Sex trafficking and labor trafficking are prevalent in the tourism industry, with traffickers moving victims on various vehicles to avoid detection by law enforcement and chase big markets like major sporting events and vacation destinations. Hotels often unknowingly sell rooms to traffickers for exploitation. This report seeks to map out the intersections between human trafficking and tourism, focusing primarily on sex trafficking and labor trafficking’s presence within the tourism sector.
A new report by Human Trafficking Search maps the intersections of modern slavery and the tourism and travel sector by examining the industry’s direct and indirect connections to both sex and labor trafficking. The tourism and hospitality industry can play a large role in minimizing victimization in sex trafficking due to its size and global nature.
The World Trade and Tourism Council (WTTC) has released a report titled “Preventing Human Trafficking: An Action Framework for the Travel and Tourism Sector”, which aims to strengthen cooperation across stakeholders and share information on preventing human trafficking. Child trafficking and abuse are often operating covertly, with negative effects including environmental degradation and cultural commodification. Most sexual exploitation of trafficking victims occurs in hotels, motels, and other hospitality industry establishments.
Sex tourism is a global phenomenon, with Latin America being a trending destination for tourists looking to exploit young girls. However, sex trafficking and sex tourism are both fields that would benefit enormously from an analysis of the relationship between tourism and human rights. The reality is that sex tourism does not exist without the presence of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and girls, even in situations where tourism is a popular tourist destination.
📹 Looking back at the human trafficking crisis that shook Ontario’s tourism industry | Your Morning
It’s been one year since 43 foreign workers from Mexico were rescued from a human trafficking ring. Subscribe to Your Morning forĀ …
What are 5 risk factors of human trafficking?
The National Human Trafficking Statistics Report identifies five risk factors for human trafficking in the U. S.: recent migration, substance use, runaway/homeless youth, mental health concerns, and involvement in the child welfare system. Additional risk factors include individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness, a history of abuse or neglect, untreated mental health issues, isolated/marginalized populations, domestic workers and sex industry workers, migrants, refugees, unauthorized workers, workers in hazardous industries, families relying on remittances, and individuals from countries experiencing civil war or state-sanctioned violence.
What are the three main impacts of tourism?
Tourism impacts can be categorized into economic, social, and environmental. The UNWTO International Tourism Highlights report revealed a 1. 4 billion increase in international tourist arrivals in 2019, driven by a strong global economy, a surge in the travel-ready middle class, technological advances, and more affordable travel costs. Export earnings from tourism reached a staggering USD 1. 7 trillion, demonstrating its role as a major economic engine of growth and development.
Europe has traditionally been the region with the highest tourism dollar spending, followed by Asia and the Pacific (USD 435 billion), the Americas (USD 334 billion), Middle East (USD 73 billion), and Africa (USD 38 billion). Asia has seen the strongest growth in both arrivals and spending, while Africa experienced a +17% growth in arrivals, indicating a new interest in traveling to the continent.
How is human trafficking affecting us?
Human trafficking is a global issue that affects millions of people, undermines national security, distorts markets, and enriches transnational criminals and terrorists. It is a challenge to universal values and can be addressed through meaningful partnerships between public and private sectors and civil society. The Department of State leads global engagement in combating human trafficking and coordinates anti-trafficking efforts across the US government. The US follows the “3P” paradigm – prosecution, protection, and prevention – and employs a “4th P” – partnership – to enlist all segments of society in the fight against human trafficking.
How does tourism affect humans?
Tourism has both positive and negative effects on local health. Short-term negative effects include traffic congestion, crowding, and crime, while inbound tourism increases the spread of diseases like SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. Road accidents occur due to visitors’ lack of awareness of local rules and conditions, and alcohol-related crash rates are higher for tourists. However, positive long-term health outcomes can be attributed to positive experiences and social interactions with visitors.
Diverse social relationships lead to lower risks for morbidity and premature mortality. The diverse interactions of local people with tourists provide positive experiences that could affect physical health, suggesting that tourism development may positively influence local health in the long run through positive emotions and social interactions.
What are the 5 negative effects of tourism?
Tourism can have negative impacts on water overuse, environmental pollution, displacement of locals, carbon footprint, and ocean health. Luxury hotel guests use as much water as developing country residents do in three years, leading to scarcity for residents. To reduce waste, guests should refuse housekeeping, hang a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on doors, and opt for cotton fabrics for towels and linens.
Additionally, they should avoid using disposable items like towels and bedsheets, as they can deplete local water supplies. Lastly, tourism can encourage the displacement of locals, leaving a large carbon footprint and harming ocean health.
What country has the highest rate of human trafficking?
Human trafficking is a global issue, affecting countries like Libya, Eritrea, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey. It occurs on both domestic and global fronts, with immediate impacts being local. Victims are bought, sold, and abused within their own countries and across borders. In 2021, the International Labour Organization reported that 49. 6 million people were victims of forced labor and forced marriage, with 6. 3 million victims of forced commercial sexual exploitation. The long-term consequences of human trafficking are widespread and far-reaching.
Where is human trafficking most common in the world?
