West Hollywood Hotel Council releases ‘5-STAR PROMISE’ to City Council proclaiming their pledge to provide Safe Environments for Hotel Employees & Opportunities for Marginalized Community members
The West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s (WHCC) Hotel Council released a declaration on employee safety at the standing bi-monthly West Hollywood City Council meeting in March.
WHCC’s Hotel Council was created in 2010 to collectively work towards solutions for issues of concern in the industry and/or for the community at large. Prior to the COVID Pandemic, the Hotel Council was diligently working on the 5-Star Promise to ensure the safety and security of hotel employees and guests, and recently completed their efforts as California has begun to reopen fully for tourism. COVID safety is separate from this document as each of the individual hotels have extensive partnerships under their brands, such as Kimpton and IHG’s partnership with the Cleveland Clinic, Ecolab & Diversey, that will be shared with the City Council.
In the statement released to the West Hollywood City Council, Nick Rimedio, General Manager of Kimpton’s La Peer Hotel, and WHCC Chair, said,
“This comprehensive and unprecedented commitment from West Hollywood’s Hotel Community represents our longstanding tradition to ensuring the safety and well-being of our employees while also protecting jobs and the competitiveness of our hotels.”
These five important components are summarized in the five (5) promises below:
WEST HOLLYWOOD HOTELS’ 5-STAR PROMISE
1. Continue our West Hollywood Hotel Community’s longstanding commitment to hospitality and a People Culture by continuing to provide industry-wide training and materials on safety and security and retain expert guidance to update the City annually on our diversity and safety programs.
1a.Pledge to be first in class in protecting diversity through our existing policies that support all ethnicities as well as our LGBTQ community including training and certification.
1b. Safety training to include active shooter protocols, Earthquake preparedness, Fire prevention, medical emergencies as well as industry standards regarding food handling, chemical handling, and injury prevention.
2. Ensure mandatory anti-sexual harassment policies are in place in multiple languages.
3. Provide ongoing training and education for employees on identifying and reporting sexual harassment.
4. Provide hotel employees with safety devices, such as panic buttons, to help them feel safe on the job.
5. Broaden vital partnerships with wide-ranging national organizations that target sexual violence, assault, and trafficking while promoting Community Health through an active partnership with the City to focus support and fundraising on identified critical social issues such as homelessness.
“West Hollywood Hotels are committed to providing a safe environment for all staff. The West Hollywood Hotel Council will maintain West Hollywood 5-Star Promise compliance and communicate regularly with the City Council to ensure the dialogue is ongoing and meaningful”, stated Bill Karpiak, General Manager of the Ramada Plaza West Hollywood, and Chair of the Travel + Tourism Board.
OPPOSE AGENDA ITEM 5A
RECOVERY MEANS EVERYONE: MEASURES TO PROTECT HOSPITALITY (HOTEL) WORKERS
Agenda Item 5A includes indirect allegations against the City's hotels without any substantiated evidence
West Hollywood hotels have taken extensive efforts to always protect the welfare of their employees and guests. Their efforts support safety training and tools, such as personal notification devices (panic buttons), to ensure a safe work environment for hotel employees. Agenda Item 5A contains regulations that represent a complete invasion of businesses’ right to operate under federal and state labor laws. It is disappointing that hotels were not consulted prior to setting this on the agenda despite numerous Small Business Roundtable meetings.
READ AGENDA ITEM 5A
OPPOSITION LETTERS
