"Accor's Scandal Exposes a Wider Risk for the Hospitality Industry", 27 March 2026

Accor, a French hotel group whose portfolio includes Fairmont, Sofitel and landmark properties such as The Plaza in New York, is facing accusations that its hotels fail to sufficiently safeguard against child sex trafficking and human trafficking.... While sex trafficking allegations against hotel chains are not new, hospitality conglomerates need to pay more attention to the risks of human trafficking, not only in their hotel rooms but also in their supply chains.

Grizzly Research, which publishes information on publicly-traded companies, reports that more than 20 Accor hotels explicitly agreed to house Ukrainian orphans headed for adoption by Russians and made various promises to keep the arrangements confidential. Further, Grizzly reports that hotels in more than 20 countries agreed to take reservations where the details strongly implied the rooms would be used for child sexual abuse and exploitation. Grizzly designed its reservation requests “to trigger as many human trafficking red flags as possible” and alleges that roughly 40 hotels complied with requests without raising any concerns. It is worth noting that Grizzly holds a short position in Accor shares, such that they stand to gain from declining share prices. But Grizzly itself acknowledges that potential bias and aims to substantiate its work by, for example, publishing the email exchanges with the hotels in the appendix to the report.

Against this backdrop, the hospitality industry must do more to combat human trafficking in its varied forms and ensure responsible purchasing and employment practices. Companies that haven’t already should start by comprehensively mapping their supply chains, beyond Tier 1 suppliers, and ensuring that procurement and sourcing staff are trained on human trafficking and labor rights. Companies should also seek to form and strengthen lasting relationships with suppliers where risk is shared and pricing and deadlines practices ensure workers receive a fair wage for reasonable hours in a safe workplace. Industry collaboration, such as through the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, can make these efforts stronger, and all initiatives must center the perspective of workers. Companies do not have to do this alone, but they should get more serious about the trafficking and other risks outside their hotel rooms and across their supply chains.