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Last year was the most challenging period in our resort’s history. But I am optimistic about 2021.
Our resort is once again bustling with guests. We have recalled more than 500 employees to the property, and will continue to offer additional laid-off employees the opportunity to return as business conditions permit. We offered property-wide raises for all hourly employees, and a quick on-ramp for all employees to receive full-time benefits.
We have heard similar reports of optimism from other Southern California resorts. To continue the recovery, the hotel industry needs support, from federal and local government, as well as the community.
At the federal level, we need Congress to pass the Save Hotel Jobs Act. Terranea was fortunate to survive the pandemic without receiving any federal aid; many of our fellow hoteliers were not so fortunate. This bipartisan legislation provides payroll grants and tax credits to help more hotels rehire more workers as soon as possible. It also includes provisions to promote hotel worker safety.
In a laudable business and labor alliance, it is endorsed by both the American Hotel and Lodging Association (the trade group for the hotel industry) as well as the international hotel workers union. Union president D. Taylor said, “The Save Hotel Jobs Act will provide important assistance in bringing back good hospitality jobs…”
Unfortunately, Unite Here Local 11 in Los Angeles has opposed this aid package for hotel workers.
I encourage Congress to stand with hotel workers and pass this legislation immediately.
The hotel industry needs more than federal support; we need cooperation from our state and local governments, too.
Throughout the pandemic, we have worked closely with state and local authorities to ensure our resort meets the highest health and safety standards. The California Hotel and Lodging Association’s Clean + Safe program set an industry precedent for hotel cleanliness. Now, with wider vaccine availability and decreasing case loads, we are encouraged to see COVID restrictions gradually lifted in a responsible manner. Continued recovery for the hospitality industry requires clear and consistent workplace safety standards, as hotels and resorts once again welcome meetings and other group customer events.
Finally, at the community level, we must reject those voices that seek to divide us and threaten the recovery for personal gain.
In Los Angeles County, the local union sent postcards to our neighbors, encouraging them to not visit the resort, which directly harms our ability to bring back employees. The union has engaged in similar antics targeted at other hotels and resorts.
Hotel employees’ livelihood, and the livelihood of the state’s tourism industry, are too important for a union to be engaging in harmful stunts like this.
In March 2020, it was difficult to be optimistic about the future of the state’s hospitality industry; today, it is difficult not to be. I look forward to once again welcoming friends near and far to California’s hotels and resorts.
Terri Haack is president of Terranea Resort and a board member of the American Hotel and Lodging Association
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