Citizen hotelier: Companies embrace social responsibility
On a recent afternoon in a nondescript office building here, four refugees from the Congo sat in a small conference room as an interpreter working for a Marriott-funded training program ticked off requirements and pay for housekeeping, dish washing and other jobs that don't require English language skills.
Across town, a handful of workers at the Marriott Solana were being briefed on how to pick up on and respond to signs of human trafficking. The training concluded with clips from a local newspaper to drive home the point that it can happen anywhere.
"That sent chills down my spine," one participant remarked.
Earlier in the day, the kitchen staff at the Ritz-Carlton in Uptown had begun its daily lineup, as usual, with a cook reciting the company's service credo, followed by a quick update by a manager on community outreach programs from sister hotels around the globe as well as a listing of upcoming events from a long lineup of volunteer projects in which local employees and residents of the Ritz-branded tower next door are involved.
