San Francisco Hotels Battle With Union continues On

San Francisco, CA–This citys hotels have posted three consecutive months of business gains despite a union boycott, and Mayor Gavin Newsom said he is in no hurry to resolve the continuing standoff., according to the San Francisco Chronicle From December through February, revenue per available hotel room climbed about $9 per room per night, or 11 percent, according to San Francisco-based hotel tracking firm PKF Consulting, despite a stepped up union campaign in January and February to win more event cancellations. Mike Casey, president of Unite Here Local 2, which is embroiled in rancorous contract negotiations with 14 of the citys largest hotels, said the unions boycott is continuing in full force. Some observers feel the union is stalling so that it can back into 2006 contract negotiations with most of the other major cities in the country setting up opportunities for major boycotts. “There is no dialog,” Casey said. “At some point, they are going to have to make a business decision.” The hotels and their supporters, meanwhile, caution that any short term business gains could be offset by long term losses in future years, as corporate and group meeting planners avoid San Francisco in response to recent experiences with the labor dispute. They have called on Mayor Gavin Newsom to take a more active role in hotel negotiations, but Newsom said in a recent interview that he does not anticipate brokering a solution. “Feinstein walked away on this, and Schwarzenegger walked away on this and the federal mediator left,” Newsom said. “I have no leverage on this … its like a gnat on the back of an elephant … I gotta run a city.,” the Chronicle reported Newsom speculated the steady business has given the hotels little incentive to compromise with the union. “Were in this strange, strong period where I dont know anyones motivation right now,” Newsom said. Rick Swig, a hotel consultant with RSBA and Associates, said it would be a mistake to view the recent room bookings data as a sign that the unions campaign is not damaging. “Its not what San Francisco is losing but what San Francisco is not able to book,” Swig said. “Why am I going to book San Francisco when I can go to a nice place like San Diego or Orlando” without labor troubles, Swig asked. Tom Callahan, CEO of PKF Consulting, said the firm expects the year as a whole to be strong, with revenue per available room rising.