Human trafficking – the abominable business of stealing freedom for profit, is a multi-billion dollar criminal industry that denies freedom to approximately 24.9 million people around the world. Shockingly, hotels are the averse scenes for this unethical unlawful activity.
In a recent development, Marriott International takes the credit for successfully training 500,000 hotel workers to recognize the signs of human trafficking and how to react against this multinational crime.
As said by Arne Sorenson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Marriott International, “Being a horrific form of modern slavery, ‘human trafficking’ pins down millions of people around the world. By empowering and educating our global workforce to readily inform about it if they see something, we are not just standing with the most vulnerable in society, but also protecting associates and guests as well as living up to a core company value — serving the world.”
Marriott started the awareness programme in January 2017, under its social impact platform, “Serve 360: Doing Good in Every Direction.” The hospitality company made the training program mandatory for all its on-property staffs of both operated and franchised properties. Hundreds and thousands of associates have welcomed the move and stepped forward to understand and stop the exploitation.
As stated by Dr. David Rodriguez, Marriott International’s Chief Global Human Resources Officer, “Unfortunately, hotels can be easy venues for this unconscionable crime.Since Marriott as a global hotel company that cares about human rights, we take pride for training hotel workers across the Marriott system to spot the signs.”
The training sessions have resulted positively and young people are being rescued from dangerous situations.
Marriott spent nearly a year working in this direction, joining hand with ECPAT-USA and Polaris – two leading non-profits that specialize in combating human trafficking. The company arranged the training program in English along with 16 other languages, so it can be accessed and understood in the 130 countries and territories where the company operates. Marriott also made it sure that it could be taken either online or in a classroom setting.
According to The International Labor Organization, more than 40 million people are subjected to this modern slavery worldwide. And as per UNICEF, about 25 percent of global trafficking involves children. Polaris, that runs the National Human Trafficking Hotline in the US, estimates there are hundreds of thousands of sex and forced-labor trafficking victims in the United States. Encompassing the society categorically it definitely throws challenges to abolitionism.
Everyone can trace out such cases being alert to some of the suspicious behaviours. As shared by Marriott with its staffs, the signs can be –
- Many people seen being escorted one at a time to a guest room
- Seemingly disoriented persons or who can’t speak freely.
- Guests who opt for little or no housekeeping
- Less luggage and clothing
Beside the hotel staffs, the guests of the hotel also can learn the signs. Guests who suspect trafficking, are supposed to alert the hotel management or security, dial 911 or their local emergency number to avoid such inconveniences.