Human trafficking is a global issue, occurring in various regions, including the Arab States, Europe and Central Asia, Asia and the Pacific, Africa, and the Americas. It is a form of modern-day slavery that has both local and global impacts. Victims are often sold, sold, and abused within their own countries and across borders. In 2021, the International Labour Organization reported that 49. 6 million people were victims of forced labor and forced marriage, with 6. 3 million victims of forced commercial sexual exploitation. The immediate impact is local, but the long-term consequences are widespread and far-reaching.
How does human trafficking affect the economy?
The phenomenon of human trafficking has a considerable impact on the global economy. It results in labor shortages in source countries and additional costs for transit and destination countries. When it becomes a bargaining issue, it can potentially lead to the breakdown of trade relations.
What are two ways in which human trafficking may affect?
Human trafficking is a global issue with an estimated 2. 4 million victims worldwide. In Europe, over 140, 000 victims are trapped in violence and degradation for sexual exploitation, with up to one in seven sex workers in the region potentially enslaved into prostitution through trafficking. Victims are often misled or forced into abusive situations, with their passports often seized by traffickers, leaving them with no form of identification. In cases where trafficking occurs between countries, victims often have little or no knowledge of the local language.
Human trafficking affects nearly every country, as a point of origin, transit, or destination. Victims from at least 127 countries have been exploited in 137 states. It is a regional and domestic crime, with victims trafficked within their own country, neighboring countries, and between continents.
Sexual exploitation and forced labor are the most common forms of human trafficking detected by national authorities. In 2006, sexual exploitation accounted for an estimated 79% of all cases globally, while the remaining 21% were thought to be trafficked for forced labor or other forms of exploitation. However, these figures are not definitive and may be distorted due to the prominence and visibility of some forms of exploitation over others. More recent data shows an increase in the detection of trafficking for forced labor and other forms of exploitation.
What country has the lowest rate of human trafficking?
The countries with the lowest vulnerability to modern slavery globally are Norway, Finland, and Denmark, which have an index score of one. These stable countries have robust economies, which contribute to a relatively low risk of modern slavery. South Sudan is the most vulnerable country in the sample. To access the premium statistics, a paid Statista account is required.
How does human trafficking affect migration?
Those engaged in human trafficking exploit the lack of regular access to a destination for migration by luring victims with promises of safe travel and entry. Once victims have been recruited, they are then subjected to exploitative situations.
📹 Why Hotels Like Marriott Have A Human Trafficking Problem
Human trafficking generates about $150 billion a year globally in illegal profits. Hotels and motels are a common venue for sexĀ …
I was human trafficked. A hotel staff member did call the police, but literally nothing happened. The cops came & spoke to us victims right in front of the person trafficking us. Of course we said nothing was going on. They never spoke to us separately. We left right away & nothing happened. I finally escaped one day at night & the guy that picked me up was another human trafficker. He ended up bringing me so far. Once I was left alone, I literally called the person who had been trafficking me to come save me from another trafficker. I hid in a stairwell until he got there. Once I was able to finally escape for real, 2 of the ppl involved in trafficking me were arrested for trafficking & it brought me so much joy. They were pulled over & their victim wrote a help me message on their phone & pointed it towards the police while they were still in the car. Heroin was sometimes used to keep victims around. I’m now 33. This happened about a decade ago. If you’re a police officer, please try not to blame the victims & allow them to speak alone!
If you want hotels to be more proactive when it comes to identifying and reporting human trafficking, I suggest you look at hotels themselves and who they’re employing. They often hire undocumented workers who are hesitant to speak to the police, are exploited by their employers, and fear retribution for reporting frequent customers
As a previous manager who worked at Marriott, and 3 different Hilton brand hotels- I am very aware of how human trafficking is not on the list of concerns for these companies. How can anyone expect a business that many times knowingly “hires” trafficked housekeepers, and other back of the house staff to take the issue of human trafficking seriously? It’s those trafficked workers and guests that make the pockets of the company bigger and bigger. The whole ‘our employees receive blah blah xyz training for a whopping 60 min every 2 years’ is a completely joke. Firstly, most hotel employees don’t even stick around one year. Hotels have some of the highest turnover. And those 60 min training modules- most employees click through them on mute while on their phones. And for the ones that do pay attention, it’s just as good as them not seeing the training at all- because systemically all the other multiple hours of training over several days for all the other hotel policies and procedures quickly reminds the employee of what’s really important: the customer’s always right, and make sure to get “heads in beds.” It’s more important to make sure a paying guest doesn’t feel discriminated against or uncomfortable by the suspicions of an employee. It all comes down to doing whatever it takes to sell rooms, and effectively turning a blind eye to the precious paying customers that keep the front desk staff getting paychecks. The “training” nonsense is your typical corporate CYA protocol: do the minimum so that you can say you did your part when you become a defendant in all these lawsuits.
The stranger grab has always been the most polarizing abduction/trafficking story because it’s the most gripping but it’s also the easiest to swallow. But the reality is predators hunt in their comfort zones, and most people who are kidnapped, trafficked, and/or sexually assaulted are done so by someone they know. Someone who took advantage of their vulnerabilities, lulled you into a false sense of security so that your guard would be down when they attacked or you wouldn’t even realize what you were facing until it was already too late.
