Marriott is turning its hotel check-in desks into powerful tools in the global fight against human trafficking by training employees across their properties to be privy to the signs of the crime.
As of the start of this year, Marriot International has successfully trained half a million hotel workers to spot the signs of human trafficking in hotels and how to respond if they do.
“Hotels can, unfortunately, be unwilling venues for this unconscionable crime,” Marriott’s Chief Global Human Resources Officer David Rodriguez said.
“There is no easy fix but combating modern-day slavery starts with awareness.”
“And we now have a significant number of people capable of recognising suspicious behaviour and reporting it to management and, in some cases, law enforcement.”
Marriott’s Chief Global Human Resources Officer David Rodriguez
Important signs for staff to look out for include: everything being paid in cash, guests who seem to be monitoring or controlling someone or denying them access to phones and guests who insist on little or no housekeeping.
Staff are taught that while seeing one sign of trafficking may not indicate anything suspicious – seeing “a combination of indicators” might mean it’s time to raise concerns with hotel managers.
Marriott said since launching the training in 2017, it has “directly resulted in young people being removed from dangerous situations”.
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