www.calodging.com November + December 2024 13 COMMUNITY “Human smuggling is moving somebody across the border with their consent, and that’s a crime against the nation state,” Foot said. “Human trafficking is a crime against individual human rights.” For years, with the help of organizations like BEST, hotels have been training their staff to recognize the signs of human trafficking. BEST offers an “Inhospitable to Human Trafficking” training in English and Spanish, which addresses both labor and sex trafficking. It uses stories from survivors of human trafficking to illustrate the ways that force, fraud and coercion show up in both sex trafficking and labor trafficking as it relates to the hotel industry. This kind of in-depth training, Foot said, equips a wide range of hotel staff with the tools and resources they need to recognize the signs of trafficking and report it effectively. To put these lessons into action, the safety team at Balboa Bay Resort empowers staff to report suspicious activities using the “See Something, Say Something” approach. They conduct monthly safety committee meetings and provide regular training on human trafficking and other safety issues for all staff. “The actual security staff at most properties is usually just a small percentage of the overall staff, so we really rely on all employees to be our eyes and ears,” McDougall said. “We try to establish a visible presence at all our main entrances, so when people are checking in and out, we see everyone who is coming on and off our property,” he added. Hotels are also encouraging ongoing dialogue between employees on the topic and creating zero tolerance policies. “It’s important to create a culture within an organization that actually encourages their staff to take the risk of reporting suspicious behavior and have confidence that they’re going to be believed and supported,” Foot said. But hoteliers know that just training isn’t enough; they need a support network to help make a difference. “We can’t do it on our own,” McDougall emphasized. “We need help from law enforcement and organizations like CHLA and other hotels to help us grow, stay ahead of trends, and help us see what we don’t know.” McDougall runs the Orange County Security Network, a group of more than three dozen security managers and directors that collaborate and share safety resources and information with each other. “It really allows us to kind of tackle this together as a whole team,” he said. McDougall and the Security Network host bi-monthly meetings. Hotels are also working with local groups in their communities to address safety issues. Balboa Bay Resort has close relationships with the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, along with the local fire and police departments, which has allowed them to collaborate on safety prevention efforts and establish a wide communication net where parties can share resources. Foot, who has been researching antitrafficking efforts for more than a decade, said she has seen tremendous shifts in the hotel industry when it comes to taking proactive safety and training measures. “Over the years, I’ve seen hotels go from leadership saying, ‘Oh, we don’t want to be associated with that term human trafficking,’ to recognizing the need to address both labor and sex trafficking proactively,” she said. “That’s really encouraging to me.” The hospitality industry is continually evolving, and with it grows its responsibility to help tackle our most pressing social issues. Hotels have always been and will always be integral parts of communities across the world and are setting standards of safety and accountability that have ripple effects across all industries.
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