Last May I stayed at the Andaz West Hollywood and overall liked the hotel, except for one huge problem. Apparently there were labor disputes at the hotel, so many of the employees chose to picket loudly in front of the hotel starting at 6AM (with sirens, loudspeakers, and even by banging pots and pans), ensuring that every guest would be woken. Here’s the audio I took from last year, and that’s from a room on a high floor with all the windows closed. As is usually the case, I’m sure the truth is somewhere in the middle as far as the labor dispute goes, but when you pay good money to stay at a hotel and can’t even get a good night of sleep, something is seriously wrong.
Well, 10 months later, it appears they’re still doing the same thing. A FlyerTalk member posted this regarding his stay over the weekend:
The one down side is I’m on the 12th floor on the side of The Comedy Store which is loud until late. Eventually got to sleep, however was awoken at 6AM by union protests out the front where men were yelling through megaphones. It appears to be targeted at the property and guests, is this worthy of a complaint?
Unbelievable. I like the hotel, but there’s no way I’m returning if there’s the risk of being woken up at 6AM by employees. And certainly if I experienced this again I would refuse to pay for my stay.
I know there are plenty of labor issues in the hotel industry, but does anyone know of a hotel that seems to have as many problems as the Andaz? Hey, at least be more like the employees at the Westin St. Francis. They’re creative. 😀
We were sorry to read about the disruptive protest noise you and others experienced while staying at Andaz West Hollywood last year. It is unfortunate that the union UniteHere decided to interrupt your stay instead of simply negotiating with us for a new contract. We have taken action to stop this: http://tinyurl.com/5unssus.
While UniteHere has held a few demonstrations, the vast majority of our Andaz West Hollywood guests enjoy an uninterrupted stay. Certainly if you...
We were sorry to read about the disruptive protest noise you and others experienced while staying at Andaz West Hollywood last year. It is unfortunate that the union UniteHere decided to interrupt your stay instead of simply negotiating with us for a new contract. We have taken action to stop this: http://tinyurl.com/5unssus.
While UniteHere has held a few demonstrations, the vast majority of our Andaz West Hollywood guests enjoy an uninterrupted stay. Certainly if you choose to book with us again and have additional concerns, please feel free to contact me directly and we’ll ensure you’re taken care of.
Michel Morauw, General Manager
If non-employees were deliberately making such a disturbance on an ongoing basis for the purpose of harassing a business's customers, I would think this would legally be considered beyond the bounds of constitutionally protected free speech, and there are probably some laws that define causes of action for these people to be sued and perhaps the protesters' actions might be criminal. The fact that people who who for some reason can't find better jobs elsewhere...
If non-employees were deliberately making such a disturbance on an ongoing basis for the purpose of harassing a business's customers, I would think this would legally be considered beyond the bounds of constitutionally protected free speech, and there are probably some laws that define causes of action for these people to be sued and perhaps the protesters' actions might be criminal. The fact that people who who for some reason can't find better jobs elsewhere are doing it for their own greed should not give them immunity.
To Ric: Contract law is not a creation of unions. Plenty of primarily non-union businesses state their offers to customers as clearly as union businesses. For example, Delta and Continental airlines have large non-union labor forces.
The basic value of unions is the ability to get working conditions and worker benefits in writing so everyone from the entry worker to the senior management understands the terms, conditions and benefits of employment.
We wouldn't have much to blog about on BoardingArea if we couldn't find the clearly stated rules for promotions, rates, fares, and benefits in frequent flyer and hotel frequent guest programs and promotions offered by travel companies.
@WeeklyFlyer, I stayed a week at Andaz WeHo last summer. We requested a room with a view of the Hollywood Hills (absolutely beautiful!) and a high floor. Throughout our stay, we never noticed and picketing, sirens, loud speakers, etc., from the protest that would happen in the mornings. But, if you have a Sunset Strip room view, I'm guessing that would be a completely different experience.
The staff were friendly, rooftoop pool amazing, and free minibar snacks +1!
Sweet, I just canceled a 1 night reservation at the Huntington Beach Hyatt to move over to the Andaz. Will have to reconsider that one...