These days, she spends more time looking for coupons and examining prices while shopping for her husband and four children who live at home. She has stopped splurging on packages of Canelitas, her favorite type of Mexican cookie.
“We have to limit ourselves a lot right now,” he said.
At the Embassy Suites by Hilton Seattle Downtown Pioneer Square, which is steps from Lumen Field (renamed Seattle Stadium for the games), where six World Cup games were played, more than 100 hotel workers have been on strike since around the start of the tournament. Workers are demanding, among other things, higher wages and safeguards against federal immigration actions.
One of the striking workers, Dom Kaur, works at the hotel reception. This tourist season has felt particularly slow, he said, noting that he had met fewer people taking cruises that depart from the Port of Seattle to visit Alaska. Because his schedule at the hotel fluctuates from week to week, he said, it’s a challenge to find a second job.
“When people don’t travel, because of current policies or high prices, that comes to us,” Ms. Kaur said.
In Los Angeles, González Lobos, 61, has looked for ways to cover rising costs.
For a time, he had a second job doing maintenance at a golf course, but juggling long commutes and odd hours was taking a toll on his body. He eventually stopped driving to save money on gas and instead took two buses to his hotel job. Even that, he said, costs about $6 a day.