When I was 16 years I worked in a “haunted house” for Halloween. Afterwards I would catch a bus in downtown. One evening I noticed a car parked close to the bus stop with a rather young black man driving. He said “hi” to me and asked me if I wanted job. I told him “no”. He was parked at the bus stop for several evenings, and a few times he asked me if I wanted a job. A woman who also caught the same bus told me he wanted me for prostitution. He never got out of his car, nor did he threaten me, but was really nice and actually polite. It wasn’t until years later I learned that this man wanted me for trafficking.
Hotel Manager 20+ years, I have witnessed two distinct types of human trafficking; 1. Hispanic immigrants from Central America, usually taken at Mexico’s southern border while migrating north by cartels. Their daily lives can be highly conntrolled, from paying rent for living space to the cartel, to the job itself (easier jobs are reserved for immigrants from Mexico). 2. Immigrants specifically to the Indian historic caste culture, usually living at site of the hotel and presented as a distant family member. Later, after enough time, one learns they are actually lower caste members whose family has been in service to the hotel owner’s family for generations. Both examples are so wide-spread and deeply ingrained in the U.S. hotel industry, it would take a major cultural shift, or revolution, to end it.
I have a friend that works in SVU and she said that traffickers use every hotel from the motel 6 to the expensive ones. In San Diego it’s a HUGE problem. I remember when the marriot near the airport was a main place for trafficking and prostitution for obvious reasons and I think after that they really made changes.
Yup, I worked at Fairfield Inn by Marriott and we had to take training to spot human trafficking. A few towns over it happened at hotel and it was with children, it doesn’t just happen in big cities, people need to remember that in big cities they are used to and have knowledge of dangerous acts so they keep an eye out, however In more rural areas like I am, it easier to get away with stuff cause you have less witnesses, in towns near me we are a hub for criminal activity from people traveling from Denver.
“Trainings” are one of the most overrated steps to avoid human trafficking and is also costing tax payer a lot of money that is not well used. The staff can attend the training but they still do not care. In America what others do is none of your business until they mess with your pocket, so let’s do that. Strict regulations are needed (Laws that will take their money out of their pockets) let’s say: Compensation to the city if the hotel gets involved in human trafficking and gets cought for the first and second time… Monetary compensation and closing the hotel for a month if they get caught for the third time in human trafficking. With these laws you’ll see how hotels will do EVERYTHING in their power to avoid ANY attempt of human trafficking within their premises.
I worked in a few “name -brand” hotels for 10yrs. Primarily, I was at the front desk working nights as an auditor. In addition, I also worked in a few managerial positions. Not once do I recall a situation that I or any of my co-workers were suspicious of trafficking, or similar scenarios occurring and some sort of effort wasn’t made to get a better grasp on the dynamics. Following that, I don’t know of any such thing having been confirmed in the least, let alone being ignored. Now if we take into account, the area (“Cossroads of America interstate), size of hotel (225rm, full service with bar and live music weekends, plus pool and full banquet facilities). Take all the years there then go to two college-town hotels, just 3 hrs south of Chicago, en route to Indianapolis, with 98% occupancy while I was at these properties for a few years, There was never a single encounter that I saw or ever heard a whisper about in regards to any trafficking . Yet, statically, it’s simply not possible that it didn’t occur right under our roof. My point is to say, it is at least reasonable to believe that some of the accusations against the hotels could be just as unfounded as those in which employees were very much aware of the situation being dire. It’s very common for hotel staff to be equally underestimated as well as overestimated when it come down to it.
Inside hotels of all kinds, everyone from CEO down needs to make sure they are able to enforce laws inside hotels. Casinos put millions of cameras just to catch cheaters yet hotels hardly do anything and should put cameras in the hallways to make sure that police and security can catch the slavers and traffickers and put them into justice.
I used to have a neighbor, and she and her husband lived in an area with a lot of middle eastern families. She told me that the moment they found out she was pregnant with their 2nd child, literally every family they knew was trying to give them a maid, or worse yet, sell them a maid. They immediately moved up to another part of the state, where they became our neighbors. They were living in California when all this went on.
I have worked in hotels for almost a dozen years. But I still don’t understand the human trafficking system. That’s why I was surprised and the hotel where I worked was a successful hotel in its time. Maybe because my intention of working is to buy the price of living and living in just 1 day. then I don’t understand about human trafficking.
Under the Marriott umbrella of hotels are Sheraton, W, Westin, the list goes on. I worked at one in The Loop in downtown Chicago. Pretty sure there’s Shenanigans happening from time to time however most GM’s have not a clue what’s going on. For 17 years the particular hotel I worked at went through 5 GM’s. Great place to work though.
Marriott and Hilton International supervisors and managers are usually uninterested in the likelihood of human trafficking. They mostly care about “the customer experience” and will leave the customer alone for the sake of having good reviews and reporting everything under their watch was fine. I should know, about 8 years ago, I saw at the front desk an older white man excited to be there, but a trembling tanned child behind him looking around everywhere as if in a panic. When questioning where are his parents, the older man responded for him “i’m with him”. The child didn’t speak a word. Front desk agent called security discretely, only to have the manager interrupt, finish the transaction and lead the older man to the elevator. Later on I heard the manager scolding about how the hotel doesn’t need bad press and he cant go accusing a guest that already responded the question. I interrupted and told them to keep hotel security just roaming on that floor, but that didnt happen.
