Nine luxury hotels in Los Angeles may have lost upwards of $1 million due to behind-the-scenes boycotting efforts by the hotel workers union in a long-running contract dispute, according to officials.

Unite Here's Local 11 members hope for an even greater impact by making the boycott public which began with a boisterous two-day protest outside the Wilshire Grand in downtown Los Angeles last month.

"Without the boycott announcement, hotels have lost approximately $1 million dollars since the labor dispute began last spring," according to Unite Here spokesperson Hilda Delgado-Villa. "With the protest, we expect a sharp increase in support."

The protest follows six months of unresolved contract negotiations between Unite Here and the targeted hotels which include the Millennium Biltmore, Bonaventure, Hyatt Regency, Wilshire Grand, Regent Beverly Wilshire, Century Plaza, St. Regis, Hyatt West Hollywood, and the Sheraton Universal.

"The boycott has certainly cost us some business since they started this last spring," said Fred Muir of the Los Angeles Hotel Employers Council. "They contact our clients and ask them not to come to these hotels. You can measure loss by measuring cancellations, but we have no cost estimate because you can't read someone's mind and know why they cancelled."

Unite Here leaders said elected officials, community groups and clergy have vowed to honor its request to avoid eating, meeting or sleeping at the hotels.

Indeed, the picket lines outside the Wilshire Grand prompted some members of a conference of the Southern California Watershed Alliance to walk out or not to attend. Organizers originally chose the hotel because of its union affiliation.

"They were picketing a non-profit that was sympathetic to their cause. We weren't informed of the protest until a week before our event, which we booked in February," said Watershed Alliance executive director Conner Everts.

The California State Firefighters' Association, Inc. postponed its 2004 Terrorism Response and Training Workshop scheduled for two days at the Sheraton Universal Hotel.

But some experts believe the boycott could backfire, adversely affecting worker's hopes in several ways.

"It's going to hurt the hotels financially, but it also will drive down the need for help. Without the events, there won't be a need for as many servers, bartenders, and other workers," said Jack Kyser of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.

The boycott does not serve union members because hotel owners could just change business ventures in mid-stream. "Some of the buildings are privately owned, managed by hotel chains. This may become a large factor in negotiations," he said.

"For example, the St. Regis hotel converted entirely to condominiums," he said. "And, word is, the Biltmore Hotel may take some of their rooms out of service and rent them out has apartments."

Koff said the union intends to gain a measure of equality at the bargaining table to that of global chains of hotels that have grown tremendously by consolidating.

"What we're saying is it's our turn to merge and get together across the United States and Canada," he said.

More News About the Los Angeles Hotel Workers' Struggle for a Fair Contract >>