally. Now, Congress has to change the law. But, if you have not come here legally, go home. Come back legally.
Bringing more illegal workers to Hawaii will only keep down the wages of American Citizens.
This is probably one of the most idiotic posts I’ve read here. What you’re proposing would increase illegal immigration- “Hey! I can enter the USA illegally, and they will fly me to Hawaii, train me into a well-paying job, pay me enough to live comfortably, and on my days off, I can enjoy the beach, surf, enjoy the scenery. What a country!”
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Hawaii skyrockets.
I hope you were being cynical, but if you weren’t, you need to rethink this entire proposal.
Idiotic? What are the hotels supposed to do? Did you get the part about a severe shortage of hotel workers, cleaners, etc.? No one living on the islands wants these jobs! Hotels have to do something if they are to survive, and they can’t simply raise salaries if it makes the numbers not work anymore.
Governor Ige created the problem with Lockdowns and taking Federal PPP that compensated workers far beyond their regular Pay. Add-in his State Un-Employment is now $500,000,000.00 in the Red. He absolutely killed the Retail climate, Sak’s leaving International Marketplace a prime example, Dining, etc.. Regardless of Politics, one only has to look at California, New York and Illinois as well as Hawaii, he followed those Governor’s took the $, now the workers don’t want to go back thinking they deserve more, on top of that, this has fostered to some extent this isolation feeling that Hawaii has developed as to too much Tourism, which along with the Military is probably upwards of 85% of the Economy!
I prefer at least every other day. Trash gets full, I need new towels, my husband needs more coffee pods, etc. Part of a hotel stay is to make a different experience than at home.
We’ve been timeshare owners for 25+ years in Kauai and as you know, we get a “mid-week tidy” and a full week cleaning if we stay over a week. It’s fine ! We can always get fresh towels if necessary and how much effort does it really take to dump your own trash and make your bed ? Don’t you do that at home ? Yes, it’s vacation, but please, friends, let’s help keep the hotels and timeshares in business.
Hi Kitty, I know many people who own timeshares, I don’t and prefer it that way. With the amount of investment one should expect a bit more than what you receive I would think. I actually Talk to the housekeepers and have heard that they are overwhelmed because of the Shortages and are Exhausted, Frustrated at the workload. That’s cleaning 1 time per week and at checkout. Significant price increases should equate to great Contracts I hope! Be Reasonable.
The midweek cleaning has been gone for years, at least at our Wyndham resorts. We also did not get any housekeeping for recent hotel stays on the mainland or for a 2 week stay in Kona in January. They will supply extra towels and sheets if you want fresh ones, but no housekeeping.
Daily housekeeping is not necessary. I have never liked someone coming in with my belonging strewn about. I prefer that they bring fresh towels upon request, and deep clean between guests only. Stop the daily intrusion, but do a Better job on cleaning when guests check out.
If a guest doesn’t want service, they can so indicate. But a once-over with sanitizing bathroom surfaces, emptying trash, and vacuuming seems like basic hygiene/public health. The tiny trash cans in hotel rooms lead to food and packaging overflowing, attracting insects and other pests. This is common sense. Towels don’t always need replacing, that can save labor and water, but basic cleanliness is important to me, even as I pick up after myself and make the bed. Housekeeping is valuable and workers need to be paid living wages.
Aloha Rob & Jeff and all at BoH…
Mahalo again for all the news, though lately it seems something less than good…
Airports congested, pilot shortages and strikes, possible tourist arrival fee (tax) and now severe hotel staff shortages. It seems COVID has everlasting effects. As a solo traveler, I am not in need of daily service and staying, as I do, in timeshare units, service is once a week and that is just fine.
I’m sorry for all those suffering travelling nightmare and have a lot of sympathy for all the workers in hospitality provision. Here’s hoping it all calms down a bit soon.
All good wishes,
Michael
I have never wanted daily housekeeping. I don’t want someone coming in unless there’s a real need. The insistence from the union is just a power/money grab to keep their members employed in an otherwise diminishing demand for housekeeping. It’s also going to drive costs up when they should work with the hotel management to find a more productive way to keep their staff employed.
Hi Too M, I agree with many that Daily Housekeeping isn’t needed, however, for many reasons every other day makes sense. Typically there’s enough towels to last 2 days and the bed sheets can last. How many people wash their sheets daily or even every other? It’s understandable the tug of war negotiations but Resorts and Hotels are making a considerable amount of money. Settle the issues and improve the quality, we’ve been overpaying for it and still are!