Hotels Become Inhospitable to Human Trafficking

To date, BEST has provided Inhospitable to Trafficking training for over 700 people at over 100 different hotels in the region. At one training, a general manager told this story:

“After the BEST training last year, one of our housekeepers identified a victim and we called law enforcement. While officers were inside the hotel, I walked outside to speak with the victim, who was sitting on a curb, head down on her knees. Her blond hair hung down her legs. I asked her, ‘Is there anything I can do to help you?’ She looked up at me and I was taken aback…she was so young—only 16 or 17. She should never have been there. She should never have been sitting on my curb.”

The manager continued by saying his staff had identified at least four incidents since the BEST training last year. He encouraged the staff to listen carefully to the training because they could make a difference in the lives of victims like this young woman, who was able to access services.

​BEST is currently producing a training video of for hotel staff and it will be completed by January 2016. The video will explain the ugly truth of trafficking and plainly describe Washington laws and concrete steps on how frontline staff can personally make a difference in the lives of children and adults who are exploited every day. No such training video on human trafficking exists for Washington hoteliers, and the video will be a cost efficient way for BEST to educate hotel managers and staff.

To increase the identification and prevention of trafficking in hotels, donate to support BEST in 2016.