On Monday, October 12, our AFA Hotel Committee Chairpersons met remotely to receive an update on current layover hotels and transportation providers and discuss concerns with management. Representing you at the meeting were Dori Marron (ANC), Jarod McNeill (pmAS SEA), Kelly Hepworth (PDX), Hilary Streem (SFO), Brian Sherill (pmAS LAX), Kanani Vallot (SAN), and Matt Mitchell (HNL), with MEC Hotel Committee Chairperson James Bozanich facilitating the meeting.
The Committee met with Director of Crew Planning Trisha Bennett, Manager of Crew Hotel and Administration Diane Szubert, Senior Crew Hotels Support Specialist Nichole Turner, and Crew Hotel Support Specialist LaFay Williams.
Our next monthly meeting with management is scheduled for Monday, November 9.
Topics of Discussion
- City-Specific Issues (pmAS):
- LIH: Our incumbent hotel was significantly damaged during recent weather events. As a result, our crews have experienced temporary relocations, which are expected to last through the end of October.
- HNL: We recently began staying at a new hotel in HNL. Since moving properties, we have received almost daily noise complaints. We have asked that Crew Hotels escalate this with the property and place crew rooms away from public areas and events to mitigate noise disturbances.
- PDX: We addressed downtown PDX van times, which were increased due to road construction. Construction is no longer a factor, and the ask was made to readjust the van times.
- JFK: Was recently visited to find a new long-stay property. As part of this visit, our short-stay property was also visited. We have received a number of complaints about the travel time to the short-stay hotel, and we are exploring other options in this market.
- MIA: We have received valuable feedback regarding the cost and availability of food at our long stay hotel. Crew Hotels has worked diligently with the hotel to develop a special crew menu with discounted options (not combinable with F&B discount). Please refer to the Hotel Hotline or MyCrewCare for details.
- Flight Attendant Hotel Survey: Our collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) set the minimum hotel requirements acceptable to our Flight Attendants. However, many hotel amenities are absent from the CBA. Our Hotel Committee strives to exceed these minimum standards in any way that we can. We know that Flight Attendants care about certain hotel amenities (such as coffee makers, minifridges, water refill stations, etc.), but we’d like to get more insight into how important these items are to you. For example, how important is an iron and ironing board over a steamer? We have discussed developing a survey so you can tell us exactly this, so we can keep it in mind when we inspect and select our top hotels in each market.
- JFK Ground Transportation (pmHA): If you experience a long wait in JFK for your ground transportation, please send us CrewCare feedback so that it can be documented and addressed. We’ve been having problems with our GT vendor that is dispatching only one shuttle. The shuttle is scheduled so that the outbound crew is picked up at the hotel, dropped off at the airport, then picks up the inbound crew. Recently, the inbound crew has been arriving early and forced to wait for the shuttle that brings the departing crew to the airport. This will only get worse when winter arrives, as flight times from HNL to JFK are much shorter during this period.
- Hotel Committee Support Representatives (pmAS + pmHA): We’d like to remind everyone of the support that is available if you experience an issue with your hotel or ground transportation. Although the Hotel Committee officially merged in October 2025, certain hotel operations are being handled separately until we ratify a Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement. If you need to escalate any item, please reach out to your Local Hotel Committee Chairperson (https://afaalaska.org/hotel) for assistance. For pmHA support, Le’a Tupola was appointed the Local Chairperson for Council 47 (LAX/SEA) in May. If you are a Hawaiian Flight Attendant from one of those bases, Le’a will be your primary point of contact if any issues arise. Matt Mitchell supports the HNL base for Council 43.
What The Committee Is Working On
1. Conducting Hotel Site Visits: Our Hotel Committee conducts site visits on hotels under consideration by management to ensure that the selected options provide the safest and most comfortable layover experience for Flight Attendants. Market reviews are triggered by factors such as contract expirations, crew complaints, and cost-saving opportunities.
- Pre-Merger Alaska: The scheduled site visits through the rest of 2026 are:
- Oct: JFK (Long/Mid), TUS (Short), PHX (Short), OAK (Short/Long), YVR (Long)
- Nov: IND, RDU (Long), SEA (Training Hotels)
- Dec: PVR, SEA (Mid), TPA (Long)
- TBD: ADQ
- Pre-Merger Hawaiian: The scheduled site visits through January 2027 are:
- Dec: ATH
- Jan: CDG
2. Hotel Gainshare Update (pmAS): There are no new updates to share on the Hotel Gainshare program this month. Negotiations remain paused as management continues to express concerns about potential federal tax implications. AFA International has already submitted a detailed legal counterargument to the company’s Vice President of Tax and their outside counsel. However, the company’s attorney continues to advise against moving forward, citing tax law concerns. The next step remains to secure an independent review from a tax attorney. We know there is strong interest in this program and will continue to provide updates as soon as there is progress.
We Want to Hear From You!
Your feedback is essential to our work. Please use CrewCare to report your experience with layover hotels or ground transportation, whether your feedback is positive or highlights problems or areas that need improvement. CrewCare is the official channel for addressing your concerns and ensures they are promptly reviewed by the Committee. We are unable to monitor social media, so submitting through CrewCare is the best way to make your voice heard.
Each CrewCare feedback submission is forwarded to our AFA Hotel Committee, Crew Hotels (Alaska/Hawaiian management), API, and the hotel or ground transportation provider. This ensures that quick action can be taken to correct the issue for the next crew member. It also allows us to monitor hotel and transportation trends. You can quickly file a CrewCare report using the web app on your IMD home screen or by clicking here.
Do you have any additional feedback you would like to share with the Committee, or any specific items you would like us to bring up with management? Please let us know! Your Local Hotel Committee is here to represent you and ensure management hears your voice. You can find our contact information on the Hotel Committee page of the AFA Alaska + Hawaiian website.
