LA Floats Idea Of Forcing Hotels To Let The Homeless Stay In Vacant Rooms

The homeless issue in big cities like Los Angeles has continued to worsen every year, especially since the pandemic. Solutions proposed to solve this require a huge government intervention to work, but the harsh reality is always that people won’t do it if they don’t get anything out of it.

A union proposed that hotels be forced to open their doors to house 60,000 homeless people in Los Angeles.

While the county has a huge number of homeless encampments, offering them a roof and basic facilities such as a shower and a bed would definitely improve their life quality, which might help them get back up on their feet.

There’s currently an average of 20,000 vacant hotel rooms every single night. Seeing this statistics, Unite Here Local 11 prompted an idea: have hotels open their doors to homeless people in their vacant rooms.

They admit that this doesn’t solve the core problem, only the symptoms.

Co-president Kurt Peterson from Unite Here Local 11 said, “By no means do we think this solves the homelessness crisis. But do hotels have a role to play? Of course, they do.”

If this measure passes, every single hotel in LA would be required to report their vacant rooms to allow homeless people to spend a night there. The hotels will be paid the market rate for their rooms, even if it’s a J.W. Marriott.

While it sounds like quite the sweet deal, hoteliers absolutely hate the idea.

Valley Industry & Commerce Association President Stuart Waldman voiced his disdain, “It’s insane. It isn’t going to solve the problem. I wouldn’t want my kids around people that I’m not sure about. I wouldn’t want to be in an elevator with somebody who’s clearly having a mental break.”

While this is still just a proposal that might or might not be approved, it’s yet another reminder of the dire situation that’s happening in LA. Every year, there are 16% more people lose their homes.