by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:43 PM ET, Mon October 15, 2018
There are rising fears that a strike involving Marriott hotel workers in Hawaii which started last week could continue into 2019.
According to The Associated Press, the strike involves 2,700 Marriott hotel employees and started October 8. The disagreements have pitted members of the Unite Here Local 5 union against the Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts, which owns the Marriott-managed Sheraton Waikiki, The Royal Hawaiian, Westin Moana Surfrider, Sheraton Princess Kaiulani and Sheraton Maui.
Unite Here Local 5 spokeswoman Paola Rodelas told The AP contracts for employees at 20 hotels in Hawaii are expiring this year and negotiations won't begin for smaller hotels until a new deal is struck with Marriott.
Travelers staying at hotels impacted by the strike have reported longer check-in lines, restaurant closures, issues with housekeeping and more. With workers at other properties possibly joining the movement in the coming weeks, it remains hard to predict the duration of the strike.
The unpredictably is causing concern among travel experts in the United States, who believe the strike could cause cancellations and curb next year's bookings.
Hawaii's Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism believes the state will reach its seventh consecutive record-setting year in tourism, but Pleasant Holidays CEO Jack Richards is cooling on previous projections.
"We'll still probably come in at 9.7 million or 9.8 million tourists for the year, but I don't think that we'll hit 10 million visitors anymore," Richards told The AP. "We've had volcanoes, hurricanes, floods and now union issues."
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