The proposed policy mandating all hotels in Los Angeles to house homeless people appears to be a deterrent in Americans looking to book hotel rooms, a recent poll has revealed.
According to a new national poll commissioned by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and conducted by Morning Consult, more than seven out of 10 (72%) Americans will be deterred from booking a hotel room in Los Angeles if properties are required to house homeless people next to paying guests. This figure rises to 83% among respondents who have already visited Los Angeles.
The survey was conducted online between September 18 and 20 on 2,203 adults in the U.S.
Residents of Los Angeles will be voting in March 2024 on whether to mandate all hotels in the city to house homeless people as part of a ballot initiative proposed by Unite Here, the labor union representing hotel workers from Los Angeles.
About 71% of Americans could be deterred from visiting Los Angeles for leisure or vacation if hotels are mandated to implement the proposed policy, the poll revealed. This figure soars to 80% among respondents who have already visited the city.
About 70% of U.S. citizens said the proposed policy would be a deterrent to attending a business conference in the city. More than 70% of Americans said they were concerned about the safety risks to hotel employees and guests caused by the new policy.
Many people expressed concern about the service or amenities hotels will provide once the new policy is imposed. Around 71% of Americans said they were concerned about the quality or reduced number of hotel amenities. Seven out of 10 respondents said they were concerned about the risk of damage to the properties caused by forcing hotels to house the homeless next to paying guests.
Despite trying to find a solution to homelessness in the city, the policy overlooks the main reasons for homelessness, according to the respondents. Most respondents (75%) said they were concerned that forcing hotels to house homeless people ignores the root causes of homelessness, with 74% stating that the policy does not address the long-term housing needs of homeless people.
As per the City of Los Angeles Initiative, Referendum & Recall Petition Handbook, Unite Here can withdraw the ballot initiative within 88 days of the election, i.e., December 8. The labor union, however, “has refused to take this commonsense step,” AHLA said in a release. Unite Here leaders have, instead, stressed housing homeless people in hotels alongside paying guests as their main point in collective bargaining negotiations with hotels across the city.
Unite Here’s insistence on mandating all hotel workers and guests to deal with homelessness is dangerous, AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers said in a release.
“Homelessness is a serious and complex problem that can only be addressed by professional social and health care workers with specialized training. If Unite Here succeeds in turning all LA hotels into homeless shelters, eventually there will be no hotels – and no hotel workers – left in the city. Safety concerns will prevent workers from taking hotel jobs and drive tourists to other locations. That’s a fact, and these poll results prove it. That’s why we’re calling on Unite Here to drop its dangerous demand to turn hotels into homeless shelters – in LA or any other city where they might try it,” Rogers said.
The Los Angeles City Council is yet to hold a hearing on the economic impacts the policy will have on the city.
AHLA is calling on the council to hold a meeting immediately to enact a resolution opposing Unite Here’s ballot measure to inform the public of the council’s stance on the proposed policy, AHLA said in the release.