Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced today it is signing the End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT) Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct (The Code). The Code, an industry driven tourism initiative, is supported by UNICEF and The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Hyatt’s collaboration with ECPAT is an extension of its global commitment to responsible business practices and supports the company’s already strong efforts to combat human trafficking within its sphere of influence.
The Code focuses on providing awareness, tools and support to the tourism industry to prevent the sexual exploitation of children, a crime which impacts more than 1.8 million young people annually, according to ECPAT.
Given Hyatt’s ongoing efforts to proactively fight human trafficking, we feel that ECPAT’s Code of Conduct is a reflection of that commitment – said Brigitta Witt, Hyatt’s global head of corporate responsibility.
Standing against human trafficking is a natural extension of our commitment to positively impacting the communities where we operate.
In 2012, Hyatt partnered with Polaris, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to ending human trafficking, to launch a mandatory global human trafficking training program for owned and managed hotels, offering the program to its franchise partners as well.
Over the course of 2013 and 2014, 54,000 Hyatt colleagues were required to take the training, and it is now an integral component of Hyatt’s onboarding process and compliance training. Hyatt has also blocked onsite internet access to several websites commonly used for human trafficking across all U.S. hotels.
In addition, Hyatt supports programs around the world that help disadvantaged youth reach their full potential through partnerships with organizations such as Associação Projeto Roda Viva, AlfaSol, and Youth Career Initiative, which provide skills training and employment opportunities to vulnerable youth and human trafficking survivors.
“We are thrilled to see Hyatt reaffirm their efforts to protect children,” said Michelle Guelbart, ECPAT-USA’s director of private sector engagement. “Signing The Code demonstrates their strong long-term commitment to ensuring that mission and we are excited to work together and know they will help us make a difference.”
For more information about Hyatt’s corporate social responsibility commitments, including the partnership with ECPAT, please visit thrive.hyatt.com.
The term “Hyatt” is used in this release for convenience to refer to Hyatt Hotels Corporation and/or one or more of its affiliates.
About Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company with a proud heritage of making guests feel more than welcome. Thousands of members of the Hyatt family strive to make a difference in the lives of the guests they encounter every day by providing authentic hospitality.
The Company’s subsidiaries develop, own, operate, manage, franchise, license or provide services to hotels, resorts, branded residences and vacation ownership properties, including under the Hyatt®, Park Hyatt®, Andaz®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Centric™, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Zilara™, Hyatt Ziva™, Hyatt Residences® and Hyatt Residence Club® brand names and have locations on six continents.
As of September 30, 2015, the Company’s worldwide portfolio consisted of 627 properties in 52 countries. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.
About ECPAT-USA
ECPAT-USA is the leading policy organization in the United States seeking to end the commercial, sexual exploitation of children through awareness, advocacy, policy, and legislation. ECPAT-USA is a member of the ECPAT International network, with offices in 73 countries. For more information, visit http://www.ecpatusa.org/code. Contact: (718) 935-9192 or info@ecpatusa.org.