One of the biggest problems is immigration law. Make legal immigration more widely available and not tied to a specific employer (who can then threaten or coerce the immigrant by threatening to rescind their employment and thus their visa). These changes will make the exploitation of immigrants much less common.
It is kind of like perusal someone in your store, are they shop lifting? It would be an awful day to accuse someone of such. Well, it would be an even worse day to have the police go to a room to accuse someone of trafficking another and to find out they wouldn’t. You would lose your job or make go to jail. The police are never shy about yelling out who called and making a scene and these brands would fire you in a heart beat.
When I was a cashier for a few years, I became aware of when someone was a thief vs. a regular customer. They became easier to spot after a while. You develop a knack for spotting those folks. I suspect that it’s the same with hotel staff, but many probably turn a blind eye so as not to seem “judgmental,” assuming that the victims are willingly prostituting themselves.
What’s messed up is that I can’t trust half of what’s in this article just due to the broad terms being used. These news articles today are mostly emotion based and numbers are skewed to say one thing. I know that trafficking is a problem but these news stations tell stories how they want to today not just the full picture truth.
I work at a hotel and it’s so easy to spot when somebody is in a traffic situation for the most part but most of the people coming through the hotel are prostitutes or people coming to spend time with prostitutes. But even those people are really obvious to point out either because of the way that addressed or they try to not look suspicious and they just look suspicious. Only a few times have I had to turn people who weren’t 18 yet away because the person in the car refused to come in. We can ask the girls if they are okay and need any help but if they don’t say yes there’s nothing else we can do past that.(outside of calling the police but I mean if the guy sees me staring out the window it has car to see what it looks like it becomes pretty obviously we figured out who he was so that could also make things worse) I have asked a few ladies if they needed help and all of them always say no and we can’t do anything if they don’t need help because we don’t know their situation with some of these people I swear I’ve seen a couple of pimps. The pandemic made it worse our entire clientele has changed after the pandemic started 😐 But we do have a few policies in place to deter you can’t check in if you’re under 21 We don’t take cash or online banking cards and absolutely cannot check in without an ID. We collect all the information on your ID so they try to keep them away but some of them are pretty smart about the way they move. But even if the front desk is aware that something isn’t right we can’t we are liable for too much so we can’t make assumptions we can’t accuse anybody of anything we have to have solid evidence before we even think of calling the police because that could be a lawsuit for the company I would rather say the girl but that’s also my job on the line so the only thing we can do is just ask them if they need help and they have to ask for it.
There’s so much human trafficking out here in Tucson but I never hear or see anything happen. We have all these same hotels here in such a small town. I’ve worked in these environments in the bars and witnessed it before in the hotels. The police here don’t care. I wish someone would investigate Tucson. Thank you for your article
Abbe Horswill at (8:23) has to be the most dead energy representative that I’ve ever seen. If she’s your PR and human rights lady, you need to make a change. Besides the fact that she sounds like she’s talking with rocks in her mouth, her entire vibe is just depressing. I mean does the lady have polio? What exactly is wrong with her? She looks like somebody who absolutely hates her job so she behaves in a manner that won’t get her fired but also make Marriott look stupid. She operates in that grey area. She’s like the real life version of Eeyore.
You can enact any bill you’d like. But the DA and paw enforcement in these areas are not prosecuting. And or adhering to laws when the complaints are made. So someone needs to ensure when presented with these complaints they are prosecuted from the officer who takes the complaints,the DA who prosecutes and the judges who gives the sentences. And who’s going to audit these complaints and see how far they’ve gone, and if not prosecuted WHY?
Ok. So I used to live in and out of hotels, as a poor single mother. I’ve stayed in all types of hotels and motels. From Marriot, to motel 6 and everything in between. I’m pretty sure I’ve stayed at every brand of hotel in the US. I promise you. Every single one has a trafficking issue. Not just Marriot. Every single one does. What I also know, is that while hotels should be responsible for sounding the alarm on blatant signs of trafficking. There is absolutely no way for the front desk to measure who is going to do something nefarious to who is innocently trying to rest their head for a couple of days. If you want to focus on the worst hotels for human and drug trafficking, understand the absolute worst ones are Red Roof and Motel 6. When I stayed at Red Roof, they used to have a system, of leaving their doors cracked. The men would just know which rooms to go into by the propped doors. I could go on for hours. But just know, when your at a hotel or motel, there is without a doubt some form of illegal activity going on.
I went to Vegas for the Mayweather fight and went to visit a friend in his room and the staff discriminated against me based on how I look. My friend had to come down for them to let me in they made a copy of my ID . While other could go up by just saying the room number . I not big fan of hotel workers being able to Judge you based on your appearance and potentially deny you access to the hotel.
New World Hotel turned a blind eye. They are located in China town(downtown NYC). I ran out of that place when I saw the back door at the stairwell open so that Johns could come up. The front desk staff shrug his shoulders and I never got my money back. I reported it to police that I found as I walked away and they told me that I shouldnt be down there by myself. It was my first time in NYC so ai didnt know. As I walked away, there were men honking at me trying to see if I needed a ride away. The police offered to drive me back to the airport to get a room around there. So scary.
