DALLAS—G6 Hospitality LLC, the parent company of Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands in the United States and Canada, recently announced a partnership to help combat human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children by signing ECPAT’s Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct (The Code).
The Code is a joint venture of the tourism and hospitality sectors and ECPAT-USA, a leader in advocacy and efforts to shape policy designed to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Built on a set of shared business principles that travel-related organizations put in place to prevent human trafficking and exploitation, The Code establishes a framework for companies to provide training, education, and collaboration with other stakeholders.
“ECPAT-USA is proud to welcome G6 Hospitality as our newest corporate partner and member of The Code,” said Michelle Guelbart, director of private sector engagement at ECPAT-USA. “As a leader in the economy lodging space, G6 Hospitality will bring an important perspective to our work to end child exploitation and sex trafficking.”
In addition to its partnership with ECPAT-USA, G6 Hospitality requires trafficking awareness and prevention training of all team members at all locations, both owned and franchised. The company also mandates human trafficking prevention training developed by the non-profit Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) and sponsored by the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA). This training teaches team members how to recognize and report human trafficking.
“When hotel employees are trained to recognize and report potential human trafficking situations, it can make all the difference in the life of someone who is being trafficked,” said Mar Brettmann, Ph.D., executive director for BEST. “Our training clearly explains the risks and indicators of human trafficking, and how hotel employees can report incidents to managers.”
The company said that its teams regularly assess properties to ensure safety and security measures are in place and training is completed and takes action, up to and including terminating contracts or closing locations, as appropriate. G6 Hospitality is also an active member of American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and its industry-wide No Room for Trafficking campaign.
“Organizations in the travel industry are often on the front lines of this deeply troubling issue. Our partnerships with ECPAT-USA and others are critically important as we come together to fight back against trafficking and exploitation in all its forms,” said Rob Palleschi, CEO of G6 Hospitality.
Members of The Code include more than 40 travel, tourism, and hospitality businesses around the world.
