News About Real Hospitality Group

Real Hospitality Group (RHG) signed the ECPAT Code of Conduct at a ceremony at The Sky Room in Manhattan, making a very public commitment to develop policies and procedures to protect children from sexual exploitation at all the properties it manages. The Code (www.thecode.org) has been signed by almost 1,000 travel industry members worldwide.

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, a national leader in the fight against sex trafficking, spoke out at the signing ceremony about the importance of private sector involvement in stopping human trafficking.

"With sex tourism, and more specifically the sexual commercial exploitation of children, reaching epidemic proportions, today’s announcement marks an important step. I applaud ECPAT for developing the Child-Protection Code of Conduct, which establishes important safeguards against trafficking to be adopted by good corporate citizens in the tourism and hospitality industries, and I salute the Real Hospitality Group on becoming the first hotel management company in America to sign on to the Code. I encourage other companies to follow suit, and look forward to the day when the Code reflects industry-wide standards and practices. We know that law enforcement authorities cannot, by themselves, win the struggle against human trafficking, the twenty-first century form of slavery; and that’s why enlisting the support and active participation of the private sector in this critical effort is so important."

"We are thrilled to have one of the leading hotel management companies in the country and the largest in New York City joining the effort to protect children, said Carol Smolenski, Executive Director of ECPAT-USA. "We are especially gratified that a company that is such an important player in New York City’s travel industry has stepped up to do the right thing for the children here in our home town. We hope this sparks momentum from other New York companies to jump on the bandwagon."

In the United States, the Code has been signed by 7 companies to date: Carlson Companies, Delta Airlines, Global Exchange, Nix Conference and Meeting Management, Hilton Worldwide, Millennium Hotel St. Louis and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation

. Sabre Holdings will also sign the Code of Conduct soon.

ECPAT-USA, the U.S. arm of ECPAT International, is focused on protecting children trafficked into the U.S., American children trafficked for sexual exploitation, and foreign children exploited by American tourists traveling abroad. ECPAT International is a global network of organizations working together for the elimination of child trafficking, child prostitution and child pornography. The network is comprised of 81 groups in 74 countries around the world. All ECPAT groups are independent grassroots organizations, working to combat child exploitation at the local level. Visit http://www.ECPATUSA.org for a complete list of research, advocacy, policy, training and education programs ECPAT spearheads in the U.S. and abroad.

Real Hospitality Group (RHG) is headquartered in Ocean City, Md., and comprises a team with more than 150 years of combined hospitality and travel industry experience. The Real Hospitality Group portfolio includes 27 hotel properties with an inventory of more than 3,800 rooms in gateway cities that include New York, Philadelphia and locations in Morgantown, West Virginia as well as Ocean City, MD, Glens Falls and Montauk, New York. The company is a recognized service provider for Marriott, Hilton, Starwood, Hyatt, Wyndham, and Choice Hotels brands as well as a collection of unique independent hotels. RHG focuses on total service property management, revenue performance and business development for hotels, resorts and investment ownership groups. For more information, please visit the company website at www.realhospitalitygroup.com.