12 CALIFORNIA LODGING NEWS www.calodging.com COMMUNITY activity that is compelled through force, fraud, coercion, or engaging a minor in a commercial sex act. This can take many forms, notes Kirsten Foot, Ph.D., CEO & Executive Director for Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST), a nonprofit group that trains businesses and their staff on recognizing and addressing these crimes. It can range from a victim being restrained physically and forced to do something, to a victim who is coerced into some action through manipulation and lies. “If hotel staff hear ‘human trafficking’ and only think of sex trafficking, they may miss victims in their midst,” Foot said. “There is no bright line between these things, so we need to be aware of and address them all together. Otherwise, we miss it.” Human trafficking is also often confused with human smuggling. CALIFORNIA HOTELS AT THE FRONTLINE of Social Responsibility and Community Safety Traffickers often take advantage of legitimate businesses like hotels to unwittingly abet their activities—whether it is to house their victims where they can be prevented from leaving or to force them to seek employment at the hotel and then turn over their earnings. An increasing number of hotels are responding to these practices by implementing proactive measures to ferret out traffickers, which also helps to ensure the safety of their guests and employees. “If it’s not us, then who?” asked Nate McDougall, Director of Security at Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach. “If we weren’t there, victims could just be one in a million in a crowd, but they’re going to walk past us at our front doors, and so we get a chance to interact with them.” Federal law defines human trafficking as any act of labor or commercial sexual Travelers from every background and corner of the world pass through California hotel lobbies every day. Lodging staff are among the first people to welcome these travelers to a new city—and often have the first significant opportunity to observe if something seems “off.” In many cases, the reason is related to the crime of human trafficking. With California’s hotels at the crossroads of global travel, hospitality staff—from front desk and security to housekeeping and engineering—are in a unique position to spot, report, and help stop human trafficking. Not only does taking that responsibility seriously have the potential to save lives, it also resonates with the majority of travelers today who choose to do business with companies that align with their values around issues like human rights.
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