Hotel Committee Meeting Recap – 4th Quarter 2021

Hotel Committee

• Our AFA Hotel Committee Chairpersons met on Thursday, December 9 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.  If issues aren’t reported through CrewCare, then management believes they don’t exist!

On Thursday, December 9, 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), Kimberly Hillebrand (LAX), and Kanani Vallot (SAN).  Also present were MEC Hotel Committee Chairperson Laura Hinojosa, MEC Hotel Committee Vice Chairperson Jodi Snow, and MEC Vice President Brian Palmer.  The committee also met with Crew Hotel Support Specialist Alyssa Umagat, Senior Crew Hotel Support Specialist Nichole Turner, Manager of Crew Hotels & Administration Ethan Coughlin, and Managing Director of Crew Planning & Resource Management Cathy Cao 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.
• 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).  Compared to 2019, reports filed in 2021 are down substantially.  Management believes that this means things have improved.
• Upcoming hotel changes in BZN, SAT, SMF, and PHX in early 2022.  Watch the Hotel Hotline for information about the changes (F/A Website > Hotel, Travel, & Station > Hotel Hotline)
• Discussion about the holiday meal availability list that is traditionally published showing options for each layover hotel.  Management has been having challenges getting hotels to respond and some hotels are providing inconsistent information.  They are working to clarify.

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 Improve Unscheduled Layover Hotels.  Conducting a full review of the Company’s alternate hotel list and pushing for improvements when Flight Attendants have to stay at unscheduled layover hotels during irregular operations situations. 

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.