Promoting human rights is part of Starwood’s strategy

STAMFORD, CT—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has released an expanded Human Rights Policy based on the Guiding Principals on Business and Human Rights, endoresed by the United Nations (UN) in 2011. As part of the initiative, Starwood partnered with UNICEF to conduct a Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) in Mexico that is currently being compiled and will be released later this year. With the latest policies and procedures in place, Starwood will promote human rights at owned, managed and franchised properties through various means, including staff training. The hotel group also developed a set of guidelines that will facilitate human rights compliance for Starwood’s international supply chain and business partners. 

“At Starwood, protecting and promoting human rights is a strategic priority not only to mitigate risk, ensure safety and comply with local laws, but more importantly, it’s a core tenet of our business as a hospitality company,” said Ken Siegel, chief administrative officer and general council, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.

The policy’s new and alternative language is meant to elaborate on Starwood’s existing dedication to worldwide human rights. “It’s been a long-standing strategic priority for Starwood to protect and promote human rights,” said Michelle Naggar, VP of social responsibility, Starwood, and president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Foundation. “We issued our first human rights policy in 2007 and since then, we have continued to focus our work on this. We operate in both developed and emerging markets so that’s something that comes into play in our human rights focus.”

As president of the Starwood foundation, Naggar ensures that the company is committed to corporate responsibility when it comes to human rights in the areas of human trafficking and labor laws because that is where the hospitality has the greatest chance of making an impact. “My role is to drive corporate responsibility programs for the company through partnerships and initiatives that improve the lives of our associates, guests and the communities where we operate,” she said.

As one facet of the updated policy and procedures, Naggar evaluates the influence of the hospitality industry on human trafficking. She explains human trafficking as the illegal movement of people through coercion or fraud typically for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. Children, adults, men and women are all possible victims of this human rights violation.

Human trafficking awareness training is available for all Starwood associates globally in nine languages, according to Naggar. The training covers what human trafficking is, how to identify potential signs of trafficking and how to report suspicious activity. The training is available online on Starwood’s internal learning management system. “This is taking place all over the globe,” Naggar said.

After Starwood staff members take the training course, they may be able to identify victims and perpetrators of human trafficking. According to Naggar, “The training is intended to provide team members with the information they need in order to observe and understand what they’re seeing and how to report it. We are not encouraging associates to take action on their own. And this is for their safety. Traffickers are criminals and they can be dangerous. It may be dangerous for the victim as well if someone who is not trained in law enforcement approaches them. We want to make sure our associates know how to report suspicious activity and our managers know how to take down as much information as they can and work with the local law enforcement so they can take the appropriate action.”

Naggar explained that the focus on sex trafficking is around education and awareness. “Unfortunately, things that drive tourists to certain areas can increase the risk of things happening. We have the opportunity as an industry to provide training and awareness to our employees to give them the means to report any suspicious activity. And to be sure we are partnering with local law enforcement appropriately to report any concerns,” she said, adding that Starwood partners with nonprofit organizations to ensure people are being treated fairly.

“On the labor side, that’s something we all need to look at, not just for hotels but also for our supply chain. Making sure we have the right policies and procedures in place to be sure they are not being held against their will, that they’re being paid for their time directly and not paying a third party,” said Naggar. 

Sex and labor trafficking are both addressed in Article 4 of the UN Guiding Principal’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It states, “No one shall be held in slavery servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. It has become the foundation of all human rights policy since its inception.

In order to achieve its goals for human rights, the Starwood Foundation partners with nonprofit organizations such as UNICEF and International Tourism Partnership (ITP), which provides a noncompetitive platform for hotel industry leaders to share ideas, build relationships and work collaboratively to make hospitality one of the world’s most responsible industries.

According to ITP’s director, Fran Hughes, “The most important thing is that we help people working in our hotels, but it is also crucial that we and people on the ground get a better understanding of how our business can inadvertently impact negatively on people on the ground.”

Starwood’s first HRIA was conducted in 2014. The objectives of the assessment are to understand actual and potential human rights risks and opportunities at an industry level. According to Naggar, Mexico was chosen as the destinations for the current HRIA study because of Starwood’s presence in the area. Researchers were able to gather information from suppliers, vendors, government officials, members of society and others. They interviewed more than 350 people.

In regard to the HRIA in Mexico, Hughes said, “We hope to build on this study to create an honest and open dialogue where there is neither blame nor denial but acceptance that there are areas we need to work on.”

The hospitality industry should work collectively to solve human rights issues, according to Hughes. “Doing this collectively as a sector makes so much more sense as no one company can tackle these issues alone as they are rarely issues for one company alone and are often cultural or systemic. I am confident that we can work together to find practical solutions,” she said.

Siegel elaborated on Starwood’s presence in the hospitality industry. He said, “With nearly 1,300 properties in some 100 countries and approximately 188,000 employees at our owned and managed properties, we have an opportunity to make a profound difference in the communities where we operate.” HB