Chicago Ordinance Would Notify Guests of Work Stoppages
Jul 28
News, Places to Stay, Tips for Meeting Planners Chicago Hotels, economy, Hotel Unions, hotels, meeting experiences, meeting industry 1 Comment
Chicago’s City Council is hoping to pass an ordinance that would notify potential hotel guests of work stoppages.
Specifically, work stoppages of 20 or more hotel employees having gone on for more than 15 days would be reported to guests prior to booking.
The ordinance would protect guests from being surprised with unions picketing outside hotels or a lack of staffers during their stay.
Quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce President Jerry Roper said,
“With business as difficult as it is to attract, all the meeting planners need is one extra little thing to say, ‘We wanted to get out of Chicago anyway. This is our out.’… In these tough economic times, we don’t need any more negative impressions.”
What do you think?
As a meeting planner, do you have a right to know if the conditions at a hotel are abnormal? How would your decision to stay at a property be affected by a union strike, if at all?
From the hotelier side, do you agree with Mr. Roper? What are some alternative solutions?
Jul 29, 2009 @ 00:36:43
As a meeting planner, I would know to investigate further to find out how my meeting would be impacted. Individual guests would not know to do that, and may stay away needlessly. Knowing that my attendees would be notified, it may well make me decide not to have the meeting there, regardless of whether or not the meeting would otherwise be impacted. If the meeting were already booked before the issue came up, I would have to communicate with my attendees that in spite of a strike, the meeting would not be impacted, other than pickets. But I would still be worried.