TRENDING
LABOR in the TECH AGE
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Las Vegas ’ Culinary Workers Union wants hotel workers to get a say in new technology — and give workers who lose employment because of automation both a severance package and offers of alternative jobs .
Bethany Khan , spokeswoman for the Culinary Workers Union , says recently ratified contracts with MGM Resorts International , Caesar ’ s Entertainment , the Plaza and Stratosphere include this language ; at press time , the union was negotiating to include this terminology in seven casinos covering 3,400 workers ( contracts for 46,600 workers have been ratified ). “ We expect it to be model language for other major unions ,” she says .
In a statement , MGM said , “ We ’ ve made innovation and employee training a priority in our discussions with the union and in our evaluation and implementation of new technologies .” Other properties such as the Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas declined to comment ; requests for comment from the Plaza were not returned .
“ Where does replacement of workers with robots fall within that spectrum of mandatory subjects of bargaining and core entrepreneurial decisions ? It ' s a battleground ,” says Gary Noah Savine , a Chicago-based labor and employment lawyer . The U . S . National Labor Relations Board may make that call if the employer refuses to negotiate . In Europe , where worker protections are higher , one chain said reducing jobs due to outsourcing hasn ’ t happened yet . “ We determined that automated standard processes are rather helpful for our employees to be able to concentrate more on the guest and our core business ,” Deutsche Hospitality said in a statement . “ For us , automated technology will not make an employee redundant as it indeed makes work processes easier and has a positive effect for our employees .”— Debbie Carlson
EXPLORATIONS
IN luxury
Chris Cahill , CEO of AccorHotels Luxury Brands , presides over 560 managed and franchised luxury and upper-upscale hotels , and a pipeline that will add another 90 in 2018 . In June , Accor signed a letter of intent to acquire a 50 % stake in Sbe Entertainment Group , which includes the Morgans , Delano and Mondrian brands , restaurants and nightclubs . “ That is going to provide us with additional luxury lifestyle brands , which is an area we felt was a little weak ,” says the veteran of Fairmont Raffles Hotels International and Las Vegas Sands Corp .
Accor has partnered with SNCF ( French Railways ) to develop the Orient Express hotel brand , and Cahill hopes to announce the first property by year-end .
“ It ’ s staggering how many people are aware of the name Orient Express … It will be a luxury brand , positioned with Fairmont and Raffles and differentiated by its heritage and people ’ s perception in terms of the train and the book and all that makes up that era of great travel .” Cahill says existing hotels will convert to Orient Express and be “ more boutique than Fairmont or Raffles , with strong elements of F & B , and artwork will be another key feature of the property to reflect the glamour of that era .”
Cahill believes luxury is becoming more about self-fulfillment . “ The consumer is looking for every experience to somehow change their life ,” he says . “ Because of the growth in tourism , people are going further and further afield , and what we used to think of as secondary or tertiary destinations are going to become more important , because people want to go where no man has gone before and they ’ re going to want to continue to push the envelope .
“ Consumers are defining luxury differently , depending not even on their age group but on their psychographic niche … It ’ s a self-definition of both luxury and experiences , and from a brand or a marketing perspective , it becomes somewhat more challenging because everyone ’ s defining it on their terms .”
“ The luxury customer generally has 2-3 favorite brands they tend to use and they have a very high repeat factor . They don ’ t use any one brand exclusively , partially because at the luxury level , you don ’ t have the ubiquitous nature of other brands , luxury brands don ’ t tend to have a property in every part of the world .”
14 hotelsmag . com September 2018