Bill to end pandemic safety measures wins praise from resort industry in Nevada, barbs from union

By Katie Ann McCarver (contact)

Thursday, April 13, 2023 | 2 a.m.

One of the last remaining COVID-19 measures in Nevada may soon see its end, as state legislators consider passing a bill to repeal a COVID-19 law that mandated daily room cleaning in public accommodation facilities, including resorts and hotels like those on the Las Vegas Strip.

The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services Tuesday discussed Senate Bill 441, which would nullify some provisions of 2020’s SB4 — a pandemic-era law that required additional health and safety measures in the hospitality industry.

While opponents of the new legislation cited a need to protect guest-room attendants and codify pandemic preparedness, its supporters — including retail, commerce and hotel representatives — said that COVID-19 regulations outlined in the 2020 law made sense at the start of the pandemic but were no longer necessary.

“This isn’t a repeal of something we got wrong … this is a sunset of something we got right,”said state Sen. Marilyn Dondero Loop, D-Las Vegas, who is sponsoring the bill. “ It worked then but it doesn’t work now.”

Dondero Loop emphasized that she was proud of SB4 and what it had accomplished during the uncertainty of the pandemic, but that the time had come to usher out COVID-19-era requirements and make way for post-pandemic health and safety standards.

The regulations that SB441 would repeal were made based on what was known about COVID-19 at the onset of the pandemic, said state Sen. Rochelle Nguyen, D-Las Vegas, and probably saved lives. With the knowledge they have now, however, it’s important for legislators to be consistent and follow the science by repealing unnecessary protocols.

Nevada health officials, who also shared their support for the legislation, noted that SB4’s inspection requirements based on COVID-19 positivity rates were no longer effective, especially because home tests and other circumstances made it impossible to accurately measure COVID-19 contraction in the community.

The intent when writing the original legislation, Nguyen said, was always for it to phase out when possible.

“It’s time to sunset a COVID house-cleaning policy that served its purpose but outlived its necessity,” Dondero Loop said.

Members of the Nevada Resort Association and local operators lauded the new bill during Tuesday’s hearing, noting that daily room cleaning was tough on an industry currently struggling to be fully staffed, and also takes the choice away from customers — many of whom would choose to opt out of daily room cleanings.

The rate at which guests are declining daily housekeeping services is nearly double what it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Ayesha Molino, senior vice president of public affairs for MGM Resorts International and vice chair of the Nevada Resort Association board of directors.

Millions of guests are declining daily housekeeping, Molino said. Daily room cleaning service is provided to all guests, she emphasized, unless they choose to decline.

“In the case of daily housekeeping, we have found — from the operator perspective — that our guests and the demands that they have, especially in the course of housekeeping, have changed,” Molino said.

Nevada Resort Association President and CEO Virginia Valentine echoed legislators who said the excessive cleaning requirements of the former bill were no longer concurrent with science on COVID-19 mitigation.

In a statement, she called SB441 “commonsense legislation” and emphasized how relegating health and safety regulations back to state agencies would allow for greater flexibility when situations change.

“To be very clear, Nevada’s resort industry maintains the highest health, safety and hygiene protocols and standards to protect employees and guests, and SB441 will not change this,” Valentine said. “Safety, including cleanliness and sanitation, will always be the resort industry’s top priority.”

Several people in both Carson City and Las Vegas — including union leaders and members from various industries — showed up Tuesday to oppose the bill, raising concerns about pulling back on health and safety standards and the need to protect guest-room attendants in Nevada’s hospitality industry by retaining daily room cleaning.

Diana Valles, president of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, said the move would lead to job losses in the industry, particularly among women and with a disproportionate effect on communities of color.

Daily room cleaning is important to prevent infestations like bed bugs and to prevent an unreasonable workload for guest-room attendants — who often work alone — and to ensure their safety, Valles said.

Many guest-room attendants testified during the hearing that safety was a big issue surrounding daily room cleaning because angry guests confront them when their rooms are not cleaned.

“The lack of daily room cleaning is concerning for Nevada’s reputation and standards as a premier travel destination,” Valles said.

Since the start of the pandemic, resorts and hotels in Nevada have cut costs by downsizing laborers to increase profits, said Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer for the Culinary Union. The net effect, he said, is they are failing to provide good and sustainable jobs to the community

The removal of daily room cleaning downgrades the kind of resort experience guests expect and pay for, Pappageorge said. In other words, he said, they are paying for first-class rooms without first-class service.

“Protecting daily room cleaning means protecting workers, protecting Las Vegas’ image and protecting hotel customers,” Pappageorge said, noting that some hotels have created environmental initiatives and other programs that discourage guests from requesting housekeeping.

The safety and security of guests are necessary to Nevada’s reputation as a tourist destination, he continued, and a lack of daily room cleaning could lead to health outbreaks with a devastating impact.

Nurses opposed to the legislation emphasized during the hearing the lasting impact of COVID-19, as well.

Ultimately, with regards to guest-room attendants and other resort employees, Pappageorge said, the elimination of daily room cleaning would mean the reduction of thousands of jobs and millions of lost wages for Nevada workers.

The union advocated for the passage of SB4 and recognizes the need to repeal some of its provisions following the pandemic, Pappageorge said, but it is opposed to SB441 with the bill’s intent to remove daily room cleaning.

“We think that this will backfire,” Pappageorge said. “And we think that the entertainment capital of the world needs to be full service, and we think we think this is short-sighted.”

Committee members took no action on the bill.