Combating Sex Trafficking: The Role of the Hotel—Moral and Ethical Questions

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This was a narrower paper than the title suggests.

The moral implications of sex trafficking weren't dealt with so much as the physical locations of sex trafficking. The main finding seems to be that hotels near off-ramps are popular trafficking spots.

The role of hotel workers needs to be explored more. The conclusion represents a full-throated declaration that CSR policies have not been applied in the hospitality industry. I don't know this area for certain, but I have worked with someone who has worked in the hotel CSR space and she seemed to take it seriously. Either way, the conclusion is a bit strong given the evidence presented. More qualitative evidence about hotel workers ignoring trafficked people or trafficking in general would be helpful. A comparison with the airline industry is not necessary, but some kind of deeper dive likely is.

I would also recast the paper to be about the responsibility of hotels and why they're used for trafficking. Morality isn't touched on for very long. The headline seems to be about the centrality of certain hotels (ones that are close to off-ramps, though how close needs to be more clearly stated) in the trafficking business and how hotels turn a blind eye to this phenomenon. Some kind of qualitative work (case study, interview, reading depositions, etc.) would have to be added to address the second part (turning a blind eye to trafficking in the hotel industry).

 

 

Line 34..."used" not "sued"

Author Response

We have attached review responses to both in the same file.  They are separated.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Reviewer’s Summary

The authors aim to describe the hotel industry’s complicity in sex trafficking in 17 East Coast states and the District of Columbia. Using multiple data sources, including civil litigation records and online reservation platforms, the authors show that sex trafficking occurs frequently at both privately owned hotels and hotels that are owned or managed by larger hotel chains. The authors also provide a geospatial analysis in which they explain that hotels in which trafficking occurs are more likely to be located near transportation hubs, and in some cases, individual hotel staff are directly involved in these crimes. The authors conclude their paper with a discussion about the ethical and moral implications of these organizations’ role in trafficking, despite their public commitment to combating trafficking, and leave the reader questioning how to best incentivize hotels owners to implement more rigorous protective measures like enhanced employee training.

Reviewers Comments and Recommendations

1. The authors masterfully use their data to describe both the structural causes of trafficking (e.g., transportation routes, hotel room rates) and the involvement of individual hotel staff. In terms of the authors’ sample, as the reader I would like to know why only East Coast cases were included. Was it an issue of data access or is there something unique about trafficking that occurs East Coast cities compared with cases in the Midwest or West Coast, for example? Similarly, the authors focused on a subset of these cities in their analysis, but there is no explanation why this case boundary was drawn.

 

2. The authors provide an archetype of a hotel that is likely to be complicit in sex trafficking, either directly or through negligence, and make a compelling argument for the geospatial component. Given the strength of this finding, it would be helpful to see maps of the hotels in relationship to nearby transportation hubs.

 

3. In their discussion about how hotels have become a “hotspot of sex trafficking,” the authors argue that the crime of sex trafficking is perpetrated by individuals across all socioeconomic groups and that the diversity of hotel types reflects the diverse incomes of those who purchase sex. After reading this section, I am left wondering how sex trafficking intersects with unforced commercial sex exchanges that presumably also occur in hotels. Does the legal status of commercial sex work have any bearing on illegal sex trafficking?

 

4. The authors conclude their well-written paper by posing important questions about how to make organizations more responsive to the needs of potential trafficking victims. However, it would be helpful to see recommendations for further action, or perhaps for further investigation, such as an estimation of costs that organizations would incur by implementing better employee training. This recommendation seems appropriate given the authors’ suggestion that hotel chains have prioritized profit over the prevention of trafficking. It would also be helpful to see more discussion about the role of automation in trafficking. Given the likelihood that automation in commercial exchanges is likely to increase over time, how do these practices factor into individual organizations’ responsibility?

Author Response

The answers to this reviewer are in the second half of this file.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

This article is much improved and I would move to publish it.