Chicago hotel workers receive training on spotting signs of human trafficking
As National Human Trafficking Prevention Month in January came to a close, more than 100 hotel employees met Downtown on Friday to take part in a training to ways to prevent human trafficking.
The Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association and American Hotel & Lodging Association hosted the seminar at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk. A range of Chicago-area hotel employees, from housekeepers to general managers, attended.
“Life-saving human trafficking prevention relies on strong coordination between state and local law enforcement and the private sector,” Illinois Attorney Gen. Kwame Raoul, who spoke at the event, said in a news release.
Kwame Raoul, Illinois attorney general, spoke at Friday’s training for hotel employees on spotting evidence of human trafficking. “Life-saving human trafficking prevention relies on strong coordination between state and local law enforcement and the private sector,” Raoul said.
Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association/ Provided
“The hotel industry’s leadership in ensuring employees have the tools they need to recognize and properly report suspicious activity continues to strengthen our collective ability to identify human trafficking, hold traffickers accountable and support survivors across Illinois,” Raoul said.
Hotel employees are often among the first to notice warning signs of human trafficking, whether for labor, sex or other illicit activity. “Regular, comprehensive training gives them the tools and confidence to act safely and responsibly,” the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association said.
“With this training, hotel employees will be empowered to identify human trafficking and stand on the front lines of efforts to build a safer city. The city of Chicago is aligned in this effort,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a news release.
Michael Jacobson, chief executive of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association, said some warning signs of trafficking could include paying for hotel rooms in cash and not being dressed appropriately for the weather, such as a lack of warm clothing in winter.
Another warning sign could be a man holding a female companion’s purse and cellphone and answering questions for her. Training includes what to do if an employee suspects trafficking, such as contacting the National Human Trafficking Hotline or law enforcement agencies.
More than 27 million people worldwide are trafficked, Jacobson said, citing International Labour Organization data. Training hotel employees to prevent trafficking is the “right thing to do. It is such a terrible crime and we wanted to do everything we could to put an end to it.”
Chicago has multiple rail lines and interstate highways and could be a crossroads for human trafficking, Jacobson said. Big events also give rise to increased human trafficking. The 2026 FIFA World Cup in Kansas City, Missouri, this summer could be prime opportunity for illicit activity, with criminals potentially traveling through Chicago.
In 2019, the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association worked with lawmakers and law enforcement to enact the Human Trafficking Recognition Training Act. The law standardized best practices that many hotels had already adopted and required employees to complete trafficking prevention training every two years.
Before 2019, all major hotel brands had adopted training to prevent human trafficking, Jacobson said. The law expanded training to smaller and independent hotel brands.
Through the American Hotel & Lodging Association Foundation, employees can access free training in more than 34 languages to help identify and report suspected human trafficking. The training, called No Room for Trafficking, has been completed more than 2.6 million times nationwide since its launch in 2020.