Hard Rock Punta Cana - Modern Day Exploitation
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
In summary, Hard Rock is highly overrated.
We paid $1,200 p/room for 3 nights, and this is what we experienced / discovered
- stinky bathrooms
- water seepage in one of the rooms
( condensation from unit above )
- stinky clothes after being in the pool
( washed clothes 3 times to get rid of bad smell )
- resorts serves frozen orange juice
( found this strange, later discovered that it was because OJ had expired )
- horrendous treatment of its employees
( modern day exploitation )
- underage drinking by foreigners
( very young teens being served alcohol )
- tons of leftover food goes in the trash
MEDIOCRE ROOMS
I visited with the family Summer of 2022 and rented 2 rooms.
Room 5130 has
severe AC condensation seepage from the unit above, we discovered this was a reoccurring pattern as previous guests had reported the same thing going back at least 2 previous reservations aside from ours.
This issue was reported at 9am the next day and
we were given a replacement room 6 hrs later. This effort required constant follow-up with the "customer relations" person whose communication/updates was not the best.
EXPLOITATION / MEAGER WAGES
During my stay I held brief conversations with service staff to understand the working environment and treatment at Hard Rock. As a Dominican-American, it is my duty to give a voice to those who don't have one by exposing the shenanigans my people are subjected to purely for profit.
As it turns out, Hard Rock management tactics are to threaten employees who dare speak up about the meager salaries they receive. Let alone form a Labor Union. This is a blatant abuse of Dominican Constitution which protects workers from hostile retribution by employers. Given the massive corruption scheme in place between government and investors, resorts get away with this modern day form of slavery.
In speaking to fellow guests, I discovered that quality of service has suffered dramatically at Hard Rock over the last few years - this is because employees aren't happy with their working conditions and compensation.
As an
example, the driver who shuttles guests makes a meager $12,000 DOP
(Dominican Pesos) per month (approx $225 USD), not counting the additional fees the government and resort impose on top.
After speaking to several staff members; front desk, waiters, drivers, cleaners... it was evident to me that more needs to be done for these workers. They simply don't have a voice and when they dare speak up they are fired on the spot as retaliation. Oftentimes, the replacement who is brought is offered much less than the person fired.
I
am disgusted by this flat our exploitation by North American and Europe
investors whose only goal is to bring in massive profits at any cost. Of course, with the aid of a deeply corrupt Dominican Government who could care less that its citizens make a livable wage.
I urge fellow travelers to use
their purchasing power responsibly to make a difference. Always speak to those serving you and your family to find out how they are
treated by management. If they are being exploited for profit, expose
the employer/resort as I have done here and be sure to share it with the resort and in online travel boards such as TripAdvisor, etc.
BE KIND
We owe it to the family of those who work very hard at these resorts so that our families have a wonderful experience. 💖👪👪
MASSIVE FOOD WASTE
It is Hard Rock's policy to trash all leftover food. That is to say, food that is untouched by guests, goes to the trash. I confirmed this while having breakfast one morning and seeing how, in front of everyone, the staff was trashing perfectly eatable food.
What an insult to the folks who works there who don't earn enough o feed their families and also in insult to our growers / farmers in the "Campos".
These ridiculously impractical and ill-advised policies, provide insight into the types of human beings at the top calling the shots.
Instead of a more common sense approach by having a food program to feed the hungry in the community they operate. They don't, even let employees take leftovers to their families, even of the staff is willing to sign a liability waiver.
However, companies like Panera are already ahead of the game by donating leftover to local community groups https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/food-values/community.html
PUNTA CANA TOURISM STATS
- The Dominican Republic has been the #1 tourist destination in the Caribbean for the last 3 decades (2022)
- approximately 30 million tourist visit Punta Cana alone each year
- that is 3 x the island population, which is approx. 10 million (2021)
- as results, each year the citizenry has less access to public beaches as more and more is privatize by the resorts for exclusive guest-only access.
- more food is wasted as untouched leftovers go in the trash
- Over the last few decades these resort have become modern day plantations, bringing in huge profits, while bribery and other backroom deals with government officials are reached so those responsible for checking labor abuses look the other way. It is time we change this inhumane exploitative business practices.
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The Verón-Punta Cana Municipal Touristic District is characterized by a
dual reality: luxury tourist resorts in front of the urban
slummification of the local population, who lives in a vulnerable
situation that has been intensified due to the pandemic of the COVID-19.
The slummification in Verón-Punta Cana, hidden behind the all-inclusive
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