LA hotel staff responded to the proposal to open rooms to the homeless

• A recent ordinance proposed in Los Angeles would require hotels to open rooms to the homeless.
• Hotel staff spoke for and against the proposal at Friday’s city council meeting.
• The council decided the ordinance would appear on the ballot in Los Angeles in 2024.

Hotel workers, some of whom have experienced homelessness themselves in recent years, shared their views Friday on a controversial law that would require Los Angeles hotels to rent to homeless people through a voucher program.

The proposed initiative, titled “The Accountable Hotel Ordinance,” is sponsored by the Hospitality Workers Union Unit Here Local 11 and will appear on the ballot in Los Angeles in 2024, according to the Los Angeles Times.

At a city council meeting on Friday, hotel workers and industry players voiced their opposition and opposition to the proposal, noting that many workers are not adequately trained to provide the mental health and social services needed to adequately address the needs of unsheltered individuals.

Thomas Franklin, a night auditor at the Beverly Hills Marriott in West Los Angeles, described himself as homeless a decade ago and described the “chaotic” experience of living in a transitional housing program with 24-hour security and staff on hand.

“With all the drugs, all the fights … we just didn’t have the support to have a successful program there,” he told council members on Friday. “Without the support clearly laid out from the police and mental services, there’s no way I think this is something we’re going to be able to do.”

The owner of the Hampton Inn Suites in Los Angeles reiterated these concerns, saying that his employees are “absolutely scared and scared not only for their lives and safety, but how we treat the homeless and the unsheltered.”

“There has to be a more humane way to deal with this problem,” he continued. “My employees are with me today… This is not a joke for them. If this is over, they will look for other opportunities.”

Carly Kirchen, co-ordinator of the workers’ union supporting the bill, said hoteliers were promoting the “myth” that “everyone who is homeless is so sick that they are a danger to those around them.” Thousands of Local 11 members. They are currently facing eviction.

“As a union member with a well-paying job, I was recently homeless because of the housing crisis in our city,” said Bambian Taft, a hotel minibar attendant and former housekeeper.

Other speakers pointed out that the proposed provision lacked economic data and lacked funding information. Richard Earle, an executive at hotel insurance provider Petra Risk Solutions, said the proposal would allow carriers to “legitimately pull coverage.”

“It will not be available as it will change the entire scope of the business,” said the director, adding that the coverage for the start-up of hotels will be four to five times higher than the current rate. “It would be a direct, devastating punitive impact on their business.”

The regulation also requires hotels that demolish houses to build new structures to replace the demolished houses at an affordable price. Ronald Bermudez, who works as a bellman at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, expressed his support for the initiative at Friday’s meeting.

“I’m a renter in the downtown area,” he told council members. It will be very difficult to stay in Los Angeles because of the high cost of rent. We must do everything we can to protect homes in our city.

Are you a hotel worker struggling to afford a home? Contact this reporter at the off-duty email address htowey@insider.com.