After guests checked out of a corner room at the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort on Waikiki beach, housekeeper Luz Espejo collected enough trash, some strewn under beds, to stuff seven large garbage bags.

She stripped the linens from the beds, wiped built-up dust off furniture and scrubbed away layers of grime on the toilet and bathtub. She even got on her hands and knees to pick confetti from the carpet that a heavy-duty vacuum failed to swallow up.

Like many other hotels across the United States, the Hilton Hawaiian Village has done away with daily housekeeping service, making what was already one of the toughest jobs in the hospitality industry even more grueling.

Industry insiders say the move away from daily cleaning, which gained traction during the pandemic, is driven by customer preferences. But others say it has more to do with profit and has allowed hotels to cut the number of housekeepers at a time when many of the mostly immigrant women who take those jobs are still reeling from lost work during coronavirus shutdowns.

Many housekeepers still employed say their hours have been cut and they are being asked to do far more work in that time.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a big change for us,鈥� said Espejo, a 60-year-old originally from the Philippines who has cleaned rooms at the world鈥檚 largest Hilton for 18 years, minus about a year she was laid off during the pandemic. 鈥淲e are so busy at work now. We cannot finish cleaning our rooms.鈥�

Before the pandemic there were 670 housekeepers working at Espejo鈥檚 resort. More than two years later, 150 of them haven鈥檛 been hired back or are on-call status, spending each day from 5:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. waiting for a phone call saying there鈥檚 work for them. The number not hired back or on call stood at 300 just a few weeks ago.

鈥淭his is all about more money in the owners鈥� pocket by putting a greater workload on the frontline workers and eliminating jobs,鈥� said D. Taylor, president of UNITE HERE, a union representing hotel workers.

While some hotels started experimenting with less frequent cleaning in the name of sustainability, it became far more widespread early in the pandemic, when to promote social distancing and other safety protocols, many hotels switched to offering room cleaning only if a guest requested, and sometimes only after staying a certain number of days. Guests were instructed to leave trash outside their door and call the front desk for clean towels.

But even as safety restrictions fade and demand picks up as the country enters peak travel season, many hotels are keeping their new cleaning policies in place.

A spokesperson for the Hilton Hawaiian Village said no Hilton representative was available for an interview about such policies at any Hilton property. Representatives for several major hotel chains, including Marriott and Caesars Entertainment, either declined to be interviewed or didn鈥檛 respond to Associated Press requests for comment.

Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, a trade group whose members include hotel brands, owners and management companies, said it was the demands of guests 鈥� not hotel profits 鈥� that guided decisions about pandemic housekeeper services.

鈥淎 lot of guests, to this day, don鈥檛 want people coming into their room during their stay,鈥� he said. 鈥淭o force something onto a guest that they don鈥檛 want is the antithesis of what it means to work in the hospitality industry.鈥�

The pandemic changed the standard of most hotel guests wanting daily cleaning, he said, adding it鈥檚 not yet clear if that will result in a permanent shift.

Housekeeping policies vary based on the type of hotel, Rogers said, with luxury hotels tending to provide daily housekeeping unless guests opt out.

Ben McLeod, of Bend, Oregon, and his family didn鈥檛 request housekeeping during a four-night stay at the Westin Hapuna Beach Resort on Hawaii鈥檚 Big Island in March.

鈥淢y wife and I just have never really understood why there would be daily housekeeping 鈥� when that鈥檚 not the case at home and it鈥檚 wasteful,鈥� he said.

He said he expects his kids to tidy up after themselves.

鈥淚鈥檓 a Type-A, so I get out of bed and I make my bed, so I don鈥檛 need someone else to make my bed,鈥� he said.

Unionized hotel workers are trying get the message out that turning down daily room cleaning is hurting housekeepers and threatening jobs.

Martha Bonilla, who has spent 10 years working at the Caesars Atlantic City Hotel & Casino in New Jersey, said she wants guests to ask for daily cleaning, noting it makes her job less difficult. Even though hotels in New Jersey are required by law to offer daily cleaning, some guests still turn it down.

鈥淲hen I come home from work now, the only thing I want to do is go to bed,鈥� said Bonilla, originally from the Dominican Republic and a single mother of a 6-year-old daughter. 鈥淚 am physically exhausted.鈥�

It鈥檚 not just partying guests like the ones who threw confetti around in Hawaii that leave behind filthy rooms, housekeepers say. Even with typical use, rooms left uncleaned for days become much harder to restore to the gleaming, pristine rooms guests expect when they check in.

Elvia Angulo, a housekeeper at the Oakland Marriott City Center for 17 years, is the main breadwinner in her family.

For the first year of the pandemic, she worked a day or two a month. She has regained her 40 hours a week, but with rooms no longer cleaned daily the number of people working each shift has been cut in half, from 25 to 12.

鈥淭hank God I have seniority here so I now have my five days again, and my salary is the same,鈥� said Angulo, 54, who is from Mexico. 鈥淏ut the work really is now harder. If you don鈥檛 clean a room for five days you have five days of scum in the bathrooms. It鈥檚 scum over scum.鈥�

Many housekeepers still aren鈥檛 getting enough hours to qualify for benefits.

Sonia Guevara, who has worked at a Seattle Hilton for seven years, used to really enjoy the benefits at her job. But since returning to work after being laid off for 18 months, she hasn鈥檛 qualified for health insurance.

鈥淎t first I was thinking to get a new job, but I feel like I want to wait,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 want to see if my hours change at the hotel.鈥�

She said there are few other job options with hours conducive for having two children in school.

Now politicians are picking up on the issue, including Hawaii state Rep. Sonny Ganaden, who represents Kalihi, a Honolulu neighborhood where many hotel workers live.

鈥淎lmost every time I talk to people at their doors, I meet someone who works in a hotel and then we talk about how they are overworked and what is happening and working conditions,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got a lot of first- and second-generation immigrant folks that are kind of left high and dry by these non-daily room cleaning requirements.鈥�

Ganaden is among the lawmakers who introduced a resolution requesting Hawaii hotels 鈥渋mmediately rehire or recall employees who were laid off or placed on leave鈥� because of the pandemic.

If that鈥檚 not enough, Ganaden said he would be open to more forceful measures like some other places have taken.

Washington, D.C.鈥檚 city council in April passed emergency legislation requiring hotels in the district to service rooms daily unless guests opt-out.

Amal Hligue, an immigrant from Morocco, hopes the rules mean more hours at the Washington Hilton where she has worked for 22 years. She needs them so her husband can get health insurance.

鈥淚 hope he has this month because I worked last month,鈥� she said.

At 57 years old, she doesn鈥檛 want to find a new job. 鈥淚鈥檓 not young, you know,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 have to stay.鈥�

鈥擩ennifer Sinco Kelleher And Anita Snow, The Associated Press