human trafficking
Marriott International Launches HotelHelp Pilot to Provide Short-Term Emergency Stays for Human Trafficking Survivors
Marriott International | July 31, 2024
At the AHLA Foundation’s third annual No Room for Trafficking (NRFT) Summit in connection with World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, Marriott International, Inc. announced the pilot launch of HotelHelp, a rooms donation program for survivors of human trafficking. HotelHelp currently works with Marriott’s portfolio of hotels that are willing to donate short-term emergency stays and established care providers who book these rooms for the survivors they support. HotelHelp is being piloted in five U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Detroit, Phoenix, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., and is expected to expand to 25 cities across North America...
AHLA Foundation Announces 2024 – 2025 No Room for Trafficking Survivor Fund Grantees
AHLA Foundation | July 31, 2024
$1M awarded across eight community-based organizations Washington, D.C. (July 31, 2024) – Today, AHLA Foundation announced the 2024 – 2025 No Room for Trafficking (NRFT) Survivor Fund grantees, eight community-based organizations that provide services and resources to help support human trafficking survivors on their path forward. This year’s Survivor Fund grantees were announced at the third annual NRFT Summit, hosted on United Nation’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, a global campaign urging accelerated action to end child trafficking. “The No Room for Trafficking Survivor Fund is a first for our industry, and alre...
AHLA Commends House Vote to Reauthorize Trafficking Victims Protection Act
AHLA | February 16, 2024
WASHINGTON (Feb. 16, 2024) – After the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation from Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., to reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act for five years, American Hotel & Lodging Association President & CEO Chip Rogers released the following statement: “The hotel industry is united behind preventing human trafficking and helping survivors, and AHLA applauds House lawmakers for this bipartisan vote to extend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act,” said AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers. “The bill provides vital funding for trafficking prevention and awareness efforts as well as housing...
What’s the Buzz Among Today’s Hoteliers?
Mike Gray | September 12, 2023
By Mike Gray What’s on the minds of hoteliers? What’s keeping them up at night? And what makes travelers happy and eager to return? Some of the best places to have these candid discussions are at the industry’s conferences and events, and this year’s lineup has not disappointed. From AAHOACON and BITAC, to HITEC and The Hospitality Show, I’ve been traveling steadily, attending 13 events since January. Yes, the meetings business is growing, up 30% this year. Additionally, eight out of 10 business travelers expect to take trips to events in the next six months. It’s great to be on the road catching up with industry colleagues ...
More Than One Million Anti-Human Trafficking Trainings Completed by Hotel Industry Employees
AHLA Foundation | August 10, 2023
The trainings, funded by the AHLA Foundation, are part of an ongoing industry-wide initiative to combat human trafficking WASHINGTON, DC (August 10, 2023) – The AHLA Foundation proudly announced today that Foundation-funded human trafficking awareness trainings have been completed more than one million times by hotel employees across the industry. Developed by Marriott International and administered by PACT (previously known as ECPAT-USA), the trainings are part of an industry-wide initiative to help hotel employees recognize and report signs of potential on-property human trafficking. The hospitality industry is uniquely positioned to dis...
AAHOA Backs Best Practices, Enhanced Reporting Requirements to End Human Trafficking
AAHOA | August 1, 2023
ATLANTA, Ga., August 1, 2023 – Hotels and motels are on the front lines of preventing and intercepting human sex and labor trafficking. AAHOA (Asian American Hotel Owners Association), the largest hotel owners association in the world, has been working with its 20,000 members to promote awareness and prevention strategies for trafficking. “As the owners of 34,000 hotels around the country, AAHOA Members are playing a huge role in preventing the scourge of human trafficking,” said AAHOA President & CEO Laura Lee Blake. “With estimates of tens of thousands of individuals being trafficked here in the U.S., including under-aged m...
The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation and Marriott International Join Together to Grow the AHLA Foundation’s Survivor Fund
Marriott International, Inc. | June 29, 2023
The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation and Marriott International announced a $550,000 combined contribution to support the AHLA Foundation’s No Room for Trafficking (NRFT) Survivor Fund, as part of the hotel industry’s longstanding, united commitment to combat human trafficking. This contribution increases the NRFT Survivor Fund to $3.4 million since its launch less than a year ago and will be used for grants to community-based organizations that provide financial support and stability to human trafficking survivors. “Human trafficking is a profound violation of human rights and fundamentally contradicts the core values tha...
Polaris and IHG Hotels & Resorts Host Anti-Human Trafficking Forum to Reveal Insights From Survivor Study
IHG Hotels & Resorts | February 23, 2023
ATLANTA (Feb. 23, 2023) – IHG Hotels & Resorts and its partner Polaris, a leading organization in the fight against human trafficking, hosted a forum in Atlanta, Ga. on Wednesday, February 22 to unveil findings from Polaris’ National Survivor Study (NSS). Survivors of human trafficking shared insights on the conditions that make people vulnerable to trafficking and the barriers to rebuilding their lives. Elected officials and executives from Atlanta’s top companies also discussed what the State of Georgia and the business community are doing to help to support survivors and stop human trafficking. The NSS is a scientifically...