PUT UP A BIG SIGN IN EVERY HOTEL, MOTEL EVERYWHERE SAYING: If You Are Here Against Your Will PLEASE DO NOT BE Silent About It. WRITE it in EVERY Language! Also…Periodically announce it on speakers throughout the building. If I were a hotel operator what I’d probably do is have a policy (if I can afford extra workers) Whenever more than one person comes in for a stay I would have someone speak to each person separately in a little interview area. (Honest people always have to be inconvenience because of dishonest people). Is ID a requirement for everyone/guests? AND ASK IF PERSON is THERE AGAINST THEIR OWN WILL. If its a minor…my first question would be WHO ARE YOU HERE WITH? Speak now or FOREVER HOLD YOUR PIECE PEACE WHICHEVER ONE āā®🕊🏳. HAVE TO BE HONEST WITH OURSELVES. Don’t be a voluntary victim. And with added scrutiny I’d imagine that we better realize there could be some disgruntled potential guests…SO be prepared to INCREASE security in every possible way. Its an uphill battle but it could cut down on crime. There’s so much to be said on this topic. AND I THINK IT IS VERY UNFAIR TO JUST DECLARE THAT THE PEOPLE AT THE FRONT DESK KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON. THERE COULD BE HONEST CASES WHERE THEY DON’T KNOW.
I was a manager of a convenience store back in the late 80s/early 90s that was located across the street from a boutique hotel in NY. I used to work that job during the evening when I was going to college during the day. Anyway, I used to see mostly black men (Africans) and guys mostly from the DR or other Latin nations who would escort the girls into the hotel. They, or some of those girls, would come into the store to get drinks, snacks, condoms, hand lotion, tissues, etc. and we all knew what was going on. They rotated the girls every few weeks or so, presumably moving them to other hotels in and around NYC. Some of the girls were genuinely beautiful (although certainly not all) and they’d sometimes provide small talk while in the store, but would never come right out and ask for help, so I assumed they were agreeable to the situation they were in. I think I would handle things differently today and report this to LE…or at least I hope I would.
As someone that wanted to be an I/O psychologist & now pursuing med school – I call BULL SH*T on Marriot’s partā¦ if Marriott wanted to make a “substantial investment” in negating this issue, they’d hire 100’s of i/o & PsyD psychologist’s globally – on a full time basis – to come in and negate this issueā¦ but instead, let’s just mandate “training” to our non-qualified staff on this issue
At the end of the article and I’m still waiting on a clear definition of “Human trafficking” and a strategy that its results can be measured and not left up to the obscurity of ambiguity. Also, any measures taken cannot violate an individual’s privacy or freedom. Basically this sounds like an industry being formed by extortion hotel chains in the name of empathy.
Also as a person with a sister who independently went from being a regonal manager for marriot to a working girl working at the various hotels. She has told me a numerous occasions the things these “experts” teach these hotels are not even remotely close to how the industry works. Basically experts show up with ” false statistics” supported by the narrative that the companies dont care if they dont pay for there “training courses” then they basically give them these “warning signs” they never see because they are not accurate. When they dont see any of these signs they feel confident it works. And can say “look we take it serious” from my 3rd party upclose experience its everywhere you wouldnt even think of. It could be at the mall or the soccer mom at your sons game. Its probably going on in your gated community and youd be none the wiser.
Never experienced trafficking within the hotel co-worker group, but definitely encountered some odd men on the night-audit shift check-ins. In 2014, rural Colorado, asked a man at check-in if he had other guests with him, he became verbally combative. Red Flag. After I finished checking in angry man, saw him get into a car where another man sat with two small kids.
I know this! There’s one time I was stalked by a stranger man when I was in a club at the midnight, the man followed me to my hotel, and I asked for help from the front desk man, and he did nothing! I was so afraid that I stayed in the hotel lobby for hours. Luckily nothing happened to me, but that was so scary.
The hospitality industry thrives on trafficking and illegal immigration, especially the lower end motels and hotels. Their desire for profits by way of guests, not having to spend on compliance, desire for cheap labor, all enable this. A lot of non-management cadre workers in the hospitality industry were/are illegal who later became legal. When such people flood the U.S., small motels, AirBnBs, small businesses want to extract as much as they can from these folks by making them work long hours, in sweat shop like conditions, and paying below minimum wage. I used to work at a major hotel chain in Finance and noticed them making donations to churches and pro-immigration lobbying groups and it made me wonder why they care so much. I looked at the backgrounds, work life and pay of most of the hotel workers such as housekeepers, waiters, bussers, front desk, concierge etc. and realized why. All the glitter and the glamour at the top of the pyramid is essentially propped up by people who work like slaves and people who enable that.
Those human trafficking law doesn’t work because it protects the well-connected hotel firms, discriminating the others. Essentially, those laws help the well connected remove competition. Human trafficking is a very very lucrative business, and people will go great lengths to capitalize the market share.
Training and legislation are meant to help decrease cases of human trafficking. It is impossible to simply eliminate the crime, but if people at least are aware, it helps to save some people. Training does not suppose to teach morals to people; it provides guidelines. It depends on how much effort the person puts into learning or taking the training seriously. I can tell from experience I have to take online work training at home. Sometimes I rush the training because I want to be done with it.
