Boycott Hyatt Regency Boston Cambridge.
Workers are demanding a fair process to decide on a union. KSL Capital Partners refuses. Book union instead.
It’s about who benefits, and who pays.
Wages That Don’t Cover Cambridge Rent
Workers report wages that fall short of what it costs to live in Cambridge, where median one-bedroom rent exceeds $3,200/month.
Schedules That Change Without Warning
Workers describe receiving schedules with little advance notice, making it nearly impossible to arrange childcare or plan their lives.
Subcontracted Into Insecurity
Many positions that were once direct hotel jobs are now filled through temp agencies, reducing access to benefits and job stability.
No Fair Process to Decide on a Union
When workers began discussing a fair process to decide on a union, management responded with pressure instead of respect for workers’ rights.
High Turnover, Lower Standards
Constant staff turnover driven by low wages and poor conditions means less experienced workers and inconsistent service quality.
Subcontracting Erodes Accountability
When the people cleaning your room work for a temp agency, there’s less training, less oversight, and less accountability.
Your Dollar Funds the Problem
Every booking funds a business model that relies on worker exploitation. Guests deserve to know where their money goes.
The Hyatt 100 Legacy
In 2009, Hyatt fired approximately 100 housekeepers in Boston, many after forcing them to train their replacements. That fight led to union contracts at two other Boston Hyatts. This is the unfinished chapter.
Private Equity Extracts, Communities Pay
KSL Capital Partners, a Denver-based PE firm, owns this hotel. Their model extracts profits while the workers who generate that wealth cannot afford to live in Cambridge.
Pension Funds and Exploitation
KSL’s investors include public pension funds and university endowments, institutions with stated ESG commitments. Workers’ retirement savings should not fund the suppression of organizing rights.
A Race to the Bottom
When a major Cambridge hotel pays poverty wages and uses temp agencies to avoid accountability, it drags down conditions across the entire local hospitality industry.
The people behind the boycott.
“I work multiple jobs just to get by, and my dog Harley is home alone four days a week because I can’t afford to do anything about it. I’ve already raised four kids, and I thought this job would give me the stability and pay to be home for Harley, but it has not. That’s why I’m standing up today.”
“I raise my children alone. Every shift I work at this hotel, I do the math: is it enough? For years it wasn’t. It still isn’t. Hyatt made billions. I made excuses to my kids about why we couldn’t. That’s why I’m here.”
What you can do right now.
Pledge to Boycott
Don’t book at the Hyatt Regency Boston Cambridge. Don’t attend events there. Take your business to a union hotel instead.
Relocate Your Event
Have a conference, wedding, or meeting booked there? Contact us. We’ll help you find a comparable union venue.
Share on Social Media
Use #BoycottHyattCambridge. Share worker stories. Tag @Hyatt and @KSLCapital and tell them why.
Leave a Factual Review
Share factual information about the labor dispute on Google and TripAdvisor. Travelers deserve to know.
Tell Your Representatives
Ask your city councilor and state rep to support the workers’ right to a fair organizing process.
Get Updates & Action Alerts
Enter your email address. We’ll keep you informed and tell you exactly when and how to act.
KSL Capital Partners owns Hyatt Regency Cambridge, and could end this today.
KSL is a $21 billion private equity firm that owns this hotel. They invest in ultra-luxury resorts, helicopter skiing, and private aviation. Agreeing to a fair process for workers to decide on unionization would cost them nothing. They refuse anyway.
KSL Capital Partners is a private equity firm that specializes in travel and leisure. Their model: acquire properties, cut operating costs, maximize returns for investors, and exit at a profit.
At the Hyatt Regency Boston Cambridge, this plays out through subcontracting: replacing direct hotel employees with temp agency workers who earn less, receive fewer benefits, and have less job security. The hotel generates revenue. KSL extracts returns. Workers absorb the cost.
Academic research on private equity in the hotel sector documents a clear pattern: PE-owned hotels face higher rates of labor disputes, utilize subcontracting more aggressively, and resist organizing at rates significantly above industry averages.
KSL invests in some of the world’s most exclusive travel experiences while the workers at their Cambridge hotel struggle to make rent:
Alterra Mountain Company
Stratton, Sugarbush, and Ikon Pass.
Outrigger Hospitality
Hawaii & Pacific resort chain, also facing NLRB complaints for labor violations.
Soneva
Eco-luxury resorts in Maldives and Thailand.
ClubCorp
One of the world’s largest private golf and business club operators.
Peregrine Hospitality
Boutique luxury hotel platform.
Fixed Base Operators
Private aviation infrastructure through Tactical Opportunities fund.
KSL is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Their website states they are committed to “the well-being of the unforgettable communities in which we invest.”
Meanwhile, at the hotel they own in Cambridge: workers describe wages that don’t cover rent, schedules that change without notice, expanding subcontracting, and resistance to a fair organizing process.
“Committed to the well-being of the communities in which we invest.”
— KSL Capital Partners, “Our Responsibility” page
KSL’s investors include public pension funds, university endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and foundations: institutions with stated commitments to responsible investment and ESG standards.
When pension funds for unionized workers invest with a firm that resists fair organizing processes at its own properties, it creates a fundamental contradiction.
If your pension fund or university endowment invests with KSL, they should know what’s happening at this property.
One demand. One agreement.
Workers should be free to make their own decision about union representation, without management interference.
We are demanding that the Hyatt Regency Boston Cambridge agree to a fair process for workers to decide on unionization: a right to organize agreement that includes card check neutrality. Workers should be free to make their own decision about union representation without management interference, intimidation, or coercion. This is not a demand for recognition. It is a demand for a process: fair, neutral, and legally protected.
Union hotels in Boston & Cambridge: 40+ alternatives to Hyatt.
Every hotel below has a contract with UNITE HERE Local 26. Workers have a voice, fair wages, and dignity on the job.
Le Méridien Cambridge
Sheraton Commander
DoubleTree Suites Cambridge
Courtyard Marriott Cambridge
Hilton Boston Park Plaza
Fairmont Copley Plaza
Westin Copley Place
Sheraton Boston
Hilton Boston Back Bay
The Newbury Boston
Colonnade Hotel
Raffles Boston
Hotel Commonwealth
Omni Boston Seaport
Renaissance Boston Seaport
Westin Boston Seaport
InterContinental Boston
Ritz-Carlton Boston
Hyatt Centric Faneuil Hall
Hyatt Regency Boston