Hawaii hotel guests stage protests against hotels amid worker strikes

Oct 15, 2024

As over 4,000 hotel workers across the country continue to strike for better wages and working conditions, a different group took to rallying earlier this month: the hotel guests.

Guests at Hawaii's biggest hotel, the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort in Waikiki, staged their own protest after two weeks of the staff being on strike. In swimsuits, they chanted, "What do we want? Refunds!"

Travelers were not just complaining about the lack of services at the resort, but that they were not notified of the strike in a timely manner or refunded by the hotel.

Hilton Hawaiian Village has around 2,000 workers who voted to go on strike Aug. 14, when the contract between the UNITE HERE labor union and hotel chain expired, prompting negotiations for fairer pay and workloads. Despite hotels having bounced back, workers say they continue to feel burdened by pandemic-induced cuts and struggle to make ends meet while having more work to do. The strikes started on Sept. 23 and there is no planned end date as negotiations continue.

Do you want an early hotel check-in?Here's what is happening behind the scenes.

Sylvia Clark, who stayed at the resort between Sept. 30 to Oct. 5, was one of the chanting guests. "It was nerve wracking," she told USA TODAY. "But I felt it was very unfair of Hilton not to let their guests know way ahead of time that this could be a possibility."

Clark was told about the strike less than three days before she and her family hopped on a plane from California to Oahu – and the news came from Costco, who she booked through, not the hotel. "For us, it was too late," she said.

Clark's family vacation at the resort was not what she imagined when she booked the trip over two months ago. They had no towels in their room or trash bags, and it took an entire day to get shampoo and conditioner. Hearing the workers chanting downstairs was also uncomfortable for her. "We didn't travel for five hours to listen to the chants, but I do sympathize so I was really torn," she said.

In a statement to USA TODAY, a Hilton Hawaiian Village spokesperson said: "Guest comfort and well-being remains our top priority. Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort is engaging with guests individually to address any inconvenience and ensure they are taken care of during their stay with us."

At the Hilton Hawaiian Village, guests received a letter upon check-in telling them of the service changes, such as no room service and limited housekeeping. However, a stack of towels and toilet paper were placed on each floor for guests to grab, according to images by guests shared with UNITE HERE. Other images show piles of used towels on the ground and long lines at the front desk, which had limited staffing.

"Nobody wants to stay at a hotel where guests have to take out their own trash, restock their own sheets and towels, and deal with shuttered food and beverage outlets," Gwen Mills, international president of UNITE HERE, told USA TODAY in a statement. "Guests who have a reservation at a hotel that’s on strike deserve to be notified and given the choice to get a refund so they can rebook. Hotel workers love their jobs, and a key aspect of this fight is that we want hotels to reverse COVID-era cuts and restore the staffing and services needed to give great hospitality. That starts with being respectful to guests while strikes are ongoing."

"The service was very frustrating," Clark said. During her stay, Clark learned other guests were receiving refunds from the hotel, but when she approached the front desk, she was told "we're unable to help you" since she paid for the trip through a third-party vendor.

Clark believes that it was Hilton's responsibility to let her know way ahead of time so that she "could've made other arrangements for my family not to be there as much."

"I wasn't prepared, I was scrambling to get a car or get an extension on the rental. It just created so much inconvenience," she said. "It had nothing to do with the protestors, it really had to do with Hilton not letting us know."

Now home, Clark has contacted both the hotel and Costco but she's only gotten refunded for her parking so far. Thinking about the Hawaiian vacation she paid for, she said: "I'm here on credit card, so I still have to go home and pay for this."

(This story was updated with new information.)