As the New York City Council began discussions on a new law meant to regulate hotels in the city and to make them safer for employees, hoteliers led by the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) mounted a public protest outside the City Hall against the law, saying that it threatened the industry over 250,000 jobs.

According to the NYC officials, the Safe Hotels Act would require that hotels be licenced, and that they equip their workers with panic buttons, a technology that has been successfully implemented statewide in Illinois and New Jersey, and is already a feature of unionised hotels in NYC.

The bill would also require hotels to directly employ core staff including front desk and housekeeping staff. Currently, the core work of a hotel is being shifted to subcontractors so that owners bear no legal responsibility when a subcontracted worker is mistreated, injured, or suffers wage loss.

The city officials say that subcontractors are notoriously hard to pin down when a worker pushes a legal issue. The bill ensures that workers who are cheated or abused will be able to have their issues addressed.

But AHLA, which mainly gathers smaller and non-unionised hotels is ranged against the law and it says that hundreds of hotel and hospitality professionals gathered on the steps of City Hall to voice their opposition to the “Safe Hotels Act’’ or ‘Intro 991’.

Kevin Carey

In a press statement, AHLA says that at a press conference, representatives from across the hospitality sector highlighted the severe consequences this bill would have on New York City’s hotels, subcontractors, and small businesses.

The statement adds that the Safe Hotels Act, though claiming to be a safety measure, actually introduces costly operational mandates that threaten the survival of the city’s hotels, placing more than 265,000 jobs and billions in tax revenue at risk. Speakers at the press conference shared how the proposed legislation would harm workers and the overall tourism industry, adds the statement.

Oksana Rudenko

“Intro 991 takes dead aim at a single industry and will do sweeping harm to the hotel sector, the economy, and hotel guests. This bill will cause devastating and unintended consequences across New York City’s tourism and hospitality industries, forcing many hotels and small businesses to close their doors. We urge the City Council to reconsider and work toward real solutions that protect both safety and the livelihoods of thousands of hardworking New Yorkers,” Kevin Carey, Interim President & CEO, AHLA said at the press conference.

“Small hotels like ours rely on lean operations to provide exceptional service. The one-size-fits-all approach of this bill will push us out of business, and the ripple effect will be devastating for our employees and the local economy. Many small businesses, including ours, will not survive if this legislation passes,” Oksana Rudenko, Director of Operations, AHLA, said.

Jagruti Panwala

“This bill disproportionately impacts minority and small business owners, many of whom have poured their life savings into their hotels. We have built our businesses through hard work, and Intro 991 threatens to dismantle that progress. It is critical that the New York City Council considers how damaging this bill will be for New York’s diverse hotel community,” Jagruti Panwala, President and CEO, Wealth Protection Strategies said.

Sarah Bratko

“The hotel industry takes our responsibility to the health and safety of our employees and guests incredibly seriously. If there are challenges and issues, we want to be part of the conversation and the solution. In 2019, AHLA launched the ‘No Room for Trafficking’ initiative, and since then, over 1.8 million trainings have been completed by hotel employees. The industry worked with prevention organizations to pass a law in New York that mandates human trafficking training for hotel employees. While we thank Councilwoman Menin for meeting with us, this version of the bill will still have devastating impacts on the lodging industry and small businesses in New York City,” Sarah Bratko, Vice President of Government Affairs, AHLA, said on the occasion.

“It is upsetting to be here under these circumstances. When Intro 991 was first proposed, it was said to be intended to improve guest and hotel worker safety. I would like to see the data showing that complaints and crimes have increased at only non-union hotels, because AAHOA members have not experienced this. Why are we moving forward with this bill if this data does not exist? This version shows that the only goal is to increase the unions in hotels, without addressing the concerns of small, minority-owned hotels. We urge the Council to reconsider before moving forward with a bill that will destroy our businesses and harm the city’s economy,” Preyas Patel, Northeast Regional Director, Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), said.

The statement adds that AHLA, alongside subcontractors, hotel owners, and small business advocates, urges the City Council to reconsider Intro 991. As the City’s hotel industry continues to recover from the pandemic, this bill would add unnecessary strain, putting at risk thousands of jobs and businesses that are essential to the city’s economy and tourism sector.