The Hidden Risk
July 30 is the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. According to the United Nations, over 200,000 cases are detected each year, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. In Canada, it is a growing issue, most often with links to criminal organizations. Many victims are coerced into sex work, while others are trafficked for use as forced labour, or forced to commit crimes on behalf of the organization that trafficked them.
The Victims, the Silence, and the System
Trafficking, in all forms, is a horrific crime. Victims are vulnerable individuals who are targeted and abused. Due to its tragic nature and the horrible abuses that accompany it, it’s not something people talk easily and openly about. Traffickers exploit the shroud of silence to carry out their nefarious acts.
Hotels as Critical Touchpoints for Prevention
Hotels are sometimes exploited by traffickers as locations for their activities. They are often used to temporarily house victims. Criminal organizations force trafficked persons to carry out sex work in hotels. Trafficked persons can also be forced to work in regular hotel jobs, either directly, as a recent case in Manitoba showed, or indirectly through an agency contracted to provide hotels with cleaners, maintenance personnel or other labour.
One of the most surprising cases I have first-hand knowledge of involved a trafficked person who was employed as a front desk agent in a five-star hotel. In addition to forfeiting her salary to the traffickers, the victim was forced to defraud the hotel by entering a travel agent code into the property management system. When the fraud was discovered, the victim was fired, charged, and convicted. As is routine, the report was forwarded from the hotel to the brand owner’s headquarters. Some anomalies led the Chief Security Officer of the hotel group to start a deeper investigation. Through collaboration with the FBI and other hotel groups, the real crime was discovered. The organization’s leader received a 12-year sentence.
Criminal creativity knows no bounds. While this case was uncovered thanks to one hotel group’s persistence, much more can be done to prevent trafficking before it escalates. That’s why Canadian hotel associations are stepping up.
Industry Collaboration in Canada
Last year, the BCHA and other hotel associations in Canada announced they were working together to reduce the risk of trafficking in hotels.
In early 2025, online training programmes were launched through a partnership with Tourism Works in Alberta and Not In My City. The two courses that are available, Not in Our Hotel for Associates and Not in Our Hotel for Managers, offer basic insights into how trafficking intersects with hotels. They also provide generic indicators that can help employees learn what signals may indicate trafficking and what steps they can take to safely manage an incident that has raised their suspicions.
The free courses can be completed in about 60 – 90 minutes. Following a short test at the end, successful participants receive a certificate of completion.
Although online training is fast and free, in-person workshops have clear advantages.
Why In-Person Training Still Matters
I travelled to Tbilisi in May 2025 to conduct a series of workshops for hotel associates on behalf of UN Migration’s Georgia office. It’s important to note that the country of Georgia was not chosen because trafficking is particularly bad there. The United States classifies Georgia as a Tier 1 country which means, like Canada, it complies fully with international standards for the protection of victims of trafficking.
Similar to the online training above, the main aim of the workshops in Georgia was to raise awareness of how trafficking and hotels are often interconnected. In addition to fulfilling that aim, the workshops were designed to produce several secondary benefits for the Georgian hotel sector.
Participants at each of the nine workshops we conducted in three cities in six days were all frontline employees from the front desk, security, and housekeeping. They represented a mix of hotels. One of the exercises they completed was to work in departmental groups and develop indicator lists relevant to their department and their city.
When we reviewed the lists from the whole set of workshops, we determined that the attendees had identified nearly 100 relevant indicators. Later, the collated lists were distributed to participants for use in internal training programmes and to share with other hotels for training purposes.
Participants also followed a step-by-step scenario from check-in. At each step, from arrival to the stay itself, participants in the relevant department were asked to comment on what appropriate actions should be taken.
During a normal day’s work, employees may see indicators that raise their suspicions, but rarely do they see how all the pieces of the broader puzzle fit together.
By following the scenario and listening to the insights of their colleagues in the other departments, participants gained a more holistic view of what trafficking in hotels looks like from various vantage points and why it’s important to report their concerns.
As competitive as our industry is, there are areas where we can achieve good things through collaboration. Reducing the risk of trafficking is one of those areas where working together is far better than going it alone.
A third added benefit of in-person workshops is that by bringing together people who do similar jobs in different hotels, local networks are developed where experiences and good practices can be shared. We tasked participants to continue their collaboration with their counterparts and to work together to share lessons and good practices with other hotels in their respective cities.
Our Collective Responsibility in a Competitive Industry
Whether they are being used to house trafficked persons in transit, as places of business for trafficked sex workers, or unwittingly being exploited by contractors using trafficked labour, hotels are on the front line in the fight against trafficking in persons.
Whether we operate a single boutique hotel or manage hundreds of rooms across a city, we all have a role. It’s up to all of us to communicate, collaborate and contribute to build awareness and the capability to reduce the risk of this terrible crime in our hotels.
Resources:
https://www.canadianhumantraffickinghotline.ca
About the author
Paul Moxness is one of the world’s leading experts on hotel security. Over a 30-year career, he helped what became Radisson Hotel Group grow from 25 hotels in Scandinavia to 1500 hotels worldwide. He has contributed to many highly successful public-private partnerships, including the development of the EuroCHRIE combat human trafficking toolkit.
Contact:
Paul@alwayscare.ca