At its first global Town Hall event of the year, Wyndham affirmed its ongoing commitment to support human trafficking awareness and prevention efforts. It also announced its donation of one million Wyndham Rewards points to Polaris, a leader in the global fight to eradicate human trafficking.

Polaris acts as a catalyst to systemically disrupt human trafficking by helping survivors restore their freedom, preventing more victims, and leveraging data and technology to pursue traffickers wherever they operate. It uses the rewards points in part for short-term stays for victims so they have a safe place to sleep while waiting for a spot in a shelter to open.

“Having a safe place to stay, even just overnight, is a vital first step in helping sex and labour trafficking survivors break free from their situations,” said Emily Tracy, chief development officer for Polaris, who received the points donation at the event. “The donation – one of many over the course of our 10-year partnership – will help survivors to move forward with their lives.”

“Educate hospitality community.”

Geoff Ballotti, president and chief executive officer at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts said: “In recognition of National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we want to reinforce our partnerships with Polaris and other important anti-trafficking organizations, while continuing to educate the hospitality community on how to help identify and report trafficking activities.”

In addition to Polaris, it supports the work of other organisations to promote awareness on how to identify and report suspected instances of human trafficking, including the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, End Child Prostitution and Trafficking, and International Tourism Partnership.