Next summer brings exciting World Cup soccer-related events, with an influx of fans expected across the Pacific Northwest! Unfortunately, wherever there is an increase in crowds, there is a higher risk of human trafficking. Criminals take advantage of crowded areas that can hide their schemes. When multitudes gather, traffickers are more confident in their ability to elude security. For the hospitality industry, this means that it is essential more than ever to prepare for preventing human trafficking. BEST can support hotels and restaurants to take the necessary steps.

What BEST Can Offer 

Since last June, BEST has been working with the Seattle FWC26 Local Organizing Committee (LOC) to help craft and implement its Human Trafficking Prevention Initiative. The LOC is offering 2,500 employees of Seattle-area businesses access to BEST Basics, our online training course for public-facing staff. While the initiative was launched to prepare for higher risks of human trafficking during the upcoming soccer-related events, exploitation doesn’t just happen during major events. It is a crisis that persists every day. 

Even if your restaurant or hotel is not specifically preparing for the upcoming World Cup, BEST can still help your business in preventing human trafficking. BEST collaborates with the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA) to provide free training for ORLA’s members. BEST’s Inhospitable to Human Trafficking training is a 30-minute, online video training available in Spanish and English that prepares staff to recognize and respond to labor and sex trafficking within the hotel industry. It can be taken individually online, or in a group setting, and employees receive a certificate of completion after taking the course. This training can be easily accessed at no cost ORLA’s membership website.

Inhospitable to Human Trafficking can be accessed by all of ORLA’s members, but if you find that it doesn’t address the concerns of restaurant’s employees, BEST Basics is a great alternative to equip themselves with the tools they need to identify and safely respond to human trafficking. For more information, see BEST Basics. 

If you are interested in other ways BEST can support your business in human trafficking prevention, BEST also offers strategy development planning. The Seattle FWC 2026 Local Organizing Committee recently hosted a Human Trafficking Prevention Strategy Workshop facilitated by BEST. The workshop helped participants learn how to make their respective workplaces inhospitable to traffickers by assessing risks, crafting preventative policies, developing internal communication protocols, and determining which types of employees need to be trained to recognize and respond effectively to indicators of potential human trafficking situations. In post-workshop evaluations all attendees reported that they plan to share what they learned with colleagues, and continue developing a prevention strategy customized for their business.

BEST can offer similar workshops or customized strategy development consultations for hotels and restaurants, tailored to the circumstances that are unique to the hospitality industry. Consultations and strategy workshops are great ways that BEST can help you to plan for an influx of people, which can create greater risk of criminals using hospitality property for their illegal activities. To learn more about what options BEST can provide specifically for your business, reach out to info@bestalliance.org. 

It is vitally important for businesses in hospitality to prevent human trafficking. Traffickers often use hotel or restaurant premises for their criminal activities, but many victims reported to have never received assistance from staff. It is imperative to protect your premises from being used as a hub by traffickers and to also ensure the safety of guests. 

Who is BEST? 

Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) is a nonprofit that provides businesses with human trafficking prevention training to equip employees with the knowledge they need to identify potential human trafficking situations and report them safely and effectively.