The hotel industry is huge in the USA thanks to a large number of tourists visiting the country every year. Besides the tourists, many locals like to visit a hotel frequently as a part of their domestic travel or simply to unwind.
According to IBISWorld, the US hotels and motels industry was worth $231.1bn in 2023. It increased by 7.7% in 2023 but has been showing a decline of 0.7% per year since 2018.
While a lot of people go to a hotel to enjoy and relax, criminals use it as a base for activities like human trafficking. In recent years, the hospitality industry has come under increased scrutiny for its role in human trafficking cases.
As awareness of this issue grows, legal actions against hotels are intensifying, raising questions about responsibility, oversight, and the need for systemic changes.
The Scope of the Problem
As defined by Homeland Security, the use of coercion, deception, or force to obtain commercial sex acts or labor is known as human trafficking. Millions of men, women, and children are trafficked globally each year. It may happen in every community, and victims can be of any age, country, race, or gender. To get victims into circumstances where they are trafficked, traffickers may employ the following strategies:
- Violence
- Phony claims of high-paying positions
- Deception
- Romantic partnerships
Due to their transient nature, hotels are frequently considered ideal places for human traffickers and have, therefore, been a focus of judicial action. Traffickers frequently detain and take advantage of victims in hotel rooms, sometimes for weeks or months at a time. Now, survivors are coming forward and suing large hotel chains, alleging that employees ignored suspicious activity or were even involved in certain cases.
The passage of legislation like the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) has contributed to the increase in lawsuits. The act was enacted in 2000 and has been updated several times since then, including in 2003, 2005, 2008, and more.
Due to this law, victims can sue companies that intentionally profit from human trafficking for damages. As a result, hotels are being identified as defendants in an increasing number of cases that are appearing in courts around the nation.
Allegations Against Hotels
Hotel employees are accused in several cases brought by victims of human trafficking of failing to disclose obvious symptoms of trafficking. These indicators include long-term visitors paying with cash, a lot of foot movement entering and leaving the rooms, regular requests for clean towels, etc. Some survivors claim that hotel staff ignored these warning signs or did nothing to notify the authorities.
Plaintiffs in a number of well-known instances contend that hotel companies allowed traffickers to operate unhindered by their preference for money over safety. Additionally, hotel management is accused in certain instances of providing insufficient training to staff members to identify warning indications of human trafficking.
There have been many allegations made against hotels and hotel chains over the past several years by the victims or their families. According to TorHoerman Law, one of the recent settlements has been announced in favor of a victim. The victim alleged that a Days Inn hotel in Northeast Philadelphia was used as a hub for her trafficking. She was groomed into sex by her foster parent’s son, and the security personnel at the hotel were complicit.
The plaintiff will receive $9.3 million as compensation from the foster care agency and Days Inn Hotel. The hotel chain agreed to pay $24 million to seven other victims who filed a lawsuit.
Thus, if you face any such issue, you can also file a lawsuit against hotels for human trafficking. The good news is that federal law generally permits filing a civil case up to ten years from the last claimed act of trafficking. However, this time limit may be extended if the victim was underage at the time of the acts.
The Role of Hospitality Chains
A large number of the cases are not specific to any one hotel. Allegations have been made against large hotel chains, including luxury and economy brands, for not putting company-wide procedures in place to stop human trafficking. According to the legal reasoning behind these instances, a business may be held accountable if it gets financial gain from trafficking operations.
It is not being argued that hotel management or owners intentionally take part in human trafficking. Instead, the focus of the allegation is on how carelessness or inactivity allows traffickers to take advantage of hotel assets.
Legal experts point out that there is an increasing expectation that hotels should put in place protections to assist in detecting and halting trafficking. In many legal situations, failing to do so has turned into a major issue of controversy.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are staff members at hotels supposed to recognize human trafficking?
Hotel staff members are frequently educated to spot particular indicators of human trafficking. These might include visitors who avoid making eye contact, seem scared or uneasy, carry few personal items, or exhibit a lack of self-expression. Additional telltale signs include guests checking in without identification, many persons arriving and departing from a room, and frequent requests for new towels.
If hotels are unaware that someone is trafficking them, are they still liable?
Sure, even if a hotel had no idea that human trafficking was taking place on its property, it might still be sued. Legal theories frequently center on carelessness or a refusal to take action when there are clear indications of human trafficking. The hotel may be held accountable if it can be shown that they had a reasonable expectation of knowing about the unlawful activities.
What part does regulation from the government play in stopping human trafficking in hotels?
In an effort to combat human trafficking, local, state, and federal governments have begun collaborating more closely with hotels. A few states have enacted legislation mandating that hotel staff receive training on identifying human trafficking and notifying law enforcement. Hotels are being forced to enact stricter anti-trafficking policies due to this legislation and heightened legal action.
The hotel sector is being forced to face its part in human trafficking as a result of the rise in cases. There is growing pressure on hotels to do more to shield those in need and stop human trafficking.
These legal procedures provide a route to justice and healing for the impacted parties. Meanwhile, the hospitality sector needs to change and implement more robust security measures to ensure that traffickers can’t operate on their premises with impunity.