There are three Motel 6 properties in SeaTac that have been named in several civil lawsuits related to sex trafficking over the past decade, one with as many as 10 or more. The locations on Pacific Highway South, 47th Avenue South and Military Road South are still open.
I am an attorney who represents survivors alleging they were trafficked at these properties, including children. I have filed lawsuits detailing the same pattern: traffickers who rented rooms with cash, staff’s recognition of them, women and girls showing visible signs of abuse, and a company collecting revenue while trafficking continued.
The documented history did not begin with our lawsuits. King County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the 47th Avenue South property over 1,000 times between 2016 and 2019 for area checks and in response to 911 calls. Two men were charged within six days of each other for trafficking women and girls from the same Motel 6. Law enforcement calls were constant and excessive at all three of these properties for years, and local governments recognized them as top crime venues.
The lawsuits have described trafficking periods spanning from the early 2000s through at least 2023. Survivors were taken there repeatedly, sometimes staying for days, weeks or more at a time. Signs of trafficking included teenage girls who appeared unhealthy, exhausted and frightened; young women with visible injuries; male visitors cycling through at all hours; cash payments and false identification; requests for excessive towels and linens; blood in rooms; rooms chosen near exits; and post-checkout evidence of trafficking.
One client was 14 when her trafficking began, and most were trafficked for months or years at these properties.
Every January, motel parent company G6 Hospitality issues a statement about its zero-tolerance stance on human trafficking. In 2019, it signed an international child protection code of conduct. In 2022, CEO Rob Palleschi said: “There is nothing more important to us than creating a safe environment.” The company launched mandatory annual trafficking-awareness training for all staff and donated $500,000 to an industry survivor fund. In 2024, a new CEO expanded training and new software to identify trafficking advertisements. “G6 Hospitality remains committed to combating human trafficking across the country and has a zero-tolerance policy against it,” they said.
Every January, a news release. Every month, business as usual.
Under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, survivors can sue businesses and individuals that knowingly benefited from sex trafficking or should have known trafficking was occurring. Federal courts have kept those claims alive against G6 in our cases.
Training is not enforcement. The motel franchise model makes accountability even harder. G6 sets policies and collects the profits, while franchise operators run the properties. When trafficking occurs, corporate points to the franchisee, and the franchisee claims ignorance. This diffusion of responsibility has allowed crimes to persist at these addresses for far too long, though evidence shows awareness on all sides.
Civil litigation is doing its part, but it has limits. There is no disruption to business, no imposed conditions on future operations, no criminal liability and little public record created.
Cities and counties can act through nuisance abatement, allowing governments to impose security requirements, force management changes, or close properties. In 2017, the city of Los Angeles used this mechanism against a Motel 6, and G6 paid $250,000 and was required to implement sweeping security and management changes for three years. Cities like San Diego and Greensboro, N.C., have used nuisance abatement to shut down hotels where trafficking persisted after repeated warnings.
The cities of SeaTac and Seattle, King County and the state of Washington have this authority. The question is political will.
G6 has called itself a leader in anti-trafficking efforts for years. Yet, these Motel 6 properties have appeared in lawsuit after lawsuit brought by survivors, some who were children, attesting to sex trafficking.
The lawsuits are holding the line. It is time for the cities and counties with authority over these properties to stop them from knowingly profiting from such heinous crimes.
