Hilton to close California call center, cut 300 jobs according to USA Today

USA Today’s travel blog ‘Hotel Check-in’ is reporting that Hilton is going to be closing the reservation call center in Hemet, California and moving the call center to the Philippines.  Unfortunately, over 300 jobs will be eliminated in Hemet.  From the USA Today article:

“Hilton previously closed call centers in Illinois in 2008 and Pennsylvania last year, according to the Press-Enterprise. Some of the Pennsylvania workers had said they, too, went to the Philippines to train call-center workers, the paper says.

Hilton will offer employees positions at Hilton’s call centers in Carrollton, Texas, and Tampa, Fla., where workers make roughly $9 an hour, the story says. Those who don’t take the jobs will be offered severance packages.

Further details about the layoff aren’t available, because the employees told the paper that Hilton ordered them not to talk to the media – or, if they did, they’d lose their severance pay.”

Be sure to check out the full article by hitting the link above.  Warning:  there are a few hundred posts from very angry American’s following the article.  Here is a follow up article regarding the reader’s comments.

Product Review: Simmons EverNU Mattress

Simmons has introduced a new mattress that lets you zip off the top layers of the mattress and replace them.  By doing this, you can extend the life of your hotel’s mattresses.  A mattress can now last up to 14 years according to Simmons.

Check out the full details, including a video on Simmons’s website by clicking here.

Our take:  It seems like a solid idea.  The replacement tops cost about $120.  It seems like a good solution to replace soiled mattresses for about 1/5th of the cost.  We really like any idea that improves the cleanliness of the beds in hotel rooms.  Hotel beds have really come a long way in recent years.  We really believe that the triple sheet system that replaced the disgusting comforters is one of the biggest improvements for hotels in decades.

Hat tip:  We originally were tipped off about this mattress in the Hotel Check-In Blog.