The start of the New Year means renewed goals and ambitions, annual training and employee reviews, and of course the beginning of a new calendar (hopefully one full of city-wide events). Our Houston-area members are gearing up for a pretty big football game in February, and the influx of hundreds of thousands of visitors that accompany it. This is a good opportunity to revisit an unpleasant topic:  human trafficking.

We all have a duty to ensure our employees are trained to recognize signs of human trafficking at our properties. All hotel employees have a role to play in this:  front desk staff, bellmen, housekeepers, the general manager, maintenance engineers, room service servers, and even valet employees can play a part in preventing human trafficking from occurring.  

We encourage you to revisit training your staff on recognizing human trafficking in your next monthly staff meeting.  Several resources are available.  

First, the Federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has a toolkit available for download specific to the lodging industry.  This toolkit is free to use, and contains basic information for all staff members on human trafficking education.  

Additionally, American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Educational Foundation has an online training program available for purchase.  If you have hotel brand affiliation, you may be able to get access to this program at no cost.

Finally, THLA is here to help.  If you need assistance with training on human trafficking, THLA can arrange to have an agency come assist in educating your team.  Simply call us at 512-474-2996 or email us at news@texaslodging.com.