The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has thrown its weight behind a new bill aimed at combating human trafficking. The Human Trafficking Awareness Training Recognition Act would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish a certification program for businesses that train their employees to recognize and respond to suspected trafficking. This certification would provide a valuable third-party validation of hotels’ efforts to prevent trafficking.
AHLA’s Interim President & CEO Kevin Carey expressed gratitude to the bill’s sponsors, Reps. David Valadao (R-Calif.) and Troy Carter (D-La.), and pledged the organization’s support in passing the legislation. “The Human Trafficking Awareness Training Recognition Act would complement our industry’s anti-trafficking efforts by providing important third-party validation for hotels’ training and prevention initiatives,” said Carey.
Under the proposed legislation, DHS would be responsible for certifying businesses that have implemented robust training programs for their employees on human trafficking awareness. These certified businesses would be allowed to publicly display their certifications, which would be issued by the Blue Campaign, an initiative within the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking that aims to raise awareness about the issue.
AHLA and its members have been actively involved in combating human trafficking for years. The No Room for Trafficking (NRFT) initiative, launched in 2019, has partnered with PACT (formerly ECPAT-USA) to provide free trafficking-prevention training to hotel employees. These training programs equip hotel staff with the knowledge and skills to identify and respond to signs of trafficking.
In addition to training, AHLA’s efforts have included providing resources for hotels on how to display human trafficking indicator signage, establish company-wide policies, coordinate with law enforcement, and share best practices. Since its inception, the NRFT initiative has reached over 1.6 million hotel employees with its training modules.
Beyond training, AHLA has also focused on supporting survivors of human trafficking through the industry’s first-ever Survivor Fund, established by the AHLA Foundation in 2022. The fund has already raised $3.7 million and the AHLA Foundation has committed to matching contributions up to $5 million, aiming for a total of $10 million.
“Through the AHLA Foundation’s No Room for Trafficking initiative, the hotel industry is united in the effort to prevent human trafficking and support survivors,” said AHLA Foundation President Anna Blue. “The collective impact of the industry can accelerate innovative human trafficking prevention efforts and upstream strategies to make a positive difference in the communities where we work and live.”
