After months of contentious negotiations with the hotel industry, the New York City Council overwhelmingly approved a bill on Wednesday aimed at improving safety at hotels for workers and guests.

The bill, known as the Safe Hotels Act, will require hotels to obtain licenses in order to operate, and to adhere to the licensing requirements. Hotels must schedule staff at the front desk at all hours, provide panic buttons to employees and keep rooms clean.

The bill, which the Council passed 45 to 4, was also supported by powerful industry groups, including the New York Hotel & Gaming Trades Council, which championed the effort, and the Hotel Association of New York City, which had initially opposed it.

The bill’s sponsor, Julie Menin, a council member from Manhattan, worked with hotel industry leaders on a compromise after some owners called the bill a “nuclear bomb” for the industry and pledged to spend millions of dollars to stop it. Hotels with 100 rooms or fewer will be exempt from a requirement to hire core employees directly; they may still use subcontractors to staff their hotels.

The local New York City bill calls for the following:

  • All hotel operators in the city must hold a license to operate, with an application term of two years and a $350 fee.
  • Operators of hotels with more than 100 rooms will be required to directly employ their core employees.
  • These hotels will also be required to schedule staff that provide continuous coverage of the front desk. Large hotels will be required to schedule a security guard at all times while any room is occupied.
  • All core hotel employees must have panic buttons.
  • All core hotel employees must receive human trafficking recognition training.
  • Hotels are required to maintain clean guestrooms, including daily housekeeping services unless the guest declines them.
  • Hotels with less than 100 rooms are exempt from the direct employment requirement and may use contract labor.

Read the full article at nytimes.com

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