Cleaning California hotel rooms is hard work as evidenced by the high number of hotel housekeepers suffering work-related injuries. The physical demands of the job often include lifting heavy items, spending time on one’s hands and knees, and flipping hotel rooms quickly to accommodate demand, all of which have the potential to compound injury risks.
According to UNITE HERE, most hotel housekeepers are female, and many are also immigrants. This makes these two audiences especially prone to suffering on-the-job injuries related to their positions.
How common injuries are in the industry
Working in a hotel involves a high risk of injury regardless of the position one holds. In fact, the injury rate among all hotel workers is 40% higher than that of all other workers within the service industry. However, the injury rate among hotel housekeepers is 7.9 for every 100,000 working full-time, which is 50% higher than that of all other hotel workers.
Who suffers the most injuries cleaning hotel rooms
While all employees who clean hotel rooms face elevated injury risks, women and Hispanics working in the industry are more prone to experiencing on-the-job injuries than white hotel housekeepers. Women who work as hotel housekeepers are 50% more likely to suffer on-the-job injuries than men who hold the same position. The work-related injury rate among Hispanic individuals who clean hotel rooms is 10.6%, which is the highest seen among any ethnic group.
Many people who suffer injuries resulting from cleaning hotel rooms find that their injuries interfere with both their ability to perform work and their ability to enjoy their day-to-day lives.