Hotel Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2022

Hotel Committee

• Our AFA Hotel Committee Chairpersons met on Thursday, August 12 to discuss their ongoing program of work to protect and improve the quality of Flight Attendant hotel accommodations and ground transportation providers.
• The Committee met with representatives from management and the Company’s crew accommodations vendor to review current trends and concerns related to layover hotels and transportation.
• More than ever, the Committee needs your help in reporting hotel and transportation concerns through CrewCare.  Issues that are reported through CrewCare provide the Committee with important data to drive change with management.

On Thursday, August 12, our AFA Local Hotel Committee Chairpersons met to receive an update about current layover hotels and transportation providers and discuss concerns with management.  Representing you at the meeting were Dori Marron (ANC), Jarod McNeill (SEA), Cassie Dole (SFO), Majo Tanco (LAX), and Kanani Vallot (SAN).  Also present were MEC Hotel Committee Chairperson Laura Hinojosa and MEC Hotel Committee Vice Chairperson Jodi Snow.  The committee met with Crew Hotel Support Specialist Alyssa Umagat, Crew Hotels & Administration Manager Nichole Turner, and Managing Director of Operations Staffing & Resource Management Brittany Audette from management.  Representatives from the Company’s crew accommodations vendor Accommodations Plus International (API) and ALPA participated in the meeting as well.

Topics of Discussion

The committee reviewed a number of items both during the meeting with management and API.  Some items discussed include:

• Review of the overall condition of the hotel industry and how the industry is recovering from the pandemic.  Similar to the airline business, the hotel industry has mostly rebounded at this point to business levels that are on par or exceed 2019.  This has driven hotel rates up and availability down (supply and demand).
• Overview of new technology options being offered by API that may improve the flow of information about hotels and ground transportation to crewmembers.  Management will be working with API to evaluate how the options could be used at Alaska.
• Review of the Company’s utilization of hotels by city
• Review of CrewCare reports filed (both complaints and compliments). 
• Ongoing issue with rooms not being available when crew members arrive at a hotel and having to wait.  It is important that Flight Attendants call Crew Scheduling upon arrival if rooms are not ready and then again when provided with a room.  Management has been providing additional compensation for documented wait times of one hour or longer.  Please follow up by documenting with a CrewCare report.
• Concerns about upcoming major events in LAS, PHX, and ANC that may impact hotel availability and quality of crew layovers.  Working to ensure that crew members have rooms and minimal disruptions.
• Ensuring room availability in cities that experience major seasonal fluctuations in hotel demand (primarily ANC during summer).  The Committee had previously asked that management take a more proactive approach to guarantee room availability for crews in these locations and is continuing to do so.

What The Committee Is Working On

1. Conducting hotel site visits.  Visiting hotels under consideration by management and advocating for management to select the hotel that will provide the safest and most comfortable layover experience for Flight Attendants.
2. Investigating CrewCare reports.  Reviewing CrewCare reports and working to hold hotel and transportation providers accountable through management and API.
3. Working to ensure hotel availability in cities with seasonal demand.  Advocating for improved processes to ensure that enough contractually compliant hotel rooms will be available for crews in cities that experience strong seasonal fluctuations in demand for hotels.  

We Want to Hear From You!

If you’ve had an unacceptable or substandard experience with a layover hotel or ground transportation provider, please report the issue!  Our AFA Hotel Committee receives a copy of every CrewCare report filed and each one is read and reviewed.  You can file a CrewCare report using the web app on your IMD home screen or by clicking here. 

Do you have other feedback for the committee or items that you’d like brought up with management?  Please let us know!  Your Local Hotel Committee is your voice to management.  You can find our contact information on the Hotel Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.