If training is done by giving employees a article to watch at home, then this would probably not be effective. A lot of people are going to skip through it. So, does this really even help? I feel like it would be so much better to make it mandatory while at work. If most companies are doing it in person, great.
franchises are as guilty as those who practice human trafficking, let me explain, the hotel, not having enough staff, and having an annual budget that does not allow them to pay good salaries to those people who clean rooms, decide to hire “these employees” using job placement agencies, which send them a certain number of people to do the work, here what doesn’t make any sense is that the management pays the agency for one person between $15 to $17 dollars an hour, and the agency only pay to them $9 to $11 dollars, taking the difference as profit, in Miami 87% of the workforce that cleans rooms work through agencies and still do not have enough staff, so the root of the problem is that the hotel industry will not be willing to change this habit that has been working for decades.
Show me where the data says that Marriott isn’t just as complicit as the cheaper motels that this report mentions. Or Hilton, or any other large brand name of hotels. Saying “oh that’s a franchise, it’s not Marriott’s fault” seems like someone was paid to put the heat on competitors. That’s the risk you take when you make money off of your name, franchise or not, Marriott. What was the result of those “settled” lawsuits? It’s commonly a gag order in defense of the image of the companies involved and little accountability. I love that Google can’t immediately bring up anything but PR campaign links when you try and find the actual statistics online for what portion of the human trafficking industry actually IS the fault of larger chains.
This is a puff piece for Marriot masquerading as an exposƩ. sixty minutes of perusal a article is not going to stop a hotel manager from getting their cut if they are already on the take. Without a watchdog in place, this will continue to be a problem. And naming all the easier hotels first, just gives the traffickers the idea to shy away from Marriot. Which only solves the problem for Marriot, not the victims.
Why did it seem like the Marriott lady was loosely reciting a script that was very carefully prepared by a team of lawyers before being handed off to the marketing department so they could put their own spin on it. I feel like she was trying to get me to book a room and bragging about the fact managers get a whole hour and twenty minutes of training like once every year or so. I don’t know why but I felt a little gross listening to her talk. Like when she brought up the laws that were being passed that would hold hotels accountable for human trafficking and require them to provide their employees with training on the subject, it seemed like she was more concerned with letting us know that Marriott had already been providing some amount of training long before these laws and how awesome they are for that than she was with discussing ways Marriott and the hotel industry as a whole can expend some serious and legitimate effort to curb human trafficking as much as possible. If Marriott is so awesome and so concerned with actually making an impact, why aren’t they calling up the other hotel chains and providing them with their proven training methods, information, data they may have collected on traffickers and victims, etc.? The vibe I got from that lady, and the reason why Marriott isn’t doing any of these things I just mentioned, is that they care about helping victims of human trafficking only as much as it prevents them from being the subject of any bad press, as well as whatever ways they can mold the whole situation into some kind of marketing tool.
Maybe hotels it would help if hotels required and make copies of the state issued IDs of all guests staying in the room to run background checks with law enforcement and report anyone else they see entering the room. As for online reservations, have the IDs scanned from their phone so they can verify before hand any traffickers and any reported missing persons with law enforcement.
I manage a Marriott franchise. Marriott takes human trafficking very seriously. Everyone receives training. We’ve cooperated with the police a number of times as well. As far as paying in cash goes – many hotels no longer accept cash. We do, but this is actually somewhat rare. But honestly-it’s hard to know what’s going on all the time. We have quite a few cameras, but there are multiple entrances that a guest card can open. The thing that gets me is the ‘latch key’ kids we get at times. Parents will check in, and let their kids roam, or even leave kids unattended at the hotel while they go out for the night. When we see this, we get really aggressive to find out who the ‘responsible adult’ is. If something seems really ‘off’, or we can’t identify the custodial adult, we call the police. In regards to mobile key (no check in at the desk) – even though this is a Marriott requirement that we offer this, this is where a lot of the ‘shady’ guests are. (A LOT of corporate road warriors too). But we are not doing mobile key right now, and haven’t since 2021, due to rampant credit card fraud occurring with these check-ins. This way we also are able to physically see and check IDs of all registered guests. And check-in at the desk ensures they are on camera at check-in.
I blame HR and the corporation. If you hired more diverse staff, you would have people in place who understands subcultures and can actually be more vigilant. And shame on staff because the person has to come in the building. Stop allowing people to come in the back door. Everyone should have to come and go out the front door! They are most definitely in on it!
I always think all social media company should require having a feature on their app where any user can report their own abuse. like, an “in case of feature”. It is usually people the victim knows. This report can’t be edit or erase and not visible on the user profile. only when requested by law enforcement. This could help with any crime.
I’m sorry for all of you that trafficked right now and can’t get out 💔 even if you physically alone and may not see a way out. Keep going. There’s way too many meth heads out here with a married wife but yet have different “girlfriends” and “baby mama’s” out there that are trafficked and given drugs to keep them in a low place. So many people will fight for you, please reach out ā¹ļø .
Dr Phil had a guest that described terrible inhuman treatment to babies and children. She didn’t know her age since she had been sold by her parents even before being born. She said that she was sent to fancy hotels, specifically during a major event like SĆŗper bowl. There would be hairstylists, care takers etc in order for a steady stream of children be negotiated to peds. They could do anything they wanted to them as long as they didn’t leave Matus on them. Dr, Phil never ever updated. Sad don’t know what happened to this lady.
