Marriot shareholders take on 'sex tourists'

Salt shakers
April 2007

Marriot shareholders take on 'sex tourists'
Shareholders have pushed Marriott International to take the lead in fighting child sex tourism in the hotel industry. After a shareholder group met with Marriott's Human Rights Task Force, formed to address this issue, the board of directors approved the change to its Human Rights policy to include a specific section on the rights of children.

According to a press release applauding Marriott's actions, more than 2 million children are exploited each year in the global commercial sex trade, a multi-million dollar industry. A Swedish shareholder began the initiative and was soon joined by other shareholder groups concerned with the business practices of the companies in which they invest, including the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, an international coalition of 275 faith-based institutional investors collectively worth $100 billon.

"We have a successful strategy so far," Rev. David M. Schilling, the director of the global corporate accountability program at ICCR in New York City. Schilling explained that a shareholder can file a resolution on an issue to get a company address it when letters don't work. "It's an opportunity for negotiation between the shareholder and the company."

"The engagement with Marriott has been positive," Schilling said. "When the resolution was filed, we got an immediate response. They have done what they said they were going to do."

This includes developing training materials and internal communications on the issue for all Marriott employees, from hotel workers to senior executives. According to a statement released last November with the new policy, security personnel will be trained to deter and detect sexual exploitation of children and work with local authorities to report and investigate cases.

Executives will create plans to address the issue, including working with and supporting law enforcement and local organizations that protect children and aid at-risk youths. Emphasizing the company's history of supporting such organizations, their Human Rights Policy Statement says, "Marriott will continue to focus on programs that help children break out of the cycle of poverty that makes them and their families vulnerable."

Marriott also began educating its customers about the issue last December. The nearly 20 million pre-arrival e-mails sent every year now include a UN brochure, "The Responsible Tourist and Traveler," which mentions the sexual exploitation of children.

Marriott has become a leader on the issue within the hotel industry and International Business Leaders Forum. Company representatives have spoken out on the issue of human rights at industry forums and United Nations World Tourism Organization meetings.

Calling Marriott's plan to confront the sexual exploitation of children "thoughtful," Schilling said ICCR will now take its experience into negotiations with other international hotel chains, including Starwood, Host, and Hilton.

ICCR and other shareholder groups will also be following up with Marriott two times this year to evaluate the implementation of the policy and offer assistance.

"Our style in terms of meeting with companies is to continue an ongoing dialogue. It's really important not to just drop and issue but to engage a company," Schilling said. "There is always room for continued improvement."—Megan Sweas

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