CHICAGO
Hyatt Hotels is getting more aggressive in handling its labor issues, just as it comes off restoration of several big box hotels—an endeavor that’s likely to soon take place across the board—said Jack Horne, vice president of sales, in an exclusive sit-down with Meetingsfocus.com.
Labor battles have plagued the company at properties in several key meeting destinations, such as Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, prompting group function cancellations. But the union’s efforts are hurting employees more than helping, Horne said, and the company now wants to stop sitting idlly by (separate from ongoing labor negotiations) and be proactive in getting that message out.
“We’ve been kind of passive about it,” he admitted. “But when the NEA canceled its meeting in Chicago last year, the hotel had 40 percent occupancy, and that hurts the workers.”
Meanwhile, Hyatt is coming off of a year filled with restoration at flagship properties, including the Grand Hyatt in New York and the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. The company’s upgrade efforts of late were focused on properties it owned but officials are advising third-party owners to follow suit not only in upgrading but on the style of restoration, Horne noted.
“This is already happening at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, where the owners—Host Marriott, which owns many of our hotels—is copying what we’ve done at other properties,” he said. “And our owners listen to us quite a bit, so we expect to see this across the company.”
Horne also told meetingsfocus.com that the Hyatt Regency O’Hare has found a unique and efficient method of serving groups that book business very short-term which other properties are likely to soon follow.
“When leads come into O’Hare seven-to-eight days out, they get handed off to convention services right away because about 90 percent of that business gets booked,” Horne shared.
The hotel shared this at the company’s recent national sales meeting and many people were intrigued, he noted.
“Many people started writing this down, so this is likely to become a best practice at airport and downtown properties,” according to Horne.
