This is a Travel innovation from The 70 Best Trend-Driven Innovations of 2019.

Last month Marriott announced it had successfully trained half a million staff to recognize and respond to signs of human trafficking. The online and classroom-based training program has been translated to 16 languages and is tailored to specific hotel roles, such as front-desk clerk, bartender, and housekeeper. Marriott said that since the program’s inception in 2017, it has led to a number of young people being removed from compromised situations.

Of course, this is an initiative worth celebrating. But that’s not the only reason we want to share it with you. This campaign also highlights two massive trends that anyone thinking about purpose-driven business needs to be aware of in 2019:

Glass Box Brands. We’ve written at length how in an age of radical transparency your internal culture is your brand. At the same time every organization faces relentlessly rising demands from both its staff and customers to deliver positive impact. The good news is that, as Edelman’s latest global Trust Barometer shows, people trust their employers to do what is right significantly more than other major institutions. Put simply: if you’re looking for a way to live your purpose, then start by empowering your staff to help solve a relevant social (or environmental) problem. Now ;)

Open Source Solutions. Marriott has donated the training material to the American Hotel & Lodging Association Education Foundation, and the proceeds from other hotel operators buying the training program go to ECPAT-USA and Polaris, the two anti-human trafficking non-profits who developed the program. Similarly, last year Starbucks gave away the racial bias training material it produced after the infamous arrest of two customers in Philadelphia. Indeed, people will quickly expect authentically purpose-driven brands to pursue OPEN SOURCE SOLUTIONS: sharing their answers to society’s big problems to increase their impact.

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