Proposed LA homeless ordinance for hotels is a 'disaster waiting to happen': AHLA Pres.
Chip Rogers warned that the new measure would put guests and hotel workers in physical danger.
A Los Angeles ballot measure could soon place homeless people in hotel rooms next to paying guests and "destroy" the hospitality industry "almost overnight," according to American Hotel & Lodging Association President and CEO Chip Rogers.
"The fight that we have in Los Angeles is one of the worst public policy ideas, perhaps the worst public policy idea I've ever heard of," Rogers told Fox News Digital.
The Responsible Hotels Ordinance, which would "provide temporary lodging for unhoused families and individuals," has been aggressively pushed by Unite Here Local 11, a Los Angeles hospitality union.
Rogers said he was "bewildered" by Local 11's support for the measure, which he claimed would put members of the union in harm's way.
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Homeless people stand with their belongings in front of an outpatient mental health clinic in Los Angeles, California, on Dec. 6, 2022. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
"I mean, these are due-paying members that work in hotels and your very proposal will put them in physical danger," he said. "I just don't understand that. I hope the members of the union will ask their union leadership, why would they do that to their own members?"
He also criticized the union for inserting the issue into hotel labor compensation talks, asserting Local 11 leaders are "literally negotiating the safety" of members who act as hotel employees.
Unite Here did not return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
"It is a disaster waiting to happen. It doesn't help the homeless, but it does destroy the Los Angeles hotel industry," Rogers said.
Similar moves to house the homeless in hotels across the country, especially in California, have typically been managed by the city or state after purchasing or leasing an entire hotel. They provide wraparound services, medical services, mental health professionals and more to help the struggling community. These hotels do not mix guests with the homeless and essentially act as homeless shelters.
These programs have had both successes and failures. Proponents of Los Angeles' Project Roomkey have argued temporary housing in converted hotels takes large chunks of homeless people off the streets, where they can be safer and less likely to cause crime or engage in drug use. Additionally, these temporary locations make it more likely for the homeless to access resources to acquire mental health services and long-term living situations.
However, many hotels are still overrun with drug use, violence and property damage.
On August 16, The Los Angeles Times reported that homeless people "threatened staff, security, destroyed property," screamed, yelled and engaged in assaults inside the boutique Mayfair hotel in the city's Westlake neighborhood.
Los Angeles had quietly paid the hotel owners $11.5 million over the past several months to resolve damage claims.
The new proposal in Los Angeles that will go before the voters in March 2024 is "completely different," according to Rogers.
Tents and belongings at a homeless encampment in Toriumi Plaza at 1st St and Judge John Aiso St in Los Angeles. (Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
Under the Responsible Hotels Ordinance, the homeless will receive vouchers that can be used at hotels as if they were any other guest. There would be no wrap-around services and no protection for paying guests. Rogers said the responsibility will fall squarely on the shoulders of hotel staff not trained to deal with drug and mental health crises.
"In no situation are they mixing the regular paying guests alongside the homeless. That just doesn't happen. This is the first proposal that would do that," Rogers said.
In California, if you get enough signatures to get something put on the ballot at the municipal level, it is taken to the city council to be certified. The city council then has two options: pass the measure as written or send it to the voters. The measure cannot be changed or defeated by council members.
The City of Los Angeles previously voted 11-1 not to pass the measure and send it to the voters.
Councilman Joe Buscaino previously told KTLA that he thought the plan was "the dumbest measure" he's seen in his decade on the council.
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Homeless encampments block the street on an overpass of the Hollywood freeway in Los Angeles. Results released Thursday from a recent count revealed a slight increase in homelessness in Los Angeles County. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
"No one wants to do it. It would destroy the industry almost overnight," Rogers said, noting that families will choose to get hotels outside of Los Angeles or even California to stay at a safe location.
"No consumer is going to actively make a selection where they know that a homeless population is going to be in the room right next to them or at the swimming pool or in the lobby. I mean, these are people, this population that needs help," he said.
He also noted that while it is reasonably simple to understand that the ballot measure is a bad idea, finding a proper solution for the homelessness crisis is challenging.
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Recently, a transparency nonprofit launched an advertisement campaign against Local 11's push to force hotels to house the homeless.
The Center for Union Facts (CUF) launched the ad campaign on several major networks and created a website highlighting the dangers of turning empty hotel rooms over to the homeless.
"This particular proposal is not serious," Rogers added. "We certainly want to make sure it stops here in Los Angeles so that no other municipality in the country tries something this dangerous."
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