Workers at two Leeds hotels are set to strike for the first time after a vote in favor of walkouts. Over 80 percent of housekeeping staff who are members of Unite at the Leeds North and Leeds South Village Hotels will strike from December 26 to 28. During this busy holiday period, guests can expect unmade beds and a lack of cleaning services. Meanwhile, workers at a Village Hotel in Glasgow are already on strike due to poor pay and working conditions. Unite Hospitality members at Village Hotels in Leeds will go on strike to demand equal pay, the real living wage, and union recognition.
The treatment of the workforce has to be contrasted with the huge profits being made by the company that owns the Village hotel chain. In its latest accounts, VUR Village Hotels Ltd reported a profit after tax of £182 million. Village is a subsidiary of the American private equity firm Blackstone, which acquired the business in 2024 and reported revenues of $13.23 billion last year. In August, Village CEO Gary Davis stated, “The great thing about being with Blackstone is money is not a problem,” yet the company continues to refuse to implement the real living wage for all workers, which amounts to just an additional 39 pence per hour.