Hotel workers in Hawaii worried about safety

Most hotels and resorts in Waikiki are closed. Tourism will be on hold at least for another month or more, but local hotel workers are concerned.

Not only are they concerned, because many will lose their health insurance in September, but they are concerned about going back to work in the midst of this COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Cleaning rooms and working at the front desk will bring workers in this profession into direct contact with visitors. Hawaii has absolutely no control if such future visitors may carry the virus, and it just takes one tourist to start a health disaster locally.

Today, those representative parts of the local 5 unions went out in Waikiki to share their concern with the public.

Participants standing on the side of Kalakaua Avenue and protected by scuba diving masks and hand-made the mouth and nose covers, demonstrated how difficult it is to be protected.

When asked by eTurboNews what their wish list is, the response by a spokesperson was,”We want to be safe.”

Local 5 workers share the sentiments voiced to eTurboNews yesterday by Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell to watch what will happen in Florida, California, and Spain before opening the floodgates to the State of Hawaii for tourists to come back.

It is obvious tourism will never be the same. If visitors are planning to come to the Aloha State to experience a smile from friendly hotel workers, they may be in for a surprise. For hotel workers to feel comfortable around visitors may be years away, but Hawaii needs the business, and it needs tourism business now.