Throughout the world, human traffickers use hotels and other hospitality locations to kidnap and exploit their victims, many of whom are children.

A new report from the Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration calls on the industry to fight back against trafficking of children.

In the report, "Adopting the Code: Human Trafficking and the Hospitality Industry," Michele Sarkisian outlines the dimensions of the problem and gives specific strategies for ending this practice. Sarkisian is president of P3 Advisors, and a CHR research fellow. The report is available from CHR at no charge.

"The hospitality industry can take an important stand against trafficking by adopting The Code, which commits a firm to six specific steps intended to stop traffickers," said Sarkisian. "The key is to train employees to observe and report the signs of trafficking, particularly focusing on the exploitation of children. The more hotel and hospitality firms that support The Code, the more traffickers will be identified and stopped."

The Code's six steps are:

1. Establish a policy and procedures against sexual exploitation of children;
2. Train employees in children's rights, the prevention of sexual exploitation, and how to report suspected cases;
3. Include a clause in contracts throughout the value chain stating a common repudiation and zero tolerance policy of sexual exploitation of children;
4. Provide information to travelers on children's rights, the prevention of sexual exploitation of children, and how to report suspected cases;
5. Support, collaborate, and engage stakeholders in the prevention of sexual exploitation of children; and
6. Report annually on your implementation of The Code.

Such large hospitality firms as Delta Airlines, Hilton Worldwide, Carlsonâ€"Rezidor, Wyndham Worldwide, and Maritz Travel Company have signed The Code, and Sarkisian notes that an increasing number of groups and single travelers now seek out hotels that have anti-trafficking policies.

Study Abstract: Human trafficking generally and child exploitation in particular is a global problem, while hard data are difficult to obtain in detail due to many unreported and underreported cases, the International Labor Organization (www.ilo.org) estimates that human traffickers earned as much as $150 billion in 2014, making it financially the second largest illicit crime, surpassed only by the sale of drugs.

That same study estimated 20.9 million victims of human trafficking worldwide, with 5.5 million of those being children.

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