Victory! Wyndham Signs Code of Conduct to Prevent Child Sex Trafficking

Wyndham Hotel Group will become the third major U.S. hotel company, along with Carlson Companies and Hilton Worldwide, to sign The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism. Wyndham’s decision to sign The Code comes after nearly 14,000 travelers signed a petition on Change.org, the world’s fastest growing social action platform.

San Diego native Tim Rosner launched the campaign after he read a CNN article about a child sex trafficking ring at a Wyndham property in his hometown.

"I'm thrilled to see Wyndham take this proactive step to fight child sex trafficking," said Rosner, on learning about Wyndham’s decision to make preventing child sexual exploitation a company-wide priority. "Thanks so much to Wyndham and the Change.org members who signed my petition, for helping keep kids safe in San Diego and around the world."

The Code requires signatory companies to commit to six criteria for preventing child sex trafficking and child sex tourism at their properties. These include establishing a policy on child sexual exploitation for themselves and their suppliers, training staff on how to recognize and report abuse, and providing important information to travelers. U.S. signers also report annually to ECPAT-USA, a non-governmental organization which aims to prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the U.S. and around the world.

“We want to thank Wyndham Hotel Group for becoming an industry leader in the fight against the exploitation of children through sex trafficking and tourism,” said Carol Smolenski, Executive Director of ECPAT-USA. “Their commitment to keeping children safe sets a high bar within the hotel industry.”

Wyndham will join over 1,000 travel and tourism companies in 42 countries as Code members, including major hotel chains Carlson Companies and Hilton Worldwide, the latter of which also signed on following a public campaign on Change.org.  Wyndham representatives have agreed to work with ECPAT-USA to create a company-wide strategy to implement The Code in the coming year.

Photo credit: Thespis377