rdlmitedu

This seems to be an issue bothering a lot of solo female business travelers -- worried about being profiled as prostitutes for traveling alone, drinking alone in the restaurant or bar, etc.

https://www.asianhospitality.com/mar...n-trafficking/

C17PSGR

I believe all the major hotels have signed up to participate in this training. I think there are some great stories about people they have saved.

and ... i keep seeing solo women travelers at Marriott properties....

what's the basis for your proposition?

rdlmitedu

If they're going after coercive sex trafficking (especially of minors), probably a low enough false positive rate and high enough bad for the true-positives to be worth it.

If it's going after sex workers generally, I would predict a high false positive rate. Based on their indicators, if I were an attractive female vs. a middle-aged man: 1) minimal luggage 2) declines housekeeping 3) appears intoxicated 4) multiple men escorted to room individually 5) request for extra towels -- I hit 4 or 5 of those (depending on how tired I am after a long flight). It seems unfair that someone who does exactly what I do (business traveler and meeting up with local friends and/or business contacts in my room or lounge) should suffer just because they don't have a penis and 20 years of travel experience.

bitterproffit

Hotels want to ban single women patrons from the bar in order to protect them from being exploited by their male patrons?

That's some logic there.

Segregating people by gender for 'their own good'. Maybe they can have a separate but equal bar for the women. (Sarcasm)

To be fair, nothing in the article indicates that any Marriott Hotels are banning single women from bars, and training to spot women being exploited against their will is a very positive thing.

rdlmitedu

Irony is also the hotel bar/lobby is probably the safest place for a woman to meet a man she isn't totally comfortable with (which probably is a legitimate concern for a solo female business traveler meeting with someone, or for someone dating, etc.) -- it's public, lots of cameras, and if she were to get drunk, she wouldn't be dependent on anyone else to get herself "home", etc.

If being at the bar gets you marked as a prostitute, then you might end up meeting somewhere less safe and potentially be assaulted or stranded.

(Selfishly I like hotel lobbies too, since they're not bars, as I'm often legally not able to be in a bar, place which derives 51% of its income from selling alcohol, or whatever other local restrictions apply.)

SkiAdcock

As a solo female business traveler, it's never occurred to me that I'm potentially being profiled as a prostitute so can honestly say it hasn't bothered me/I'm not worried.

Cheers.

Error 601

A woman I used to work with was a hotel bartender when she was in school and even back then she was trained to keep an eye out for suspected prostitutes and report them to security.

She would also play games with male patrons and comp the tab of whoever could waste the most of the the hookers time on pointless chit-chat. This was so security could get a good look at them and identify women who already had trespass warnings and call the police if necessary.

eng3

This is somewhat related.

I was at a Radisson once (in Lima I believe). A local young female friend (that I knew when we were kids) came to visit me at the hotel. (I forget how old she was at the time, but she was just out of school working as an accountant). She wasnt dressed professionally, more like what you'd wear on a hot summer day on a lazy saturday. (it was a saturday in the summer). I told her which hotel and which room number. When she arrived at the hotel, they would not allow her to come up to my room. I'm not sure how they knew she was not a guest (I guess she looked like a local?) Instead, I got a call insisting that I pay a fee (I forget exactly $20 + tax?). At first I thought this was an "extra guest" fee, I explained she was not staying over night. But they said that if any guest visit your room for any amount of time, there is a fee. I complained that they never disclosed this fee but they didn't care. I suspected perhaps because my entire stay was paid with points, they were trying to get some money out of me. I asked her if this was a thing they do in all Lima hotels and she said she never heard of it. They didn't directly say anything, but she told me she felt like they thought she was a prostitute. (I guess based on the looks they gave her) She felt embarrassed, I felt bad for her. If they really thought she was a prostitute, I guess they aren't doing anything to stop it, they just want to make sure they (and the govt) get a cut of the profits???

potm

I had a negative experience at the Sheraton Saigon where I was not allowed to stay with my local friend. Their policy is guests have to be there at check in to be allowed to stay.
She was working the day before so only arrived at the hotel with me the next day. They quoted non-existant laws long since removed. Of course if I booked a second room it would have been fine.
Didn't have an issue at other Marriott properties in the country either.
It's not really a Marriott thing, more country and hotel specific.

samwise6222

I've been traveling for work since my mid 20s (30 now) and no one really gave me an issue before, whether at a Marriott property or Hyatt property.

Australian immigration used to give me an issue, but not anymore since I bypass them with eGate.

RooseveltL

margarita girl

Me either Sharon. Maybe we don't fit the profile. LOL

Gig103

Do Marriott execs all shave with Gillette razors, too?

DBCme

Probably a couple things going on:
1. Identify potential sex trafficking and report it to the authorities
2. Identify other sex workers working at the property for hotel security to monitor and control

Presumably hotels are interested in keeping sex work (female and male) off the premises, but i've stayed at enough properties in Africa to observe this isn't always the case.

msp3

If only I was good looking enough to be a prostitute instead of an office slave wagecuck...