BETHESDA, MD.—With the United Nations General Assembly recognition of Human Rights Day on December 10, 2022, Marriott International announced it has successfully trained one million associates to spot the signs of and respond to human trafficking. This marks a significant moment in the global fight against trafficking.
Marriott International first introduced human trafficking awareness training in 2016 and rolled out enhanced training in 2021. Designed in collaboration with Polaris, a leading nonprofit that specializes in combating human trafficking and helping survivors of trafficking, the training features scenario-based examples to help hotel associates recognize the signs of trafficking in real-world context and provides response guidance for managers.
“I could not be prouder of our one million associates who completed their training—they truly are one in a million,” said Anthony Capuano, CEO, Marriott International. “While it is heart-wrenching to hear stories of human trafficking, Marriott is empowering associates across the globe to learn the signs, act quickly, and help combat these horrible crimes. Today is an important milestone along our journey to train all on-property associates by 2025. It takes just one associate to stop a trafficking situation and we are pleased to have donated the training to the broader industry to expand the impact.”
Training Made Available Outside Marriott
The training extends beyond Marriott International’s portfolio of hotels. With the support of the American Hotel and Lodging Association Foundation, Marriott International continues to make the training available to the hospitality industry and beyond via ECPAT-USA.
The latest estimates from the International Labor Organization indicate that 28 million people are trafficked each year globally. The number of trafficked people has risen significantly in the last five years. Ten million more people were involved in trafficking situations in 2021 compared to 2016 global estimates, and women and children remain disproportionately vulnerable.
To hear firsthand accounts about the company’s training in action, check out Marriott International’s YouTube page. The online training can be taken for free at https://www.ecpatusa.org/hotel-training.To learn more about Marriott International’s work to combat human trafficking globally visit Welcome All and Advance Human Rights I Marriott International Serve360.
