FILE PHOTO: Jul 24, 2023; Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA; Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10) runs on the field during practice at Florida Blue Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports/File photo
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Inter Miami have changed their plans and will no longer stay this weekend at a Santa Monica hotel where workers recently went on strike, a union source told Reuters on Friday.
Inter Miami and star forward Lionel Messi were scheduled to check into the beachside Fairmont Miramar on Friday ahead of Sunday's match against LAFC but heeded calls from Unite Here Local 11 to stay away, said Maria Hernandez, a communications official for the union.
Housekeepers, cooks, bellmen and servers at the establishment joined thousands of hotel workers across the region on the picket lines, where they are demanding higher pay to meet rising housing costs.
A Fairmont Miramar spokesperson declined to comment. An MLS spokesperson said the league does not monitor which hotels teams stay at when travelling.
The MLS Players Association and Inter Miami did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Argentina's World Cup-winning captain Messi, widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, has been a huge attraction since joining MLS in July.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles, Additional reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto and Steve Keating in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris)
