EMPLOYEES OF ABERDEEN, South Dakota-based My Place Hotels started the new year out with training that may help them prevent human trafficking. The training will lead up to National Human Trafficking Awareness Day on Jan. 11.
Businesses Ending Slavery & Trafficking (BEST) partnered with My Place to conduct the company’s training, “My Place is No Place for Human Trafficking Week”, from Jan. 6 to 10. Another week of training focused on operations will begin Jan. 13.
My Place began its partnership with BEST in June and since then has participated in the organization’s “Inhospitable to Human Trafficking” training program. All general managers and headquarters employees have completed the training and the company is now encouraging all hotel staff to participate.
“Since announcing our brand-wide initiative to take a stand against the threat of human trafficking back in June, our hotel operators and staff remain committed to promoting awareness on the important topic, which involves recognizing the signs of human trafficking and knowing how to properly report any related situations,” said My Place Executive Vice President and General Counsel Matthew Campbell.
The training follows the “ROLES” format. The training categories include:
“Reward” focuses on Brand Loyalty.
“Outreach” focuses on Sales and Revenue Management.
“Lead” focuses on leadership training.
“Excel” focuses on Quality Assurance and trends.
“Sentiment” focuses on digital touchpoints.
Last year, groups like AAHOA and the American Hotel and Lodging Association, along with several hotel companies including Marriott International, held training and other events for National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Both associations provide regular training for preventing human trafficking, such as AHLA’s recently launched “No Room for Trafficking” campaign.