You only need to enter a hotel to be amazed by the impeccable sheets and the brightness of the bathroom. But behind all that perfection are the ‘Kelly’s’ or floor cleaners like Marimar.
While the sector is experiencing its golden age, she and her colleagues are leaving themselves behind for a pittance. “The hospitality industry has increased by 40% and we continue to be paid 1.50 euros per room,” laments the woman in The Sixth Explainswho, without missing an opportunity, defines herself and her group as the “slaves of the 21st century.”
For her, vacations are a dream that she cannot afford despite working for hours: “I don’t have money to go in the summer. I always go with Imserso,” she confesses.
Tourism in Spain: 97 million visitors
Spain is a world power in tourism, and the 2025 data confirms this: the country broke a historical record with 97 million international visitors and spending that reached 135 billion euros. This economic engine already represents 12.6% of the national GDP and generates more than 2.7 million jobs.
However, this macroeconomic success does not cross the threshold of hotel rooms, where some 100,000 housekeepers work around the clock so that the system does not collapse, often under subcontracting conditions that diminish their rights.
Subcontracting of workers
The big problem, according to Marimar, is the change in the hiring model. Before, the hotels signed them directly, but now the service companies that act as a ‘screen’ prevail.
Since they are not hired under the hospitality agreement, but rather under the cleaning agreement, their salaries are up to 40% lower. “They are neither a linen assistant nor a cleaner, they are chambermaids, which means they are not paid for the hospitality agreement,” the worker denounces. This leaves them unprotected against sick leave, a constant problem in a profession where 70% of employees self-medicate to endure pain.
100 kg beds and false promises
Doing between 20 and 25 rooms a day involves moving very heavy mattresses and making extreme physical efforts. Marimar criticizes the “fashion” of current materials in hotels: “They have put mattresses that weigh 100 kg”, something that multiplies back and arm injuries.
Regarding political solutions, such as elevating beds, she is skeptical due to the lack of maintenance. But what hurts him most is the stagnation of his income compared to business profits: “Ten years ago they paid us one and a half euros per room. And ten years later they continue to pay us one and a half euros.”
Long days and extra hours given away
Work overload is the norm in Spanish hotels, where time per room is measured to the millimeter. Marimar reveals a common practice that many colleagues with partial contracts suffer: “Get on at 4 hours, get off, clock in, get on and finish the work. That’s what they tell you.”
As a result, extra hours are given that do not appear on the payroll or are quoted, while the body wears out irreversibly after the age of 50 with hernias, bursitis and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Despite being the pillar of 12.6% of our economy, these women work with their backs to the guest, in silence. Marimar is clear: what they need is not political “nonsense”, but dignity. “The best thing they had to do is offer us decent working conditions,” he says.