WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV) announced a new partnership to continue the hotel industry’s long-standing efforts to raise awareness of sexual violence and provide hotel operators with new training tools and resources to educate employees on identifying and reporting sexual harassment and assault. In the coming weeks, NAESV will work with the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute to produce a 30-minute online training program to address the issue of sexual violence in the hospitality industry and offer tips to combat this issue.
“The safety and security of our employees and guests is paramount for our industry and the issue of sexual violence is one we have always taken very seriously,” said Katherine Lugar, President and CEO of AHLA. “We are excited to partner with the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence on an issue of common concern that we continue to act vigilantly to thwart and prevent while providing more training and information tailored to the hospitality business. As an industry, we are committed to ensuring hotel employers and operators have these necessary tools and resources to educate employees on guidelines and best practices to help avoid unsafe situations, protect themselves and guests from harassment, assaults or injuries, and respond to and report any kind of inappropriate behavior or misconduct. This new partnership will further augment our long-standing commitment to raise awareness and combat sexual violence across the country.”
“We all have responsibility to support survivors and prevent sexual violence, and employers are an essential part of the equation,” said NAESV President Monika Johnson Hostler. “We commend the American Hotel & Lodging Association, especially given their broad reach, for taking this proactive step and joining with us to be part of the solution.”
This new training is among many resources AHLA and its educational arm, AHLEI, have developed over the years to ensure general managers and hotel operators have the tools and information they need to educate their employees about sexual harassment and assault. Indeed, the past several years, AHLA, ECPAT-USA, and Polaris have partnered to raise awareness and combat human trafficking, and in turn, equip and empower hotel employees to respond and take action to stop such heinous crimes. Learn more at www.ahlei.org.