If you think the Marriott has problem, it’s definitely a problem that is the “cash cow” & keeping the doors open for many low- level motels and hotels in Alabama. The staff does not care what is going on because they are profiting from “side/hush money” beyond their salary… Alabama really need to clean up the motel/hotel industry because this problem is not on the radar in this area. The ones in charge know the problem cities.
Is there any reason to call out Marriott specifically in the title? This could cause unfair damage to their reputation. Aren’t news orgs supposed to be unbiased? You should also consider getting a narrator who speaks faster and doesn’t sound like they’re talking down to the audience. This should be a 7-minute article.
With the push to defund the police this problem is only going to get worse.I can see this problem rising exponentially over the next four years, maybe longer until communities are able to hire ethical police. Not to mention that 80 percent of the females that are being sold are willing participants. Only 20 percent are forced to do it.
there is a population of addicts in orbit around the hard drug dealers. the women walk the streets, making trip after trip to the same hotel room. before morning the dealer goes home and leaves the room. the women struggle to keep a room rented, and maintain their addictions. eventually they fall apart and ask someone for a “loan”. the hotel cant loan her a room, so its the dealer she owes. the women are hooked on drugs that have a withdraw. without the drug, the woman is is puking her guts out on the toilet. her life is all about not being sick when she wakes up and maintaining enough money without getting robbed to pay for her hotel, and habit. the lucky ones still have a car or a family. some of them are alone in this world.
While it is true that the majority of trafficking victims may be lured in by someone they know, there are also victims that are trafficked thru kidnapping. You say it downplays the truth to perpetuate the kidnapping aspect on social media, but it’s also highly irresponsible and dangerous to imply it doesn’t happen, even if it isn’t as common with adult victims. This causes a false sense of security that could lead to people not paying enough attention to their surroundings either for themselves or for their children, since it is safe to say nearly 100% of trafficked children is the result of kidnapping. I say nearly because there are cases of parents selling their children to traffickers.
The 60-minute training they give to staff is just recorded modules that you can skip and fast forward through. You can also get the answers easily. They need to do more. Plus, did she really state that their employees get paid for the training like it’s a benefit. The law says they have to get paid for training anyway.
Girls need to be careful around any potential boy toy or boyfriend. I was trafficked by a boyfriend. I didn’t even realize it till years later because he would drug me during normal “sleep” hours when I was already asleep. I’m not a dumb person either. Don’t ever fall asleep at anyone’s house or with anyone around you unless you have known them for years. It’s crazy
This article says close to nothing. It seems like a promotional advertisement to reassure the public that hotels are doing something. The training courses are supposed to make us feel like they care and are doing their job. I’ve been to employee training courses, and most of the time they’re a joke. I gleaned very little information from this article about how traffickers work, what signs to look for or how trafficking can be stopped. What I did hear was a lot of jargon, and canned, prepared statements designed to make the hotel industry look better.
There’s a new at least to me, realtor system called rently. You merely give your drivers license and a credit card and you have access to realtor listed properties for 1 hour. I came upon it in San Diego. Feels like an excuse to traffic homes to me. No realtor needed for the showing. $2/ per showing. Strange times.
glad to hear that SOMETHING, rather than nothing is being done. Management will still be paid off, I mean they make what 40k annual max? Why wouldn’t they take a nice bump of even 5k/month in payments from traffickers to look the other way? I mean, c’mon? Once this starts to hit the hotels’ bottom line is when we’ll start to see a difference. That needs to be the focus. Sue sue sue and report what seems fuzzy.
“We don’t make our employees clock out for the 60 minute training article we make them watch. This was an EXTREME financial investment to pay our employees what we pay them every shift to watch this article. Each employee only had an hour training, but if you add up all those hours to each other, that is, like, A LOT of time! Please congratulate us for doing the bare minimum literally every company on earth does as standard practice for corporate training!” -Marriot
They way this is manage this is so idiotic imo. If you put laws in place that allow hotels to be sued, a woman struggling to survive and trafficking to put food on the table may take a route to sue to allow her to gain something from her difficult situation or the men who take advantage of those women may try to coerce the women to sue. Since most companies pay out to avoid a lengthy court process, people will likely see it as an easy payday. Many attempts to curb the problem actually just put the women at further risk, force them to hide more, and leaving the women more susceptible to the multitude of men who may be out to take advantage of these women. Penalizing the hotels will not solve this problem. Figuring out how to solve the economic issues marginalized women have will solve this more effectively, but somehow that never happens.
*look for out if state places and dark tinting when cars approach you. Teach your children. These maniacs travel in groups. They sometimes come at you in several directions. Be careful. Keep at least one ear listening for sounds around you. Stop them by being smart and prepared. Teach you families to do the same
Nakia is right. There are times that traffickers will hire middle men and apply for employment to work as Auditors in the nightshift so they can register them w/o the presence of an identification. I am in the hotel industry and we are curbing drug pushers as best as we can. The problem is that sometimes drug pushers would have associates reserve rooms for them due to circumstances that they are banned.
