[Shiva Hotels, a UK hotel group] has become the first in the UK to launch an anti-slavery programme across its hotels. Aimed at raising awareness among both guests and staff of human trafficking, the project...will include a training programme for 400 employees and displaying statements in lobbies and on in-room TVs... In the UK the total number of people in slavery is estimated at 11,700, but there are no official figures for individual sectors. The Shiva Hotels project is aimed at identifying both [sexually exploited and labour exploitation] victims by encouraging staff to look out for unusual behaviour, such as guests concealing who they are with or unusual repeat bookings made in cash, and also making staff alert to those who may be being exploited by suppliers providing workers. It is hoped that the project will go some way towards getting a clearer idea of the actual numbers of victims staying or working in hotels in the UK... Following a pilot project at the DoubleTree by Hilton Excel in London, staff in five other Shiva hotels, including Kingsway Hall Hotel in Covent Garden and the Hampton by Hilton in Waterloo, will receive training. The initiative will be launched on 30 July to coincide with the United Nation’s World Day against Trafficking in Persons...