IHG Hotels and Resorts is ramping up its child safety practices and calling on others in the hotel industry to work collaboratively to protect children in the guest experience.
Research unveiled at the launch of On Us: The Australian Business Coalition for Safeguarding Children in Sydney last week, found that only 1-in-4 businesses ranked child safeguarding within their top five business priorities, and that 59% of those working in travel and tourism do not believe that child exploitation could occur within their industry. However, statistics show that in Australia, child abuse or neglect is reported by a child every two minutes.
As a result, the study found that less than half of business leaders have policies in place that protect children when engaging with their businesses’ goods or services, with most unaware of the harms they can enable.
As a founder member of the coalition, IHG has had child safety policies in place for some time. The company’s Director of Risk Management, Michael Dalton, serves as co-Chair of the coalition, providing insight into child safety risks and best practice from a hospitality viewpoint.
IHG intends to extend its child safety efforts in 2024 through a number of new initiatives including around online safety and providing safe spaces for children in its properties.
IHG’s SVP and Managing Director – JAPAC, and Accommodation Australia President, Leanne Harwood, told HM that businesses need to take a harder look at the role they can play in protecting children.
“In the hotel business we provide homes away from home for all guests including families, so we’ve always been proud to have robust child safety policies in place,” Harwood said.
“However, today’s research findings illustrate why it’s critical to put an even greater focus on this important topic and, for us, being part of the coalition has enabled us to relook at some of our practices and procedures alongside other likeminded companies and experts, and we are pleased to be planning to roll out some new initiatives in the coming months.
“I encourage corporate Australia to consider joining On Us to play their part in creating a safer community for children.”
New child-safety initiatives at IHG
In 2024, through a collaboration with the Australian E-Safety Commission, IHG will issue a child safety message for all guests when logging into its Wi-Fi services as well as direct links to the Australian E-Safety portal for parental guidance around online child safety and the use of its public Wi-Fi networks.
In the longer term, IHG will also work with the Commission to block problematic websites.
The Commission will also give IHG leaders access to its E-Safety training portal to ensure a greater understanding of online safety practices.
On site at IHG hotels, Child Safety Hubs will be established to offer safe spaces for young people to come ask for assistance if needed.
On Us Chair and Australian Childhood Foundation CEO, Dr. Joe Tucci, said businesses need to be more aware about how their services, products, assets and resources can be used to inadvertently facilitate abuse, exploitation, or harm to children.
“As leaders, it is on us to be better equipped and prepared to take action to make businesses safer for all our children and young people,” he said.