As an adult its clearly apparent that all hotels are hubs for drug addicts and prostitutes no matter where it is or what the price per night. From the Ritz Carlton to La Quinta and everywhere in between Its everywhere in CA. Significantly worse near Airports and freeways. Ive traveled all of CA for work and liesure and I cant think of one place where it wasnt obvious what was going on. Hotels and Motels are not the family friendly atmosphere for travelers they once seemed to be. Today even the most upscale hotels in CA have a clear view of a drug addict tent city just outside the parking lot if nothing else. Today the cost of a hotel in CA with what I consider to be a family friendly atmosphere and quality surroundings are few and will cost upwards of $450.00 per night. In my opinion a vacationing family will have a far better experience at a national park,state beach, or national forest campground than any hotel in CA. And for far less money.
Have to check all hotels, day cares, cruises, boats, concerts, hospitals, churches and everywhere could be anywhere or anyone. Personally never saw Marriott’s doing such things God forbids our children see this in vacations could be traumatizing how corrupted U.S.A has become for greed. Human traffickers use an American Id’s for many people of all ages as one mule explained that talked like a parrot never shy neither the others using same id, how they move and all are happy to be in USA will not care they are commiting crimes as long they are comfortable is always attach to organization crime and corruption in authorities levels they care sending money home to their parasitic families and return in years rich in their mind living such poor levels. They don’t go schools or get any education in anyway to avoid detection and use false Id for doctors and other needs, is scary and frustrating paying credit cards someone else used getting in America thru those websites using id no where to find them. Don’t confuse domestic violence or controlling partner or protective parent with human trafficking that can lead to false accusations. They say those people ask someone wants to go U.S.A? As in movies for God sakes…They sign in and leave willingly to do anything for money is not always kidnapping or coercion with adults. Is all after the money desperate to help their parasitic families. Is very complex and heart breaking.
Marriott is the nucleus and it started at the Century Blvd location in Los Angeles, California. The staff will take you money at checkin and then have security put you out I have had physical altercations with security and staff. Someone used my name to work their and was working when I checked in. They’re dealing drugs while their, no matter if they’re checked in or not. Human trafficking is notorious there.
I worked at a prominent Atlanta hotel during the Superbowl here in Atlanta back in the day….wayyy back in the day and I saw firsthand how much of this was going on. In my naivete at the time I did not associate that name to it- we called them high-end prostitutes and baby- they were in the house. I will never forget assisting this absolutely Gorgeous redheaded chick up to our concierge floors. She was Beautiful..!! I used to hang out up there because of the goodt goodt food and wine and I was super chill with the crew up there. But yes, this is not new and even though I was in uniform- I was propositioned soooo much it was beyond the pale. Each proposition left me clutching my Pearls in horror…one dude even tried to lock me in his room…had to call Security on him😳🥴 so yeah, ..I used to Love my lil job there but Life and Growth happen and that was 20+ years ago.
Adding trained armed security guards preferably former law enforcement, creating regulations so that every single person in the hotel is accounted for & you can’t just walk in and out without going to the front desk and providing ID, there are people working at hotel front desks 24 hours a day with reports on ALL guests at every shift change, there should be no reason for human trafficking at hotels but it’s a big business for the oligarchy
Because hotels shouldn’t let anyone without ID.. but, based on my experience- from air bnb, cheap, average to expensive hotels- they only ask for one ID (which they should be asking ID’s of all people who enters the hotel whether be it a kid or not) .. the ID should include their address, age, name.. and they need to keep a copy of this info, there should be a data base where – other hotels are connected also the authorities will be given access to- if necessary or requested.. in other country each hotels have their own security team, if something is suspicious- it should be reported. Face scanning would help coz’ we can keep track of each person involved.
Maybe if every job was a living local commute there would be less human trafficking. This is the federal minimum wage act “not a transient wage” . This means every job results in enough income to qualify for a lease of the one bedroom apartment local commute. The landlords rightfully expect 4 times the rent as enough income to qualify for the lease. This is the normal legal minimum wage 4 times the rent for one bedroom apartment local commute under the federal minimum wage act. The local police and welfare departments rightfully enforce the minimum wage act and advertise the local minimum wage act area. What mass media outlet supports a living wage in every job in every city??
so much can be done to reach out to those who cannot reach out for help. Put up billboards that just say hey if you are a trafficking victim do this that or the other something that is easy for them to do without worrying about being found out and getting repercussions. Post flyers put ads for help in convenience stores. Think of all the places of trafficking victim would come across and leave a resource there for them. These police are doing cat and mouse chases and like everybody knows mice are sneaky and they can duck and dodge a cat every time until the cat gets smart.
The next big town over near my home town was on a main/major route to the big cities so had a lot of businessmen, up till the 2008 recession 2 hotels which were right next to the train station in that town were very snooty as were always busy and then lost so much custom they ended up with a different type of custom, as in rooms rented out to people who never stayed the night and had multiple different men for a hour or two but it was so well known in the area that they had no real hotel guests and one of them closed about 4 years ago for good, the other partially recovered and became run down and more for party goers as it was right in the nightlife part of town so wanted a cheap place to crash out and didn’t care about state of the building, shame as both were very old buildings that were the pride of town just a few decades ago and victorian architecture.