Labor contracts covering more than 5,500 employees at eight O'ahu hotels are set to expire at midnight tonight, although negotiations between union and management officials are expected to continue into July.

Settlements by midnight between the hotels and UNITE HERE Local 5 are unlikely, but hotel operations are expected to continue as normal. The contracts cover unionized employees at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa, the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa, the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, the Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki Hotel, and four Sheraton hotels in Waikiki.

Local 5 and the Sheraton hotels are working to extend their contract, said Local 5 spokesman Cade Watanabe. The union and the Ilikai have not begun negotiations, but both sides have been in contact and also are entertaining the possibility of extending the contract, he said.

"We're going to remain flexible and we don't see (June) 30th as a definitive deadline of any kind," Watanabe said. "We will continue to work toward a good contract. Everybody wants a contract."

The Laulima Council, which represents the Hyatt Regency Waikiki, the Waikiki Beach Marriott and the Hilton Hawaiian Village, said the hotels want to reach a settlement as quickly as possible.

"The hotels have said all along that they are ready and willing to negotiate in good faith to come to a fair agreement for everyone," Laulima Council spokeswoman Anna Elento-Sneed said in a statement yesterday. "This remains the case."

Should contracts expire, employee wages, benefit packages and work conditions will remain in effect, Watanabe said. But other provisions will not, including a clause prohibiting a union strike or an employee lockout, he said.

But at least for now that doesn't appear likely.

Union negotiations with the Hyatt Regency Waikiki and the Waikiki Beach Marriott only began in mid- to late June, and further bargaining sessions are scheduled for July. The Hilton Hawaiian Village and Local 5 were scheduled to continue negotiations today.

Local 5 members have said they are seeking, among other things, higher wages and the end of hotel job subcontracting.

Hotels have said they want to provide fair wage and benefits packages and negotiate local issues rather than items on UNITE HERE's national agenda.

Contracts covering employees at the Kahala Hotel & Resort and the Ala Moana Hotel have been extended until Aug. 31.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.