Where’s someone most likely to be arrested for soliciting prostitution?
The answer may surprise you.
Apparently it’s high-end Houston hotels, not seedy motels which rent by the hour. That’s because Houston police prefer to partner with nice hotels for their prostitution busts and sting operations.
Downtown Hyatt Regency Heads the List of Houston Prostitution Arrests
According to a recent report in the Houston Chronicle, the Houston hotel with the most prostitution arrests from Jan. 1, 2012 to July 7, 2017 was the downtown Hyatt Regency Houston at 1200 Louisiana Street, just a short distance from the main Houston police station. That hotel was the scene of 136 arrests in the report’s 5½-year period.
Second on HPD’s list of hotel prostitution arrests was the JW Marriott at 5150 Westheimer Road, just across from the Galleria. It had 83 arrests in the last several years.
Third was the Houston Hilton Galleria at 6780 Southwest Freeway with 61 prostitution arrests.
Fourth was the Crowne Plaza Houston at 2712 Southwest Freeway, with 54 arrests.
The Four Points by Sheraton at 2828 Southwest Freeway took fifth place with 51 arrests, while sixth was the Houston Marriott South at Hobby Airport, 9100 Gulf Freeway, with 48 prostitution arrests.
Tied for seventh were Houston’s Hotel Sorella at 800 Sorella Court (in City Centre) and Sterling Inn & Suites at 6530 Southwest Freeway, both with 40 arrests.
Ninth was Hilton Americas, 1600 Lamar downtown, with 31 arrests.
Tenth was Omni Houston Hotel at Westside, 13210 Katy Freeway, with 27 prostitution arrests.
Other hotels with prostitution busts included Hilton Houston North Hotel (near Bush Intercontinental Airport), Hotel Derek and The St. Regis (both in the Galleria/Uptown area).
Among the top 20 Houston hotels for prostitution arrests, half are owned by Marriott International, InterContinental Hotels Group and Hilton Hotels, the Chronicle reported. Many of the hotels are where Houston police officers often conduct prostitution sting operations, coordinated with the hotels.
Hotels Cooperate with HPD Prostitution Sex Stings
The Hyatt Regency Houston cooperated with Houston PD by providing rooms for undercover police to conduct training or engage in sex stings. Other hotels also cooperated with police in advance of sting operations, HPD says.
Such stings are believed to be motivated in part by the current near-hysteria over human trafficking. Though some prostitutes might be illegal immigrants pressed into the sex trade, many are simply women who choose prostitution on their own.
It’s interesting that HPD police officers choose to do their work at high-end hotels rather than seedy motels. That may make for a nicer work environment – not just for prostitutes but also the police – but a crime is a crime, regardless of where it occurs.
HPD said some prostitution arrests are, in fact, made at “lower-end” hotels and motels. But usually such arrests occur on surrounding streets rather than at the hotel or motel itself.
Get a Prostitution Charge Defense Lawyer
If you or a family member faces a charge of prostitution, alert veteran Houston sex crime defense lawyer Neal Davis today. The Neal Davis Law Firm has succeeded in getting charges dismissed for many of our clients.
Contact Neal Davis today and get a legal review of your case.