This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants
On Monday, September 8, our AFA Local Hotel Committee Chairpersons met in person in Seattle 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), Ila Christy (PDX), Hilary Streem (SFO), Chris Cardenas (LAX), and Kanani Vallot (SAN), with MEC Hotel Committee Chairperson James Bozanich facilitating the meeting.
The Committee met with Director of Crew Planning Trisha Bennett, Manager of Crew Hotels and Administration Diane Szubert, Senior Crew Hotels Support Specialist Nichole Turner and Crew Hotels Support Specialist LaFay Williams.
This was the final meeting of our pre-merger Alaska Hotel Committee, and we’d like to thank everyone who has served on the Committee for their hard work and contributions. Next month, we’ll transition to our newly merged committee, representing the combined Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendant groups. Our next meeting for the Hotel Committee is scheduled for Monday, October 13.
Topics of Discussion
The committee reviewed several items during the meeting with management, most of which focused on hotel decisions and challenges in our layover markets. Some items discussed include:
- City-Specific Discussion: The Hotel Committee addressed several city-specific issues. These included concerns regarding our long-stay hotel at JFK, which has experienced a significant increase in rooms not being ready at check-in, issues with cleanliness, and the availability of refrigerators. Additionally, we discussed our long-stay options at MCO and potential alternatives in BZE. We also inquired about increasing the crew discount for our KOA property. Discussions regarding ground transportation focused on the use of shared transportation reports in ATL and MCI.
- TBD Hotels in Bid Packet: At the end of June, management announced via an Information Bulletin that they would begin using a “TBD” (To Be Determined) indicator for any hotel that may be uncertain for the month. This change was made at the request of the Hotel Committee to ensure hotel accommodations are accurately represented in both the bid packet and PBS. The Committee has requested a report detailing the reasons for the TBD designation (e.g., hotels that have exceeded contracted room caps on specific days, hotels with known blackout dates, newly added hotels that have not yet been finalized, etc.). This will provide greater insight and help us better respond to questions from Flight Attendants.
- Final Hotel Decisions: A final hotel decision has been communicated for FLL, and a decision regarding SEA is expected soon. For security reasons, the names of the hotels are not published here and will be shared in an Informational Bulletin on Team AAG near the end of the month.
What The Committee Is Working On
- Conducting Hotel Site Visits: The Hotel Committee conducts visits to hotels that are under consideration by management to ensure that the selected options provide the safest and most comfortable layover experience for Flight Attendants. Crew Hotels has provided the Committee with the remaining cities that will be visited in 2025: SLC (Sept), MSO (Sept), SAN (Oct), CUN (Oct), BNA (Nov), HNL (Nov), MCO – Long Stay (Nov), ORD – Short Stay (Dec), and SJO (Dec). Market reviews are triggered by factors such as contract expirations, crew complaints, and opportunities for cost savings. Depending on the outcome of these reviews, additional site visits may be arranged in those cities.
- Hotel Gainshare Program: Conversations regarding the program are ongoing, and hopefully, we’ll be finalizing the program details this month. We’ll continue to keep you updated as developments occur.
We Want to Hear From You!
Don’t let any unacceptable experience with a layover hotel or ground transportation provider go unnoticed! Please report the issue via CrewCare so that it can be addressed. CrewCare is the only official way to report issues, as the Hotel Committee does not monitor social media channels.
Each CrewCare submission is forwarded to your AFA Hotel Committee, Crew Hotels (Alaska management), API and the hotel or ground transportation provider. This ensures quick action can be taken to correct the issue or fix it for the next crewmember. 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 other feedback you would like to share with the committee or any specific items you want us to bring up with management? Please let us know! The 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 website.
Kathryn Farina says
This is probably a “Big Ask,” so disregard if it doesn’t apply to your many responsibilities, which I’m guessing are immense already, but…
Is there a way that it could be communicated to the FA’s re which hotels offer reward points for our stays? I generally assume most hotels exclude this from the contract with the company, yet I’m hearing that there are a few that still extend this benefit to flight crew. Could something like this be included in the API app with the hotel descriptions under “Crew Benefits”?
Thanks for considering, and thanks for your diligent work!
James Bozanich (Hotel Committee Chairperson) says
Thank you Kathryn for your question and I’m happy to provide some insight for you!
Crew hotel bookings are explicitly excluded from hotel loyalty programs per their respective terms and conditions. This is why you generally do not receive credit for the room rate if you were to attach your loyalty number to your reservation. However, there are a few hotels in our network that will honor this, or provide you with stay credit or points for the incidental spend that you make on property. Because the specific hotel is doing this against policy, it is not something that we want to publish at this time as to protect the property. That being said, this is a question that the Hotel Committee asks every hotel that we inspect during our site visits. The Hotel Committee will continue to advocate for this benefit for Flight Attendants. I hope you understand!