Seattle Hotel Association Launches Anti-Human Trafficking Game Plan Campaign

BEST is delighted to be partnering with the Seattle Hotel Association (SHA) on its Anti-Human Trafficking Game Plan campaign, launched yesterday in recognition of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month! The aim of this campaign is to motivate business leaders across the Puget Sound region—and around the U.S.— to start preparing now to prevent human trafficking before, during, and long after the international soccer matches that will take place in Seattle and 15 other cities across North America this summer.  

Preparation is essential, because any publicly-accessible business in a host city could be targeted by human traffickers looking for premises where they can conduct their exploitative crime.

The idea for this campaign emerged through brainstorming conversations between SHA and BEST last fall about how the SHA could spark protective action against human trafficking to strengthen businesses and communities around the region. SHA leaders noted that although most hotel leaders are very aware of the detrimental impacts of human trafficking on their industry and equip their staff to recognize and respond to indicators of human trafficking, human traffickers abuse many other types of legitimate businesses as well. BEST confirmed that based on our experience, hospitality leads most other industries in the efforts it makes to prevent and counter human trafficking. This is mainly accomplished by training employees in every area of hospitality-- from those who clean hotel rooms to senior management. Such efforts are less prevalent in most other industries. The SHA decided to invest in the development of a message campaign addressed to the leaders of other types of businesses.  

“Hotels cannot stop human trafficking alone,” said Whitney Brown, General Manager of W Hotels and a member of SHA’s board, “we need the other businesses we work with to be proactive alongside us. We hope this campaign encourage the leaders of other kinds of tourism-impacted businesses to develop human trafficking prevention strategies that include training their front-facing staff to recognize indicators of human trafficking and respond promptly and effectively.”

The Anti-Human Trafficking Game Plan campaign that launched today will run for the rest of January and into February. The core of the campaign is an eye-catching sign, sponsored by the SHA and designed to prompt readers to contact BEST to learn how their business can counter human trafficking.  

A QR code on the sign points viewers to https://www.bestalliance.org/sportingevents. The sign will be displayed on Seattle Metro buses and Sound Transit light rail trains for several weeks this month and next, thanks to SHA’s partnership with Intersection. In addition, SHA member hotels have been invited to display the sign in their properties

Moreover, the SHA would love to multiply its impact by having other hotel associations and tourism boards across the U.S. distribute this sign! Any interested hotel association or tourism board can simply contact BEST to request that the name of their association/board be added below the SHA in the “Brought to you by...” section, in order to join the campaign and distribute the sign in their own region.  

The SHA has demonstrated creative and strategic leadership by initiating this campaign to spread the word that every type of public-facing business is vulnerable to human traffickers—and that prevention is possible. Together we can drive traffickers out of business!

To see the SHA’s campaign announcement, click here.  

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