The Windsor Court Hotel
Ownership:
The Windsor Court Hotel is owned by the Orient Express hotel chain
based in Great Britain. Orient Express Hotels own and operate twenty
hotels worldwide. They only deal with first class properties and are
rated as one of the top luxury hotel chains in the world, Orient Express
owns five hotels in the United States, three in Italy, three in Portugal,
two in South Africa, one each in Peru, St. Martin, French West Indies,
France, Botswana, Australia, and Bora-Bora. The chain's parent corporation
is Corporate Express which deals in credit cards, software, cleaning
supplies and services, overnight delivery services, luxury hotels, and
automobile parts. The parent corporation in 1998 showed a profit of
over $14 billion dollars.
The Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans:
The Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans was built in 1984 arid was
renovated in 1997. It has a current rating of four stars and an AAA
rating of five diamonds, The Grill Room Restaurant is consistently rated
at five stars. Readers of Conde Nast Magazine have rated the Windsor
Court Hotel one of the finest hotels in the world.
Room Rates and Occupancy:
This hotel has 264 suites, 58 rooms and 2 penthouse suites. Guest
rooms range in price from $230 to $400 per night, junior suites range
from $280 to $505 per night, full suites range from $300 to $800 per
night and penthouse suites range from $2,500.00 to $4,000.00 per night
depending on the season, Right now, the least expensive room in the
hotel goes for $360/night, According to Lee Sinclaire the director of
public relations, the hotel boasts a 73%-76% occupancy rate year round
with 100% occupancy during peak seasons and events.
Cost of Maintaining Rooms:
According to the 1998 SEC filing the Windsor Court Hotel cost for
operating rooms is:
- Guest rooms- $45 per day
- Junior Suites and Suites- $85 per day
- Penthouse Suites- $105 to 135 Per day
Profit per day per room:
- Guest Rooms $195 to $355 per room per day
- Junior, Suites and Suites: $195 to $420 per room per day
- Penthouse Suites, $2,365 to $3,865 Per penthouse per day
Worker Issues:
The Windsor Court Hotel employs about 400 full time employees. In
fiscal year 1998 the Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans made $21,865,309
in profit after taxes. Of the four hotels owned by Orient Express in
the US, the Windsor Court in New Orleans is the most profitable due
to high room and occupancy rates and low labor costs.
Housekeepers and laundry attendants start at $5.50 an hour, barely
above the minimum wage. Even after years of service, the top rate is
under $8/hour.
- Housekeepers are expected to clean ten suites, the equivalent
of ten apartments, each day. Tips left by guests for maids rarely
find their way to the maids' pockets.
- Banquet waiters used to get two thirds of the 18% gratuity charged
to customers; now it's just over half.
- Employees in banquets, room service and restaurants who rely
on tips for the bulk of their income must share their tips with salaried
management personnel (e.g. sales, catering, maltre'd) who had nothing
to do with serving the food or drink.
- The hotel has been hit with a rash of discrimination suits brought
by employees charging racial discrimination. One case in the Grill
Room involving nine wait staff was settled out of court for $160,000,
Presently there are four open discrimination suits pending.
- We know of at least one female employee who was stripped searched
after being falsely accused of stealing. Random drug tests are frequent.
- Favoritism is rampant, For example, workers get points for a
variety of infractions - 10 points and you are suspended, 12 points
and you are fired. In fact, however, some workers with many more than
12 points are not disciplined while others are.
Anti-union campaign
Workers at the Windsor Court contacted HOTROC and asked for help
in getting organized so that they could fight for Changes at the hotel.
Workers in all departments - housekeeping, laundry, suits service
(room service), banquets, Grill Room, concierge, engineering, stewarding,
reservations, front desk and PBX - have enthusiastically pitched in
to form a union at Windsor Court. To discourage their efforts at self-organization,
the General Manager of the hotel interrupted his vacation to fly back
to New Orleans.
Addional Information here>>
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