With a new campaign, the hotel industry is getting tough on human trafficking—and making sure its members are properly armed with the tools to fight it.

The American Hotel & Lodging Association’s new No Room for Trafficking campaign, announced last week, aims to build upon existing work AHLA and member hotels have done to fight the practice, including the training of thousands of employees—training that predates the campaign and will grow as the campaign evolves.

“No Room for Trafficking sends a loud and clear message: we will not tolerate human trafficking in the hotel industry,” AHLA President and CEO Chip Rogers said in a news release. “Thanks to our dedicated associates, our industry already has a strong record of combating trafficking and supporting survivors. There is still much more to do, and our commitment to training and education will continue to make a difference.”

In a video announcing the campaign, Rogers added, “Make no mistake. Human trafficking is modern day slavery.”

The association will build the campaign around four basic ideas: to elevate awareness of the issue, to assess existing protocols and procedures, to educate employees and teams on strategies to disrupt and report on suspected human trafficking, and to support the campaign through partnerships with law enforcement and nonprofits.

Already, the campaign has launched partnerships with organizations such as Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking, ECPAT-USA, the D.C. Rape Crisis Center, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Polaris, SafeHouse Project, and others.

Other specific resources the association plans to offer its members include action plan resources, a policy template for anti-trafficking measures, and a member resources guide. AHLA will also put on a series of events with the Asian American Hotel Owners Association ahead of January’s Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

To help build momentum for the campaign, AHLA will designate the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, a United Nations-supported event, as a day of action for the association.

“By participating in World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, you send a clear message that our industry is unified and committed to playing an instrumental role in helping to end the scourge of trafficking,” AHLA said in a toolkit [PDF].

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