Marriott Employees Are on Strike in 8 US Cities
Around 7,700 Marriott International employees are on strike across eight US cities and will not return to work until an agreement is reached with the company.
Thousands of the Marriott International employees on strike are members of Unite Here, an organization that represents workers throughout the US and Canada who work in the hotel, gaming, food service and airport industries. The employees have expiring contracts in 2018 and are demanding the company provide safer jobs and increase wages.
The Marriott International employees are on strike in Detroit, Boston, Oahu, Maui, Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose. The largest strikes are happening in Boston, San Francisco and Hawaii. According to USA Today, the Unite Here members on strike include housekeepers, front desk attendants, restaurant employees, bellhops and other non-managerial positions.
The employees have spent months negotiating with Marriott, and their contracts expired over July and August. The members authorized strikes weeks ago after Marriott International failed to address the strikes' key issues like higher wages, job protection around automation, workplace safety, improving sexual harassment protections and creating more secure schedules.
"Marriott is the richest and most profitable hotel company in the world, and by taking them on in this historic hotel worker strike, Unite Here union members are going to change the lives of all workers in our industry," D. Taylor, international president of Unite Here, said in a statement.
One TPG reader, who is a Marriott Platinum Elite/Ambassador customer, has stayed at two Marriott properties in Boston within the past two weeks and said the protests are loud enough to be heard in the hotel rooms. The reader explained there is no food service available, with the exception of dry snacks in the bar, and no housekeeping services.
Additionally, he said Marriott did not make it known that his stays would be affected by the strikes until the night before check-in, thus putting him past any cancellation period. According to the Boston Globe, these strikes mark the city's first major hotel strike in modern history.
Marriott International did not address how it would be handling the strikes or if any negotiations would be met. "We are disappointed that Unite Here has chosen to resort to a strike at this time," a Marriott spokesperson said in a statement. "During the strike our hotels are open, and we stand ready to provide excellent service to our guests. While we respect our associates' rights to participate in this work stoppage, we also will welcome any associate who chooses to continue to work."
Hotels On Strike
Detroit
- Westin Book Cadillac Detroit By Marriott
Boston
- Aloft Boston Seaport by Marriott
- Element Boston Seaport by Marriott
- Ritz-Carlton Boston Common by Marriott
- Sheraton Boston by Marriott
- W Boston by Marriott
- Westin Boston Waterfront by Marriott
- Westin Copley Place, Boston by Marriott
Oakland
- Oakland Marriott City Center by Marriott
San Diego
- The Westin Gaslamp Quarter San Diego by Marriott
San Francisco
- San Francisco Marriott Union Square
- Palace Hotel by Marriott
- W San Francisco by Marriott
- Westin St. Francis Union Square by Marriott
- San Francisco Marriott Marquis
- Courtyard San Francisco Downtown by Marriott
- St. Regis San Francisco
San Jose
- San Jose Marriott
Various Locations in Hawaii
- The Royal Hawaiian by Marriott
- Sheraton Maui Hotel by Marriott
- Moana Surfrider, a Westin Resort by Marriott
- Sheraton Princess Kaiulani by Marriott
- Sheraton Waikiki by Marriott
TPG featured card
Rewards
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month