More than 1,800 unionized hotel workers represented by UNITE HERE Local 5 went on an open-ended strike today at 5 a.m. at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, the state’s largest hotel.

The local housekeepers, front desk agents, restaurant staff, maintenance workers and other Hilton Hawaiian Village workers are joining some 4,000 hotel workers across the U.S., who are now on open-ended strikes at Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott hotels in San Diego and San Francisco.

The action follows a limited three-day strike, which started over the busy Labor Day weekend and ended Sept. 4. Some 10,000 UNITE HERE workers across the U.S. participated in that strike, including 5,000 Hawaii hotel workers from the Sheraton Kauai Resort and seven Waikiki hotels: the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort; Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa; Moana Surfrider — a Westin Resort Spa; The Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort; Sheraton Princess Ka­iulani; Sheraton Waikiki; and Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa.

Local 5 said today that additional strikes are possible at any time at the other seven Hawaii hotels that have authorized strikes should strike issues remain unresolved.

Local 5 kicked off bargaining with Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Kyo-ya during a joint session on April 24, but said months of negotiations have not addressed their biggest concerns: “wages that keep up with inflation and cost of living, proper staffing and fair workloads, and the reversal of COVID-era cuts in guest services and amenities.”

Cade Watanabe, Local 5 Financial Secretary-Treasurer, said in a statement, “Hawaii can do better. Our community, our guests, and most importantly – our hardworking local families deserve a better, brighter future than the one our bosses are trying to impose on us.

“We’re on strike because we love our jobs, we love our guests and we love these islands we call home, and we’ll do anything to protect ourselves from the greedy corporations that seek only to profit off our hard work,” Watanabe said. “We’re taking the lead in pushing back against service cuts and defending Hawaii hotel jobs, but we can’t do it alone and call on the people of Hawaii to join us in pushing back against our offshore owners and mainland corporations.”

Local 5 recently surveyed 3,500 of its hotel workers, and 73% reported that “they have had to make excuses for the company when guests complain.”

In a separate survey of nearly 4,000 Local 5 workers, the union reported that 78% of respondents said ” they believe their employers took advantage of the pandemic to cut payroll and make changes not beneficial to workers.”

Aileen Bautista, Housekeeper at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, said in a statement, “I am on strike again and this time I am ready to stay on strike for as long as it takes to win.”

“While hotel companies make record profits, I am a single mom that has to work three jobs in order to support my family and be able to survive here in Hawaii,” Bautista said. “We’re committed to bargaining and settling a contract, but since coming back to work after our 3-day limited duration strike and meeting with our employers for another bargaining session, they just don’t get it.”

Local 5 said that since 2019, “the U.S. hotel industry’s gross operating profit increased by 26.63%, while hotel staffing decreased by 13%.”

Jason Viveiros, Guest Service Agent at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, said in a statement, “I’m on strike because my workload is overwhelming and exhausting. I love my job and I want to take care of our guests, but with the understaffing I am stretched so thin.”

“My wife and I are expecting another child in a few months so having a reasonable workload would mean that instead of being physically and mentally depleted every day, I have the energy to take care of my family and their needs.”

The average daily rate of a hotel room in Hawaii was nearly $372 in July, up 31% from July 2019; however, it was down nearly 3% from July 2023, according to the July 2024 Hawaii Hotel Performance Report, compiled by the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism using data from STR.

Revenue per available room or (RevPAR), considered a key performance measure for hotels because it calculates the revenue each room makes regardless of its rental status, was at nearly $280, up almost 22% from July 2019, but down nearly 3% from July 2023.

Statewide hotel occupancy was at 75.3%, up 0.3 percentage points from July 2023; however, it was 5.9 percentage points below July 2019.