The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) announced a 230-percent increase in members participating in the 5-Star Promise, which incorporates hotels deploying employee safety devices (ESDs).

The 5-Star Promise is a voluntary commitment by AHLA members to enhance policies, trainings and resources, including providing ESDs, that together are aimed at strengthening the culture of employee and guest safety, with an emphasis on preventing and responding to sexual harassment and assault. The commitment includes five components:

1. Continuing to provide industry-wide training and materials on safety and security and retain expert guidance to work with the industry on diversity and safety matters.
2. Ensure mandatory anti-sexual harassment policies are in place in multiple languages.
3. Provide ongoing training and education for employees on identifying and reporting sexual harassment.
4. Provide U.S. hotel employees with employee safety devices to help them feel safe on the job.
5. Broaden partnerships with organizations that target sexual violence and assault and trafficking and promote workplace safety, including the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV), End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT-USA), and Polaris.

“As an industry of people taking care of people, we have always been deeply committed to safety and security for our employees and guests. We have a responsibility to ensure they feel safe and secure,” said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA. “Hotels continuously evaluate and evolve their policies, trainings and technologies to foster a safe environment and empower our employees. I’m proud of the progress we have made as an industry over the past year, and we will continue our efforts to ensure America’s hotels are safe places for all those who work in and visit them.”

Last September, 17 hotel brands joined AHLA in announcing the 5-Star Promise. Since that time, says AHLA: 

• Member participation has increased 230 percent, from 17 companies to 56.
• An estimated 20,000 hotel properties have committed, resulting in an estimated 1.2 million employees who will be better protected and provided with increased training and resources, including many of whom will be provided with ESDs depending on their job responsibilities.
• More than 5,000 properties have already deployed safety devices this year, with the remaining on track to do so by 2020.
• All 17 brands originally committed to the 5-Star Promise in 2018 have already completed the remaining pillars of the pledge.
• The hotel industry has Increased training around sexual assault, harassment and human trafficking prevention.
• AHLA released a Device Buyer’s Guide created in partnership with Hospitality Technology Next Generation (HTNG) to help connect hospitality companies with ESD providers and facilitate the adoption process.
• AHLA established a program for member companies to offer discounts with the following ESD providers: AT&T, Enseo, PwC, React Mobile, RF Technologies, ROAR for Good, and TraknProtect.

Participating brands or properties are determining the best security devices based on the facility’s layout and features, with a range of options, including devices with loud noise-emitting features or emergency global positioning systems (GPS) tracking at the push of a handheld button. This approach, says AHLA, reflects the segmented and diverse nature of the hotel industry as well as the considerable structural differences in building design and layout, construction materials and Wi-Fi network capabilities within the industry.

In addition, AHLA has partnered with a number of leading safety and security experts, including the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, which provides legal support to victims of sexual harassment, assault and abuse in the workplace, and RALIANCE, a national partnership dedicated to ending sexual violence.

Click here to view the commitments from participating member companies.