“As a child I spent a lot of time every day around a hotel. For many years. But no one was found to ask why a child was there and what he was doing for so many hours every day in that particular spot”: this testimony, of a (then minor) victim of human trafficking and human trafficking, highlights the importance they can have in identifying cases sexual or labor trafficking, the vigilance and training – around the subject – of the staff of the hotel units in all specialties.

Waitresses, cleaning staff, front desk clerks and people who work in room reservations or the kitchen, managers, all the “links” in the human resources chain in the hospitality sector can contribute to combating the phenomenon.

“The hotel training starts with the definition of what is trafficking and then presents different scenarios of what could constitute trafficking, what are the “red flags” that should prompt us to think that something is wrong and what every department could do to react in such a case”, explains Rania Deimezis, regional director of human resources Greece (Inclusive Collection) of “World of Hyatt” and speaker at the 6th conference “Tourism of Tomorrow” to APE-MPE , who organized the Tourism and Hospitality academic program of ACT – American College of Thessaloniki.

“Red flags” and “bells”

Any strange habits or unorthodox requests of hotel guests, the contents of a wastebasket or unorthodox behavior at a party or even in the parking lot of a hotel unit, can act as a “danger bell”, which will mobilize employees to take action to help victims of modern slavery break free from their traffickers.

“In the case of human trafficking, we often question ourselves, we are not sure that what we are seeing is really illegal and that is why we are sometimes hesitant to report it. However, there are some indications that may give us the reason to mobilize.

For example, when a hotel staff perceives that a person does not have freedom of movement or is under constant surveillance, appears scared, physically exhausted or “lost”, is not allowed to speak or use a telephone, they may take it as a sign that something is wrong and that he needs to be alert.

When a hotel customer requests too many towels or much more food than the number of people in a room warrants, or when he insists on having a room too far from reception or overlooking the parking lot, when of the two people staying in a double one never goes out and the other is in and out all the time, when someone books several rooms without an event or being a tour operator or when a person insists on paying large sums strictly in cash only or spends hours in a car on site parking without having a job, these are also indications,” notes Ms. Deimezi.

Traffickers are not always marked criminals

He adds that a trafficker can be anyone, even people beyond suspicion, from friends and acquaintances of the victim, to businessmen or diplomats.

“Traffickers are not always marked criminals,” he explains. The people who “recruit” victims of trafficking, whether for sexual exploitation or forced labor, are usually people related to and often trusted by the exploited people: family member or caregiver (33%), partner ( 28%) or employer (22%).

After “recruitment”, the people who take advantage of victims (not only women and children, but also young men) are again employers (43%), those who had a family relationship with the victim (26%) and intimate partners ( 22%).

Emotional abuse (28%), financial abuse (26%) and threats (23%) appear as the most frequently reported methods of violence, fraud and coercion experienced by victims.

In all of 2021, the national trafficking hotline in the US recorded more than 10,350 cases of illegal human trafficking, while more than 16,500 people were identified as potential victims. The top three forms of trafficking involved the provision of escort services (10%), pornography (8%) and the illegal provision of massage, health and beauty services (also 8%).

Hyatt announced a donation of $500,000 to the AHLA Foundation’s initiative, which supports people who have suffered human trafficking and the hospitality industry’s ongoing efforts to contribute to the fight against this criminal activity.