Tourism & More

Lodging Security

October 2006

Because many hotel managers falsely believe that theses topics will frighten customers, there are still too many tourism and lodging professionals who hesitate to speak about tourism/lodging security and safety issues. Often, risk management and security department members report feeling under-appreciated and over-worked.

There is nothing, however, that can destroy the reputations of a location’s tourism businesses or hotels more effectively than a lack of security or safety. While, in reality, there is no such thing as total travel (tourism) security or safety, there is much that the industry can do to promote a safe and secure visit.

To help in this process, this month’s Tourism Tidbits offers the following suggestions:

• Attractions and places of lodging are part of the local environment. Never separate the security found inside of an attraction or place of lodging from the environment in which it is located. Managers need to be keenly aware of the crime issues that are found in the location in which their business is situated. For example, if a hotel is located in an area that attracts the homeless, then that fact must be taken into the overall security plan. Hotel security does not stop at a business’ doorsteps.
• Never forget that places with high levels of good customer service tend to be the safest businesses. Tourism businesses that provide poor customer service send out a message that they do not care about the well-being of their guests. On the other hand, businesses in which employees tend to care about their guests tend to be safer. Creating an environment of caring is the first step toward good guest safety and security procedures.
• Know who is working at your establishment. Often administrators hire people without even a simple background clearance. Yet, for example, lodging staff members have free access to guests’ rooms and often know when the guests are in their rooms or not. Security personnel complain that they often have no knowledge as to who has access to a guest’s room and whether staff members have a previous criminal past. Good tourism security requires that employees be regularly tested for substance abuse. The security staff should also possess a copy of each employee’s photo id and know which keys each employee has
• Understand that most guests neither read the safety material that has been provided for them nor, in times of emergency, will they remember what it says. Reading material exists to make hotel administrators feel better, but rarely do guests read it or remember what is in it. When designing a hotel security program develop it in such a way as to assume that guests will not be cautious for themselves.
• Make sure that your staff is well trained in tourism security protection. Make sure that they receive regular security updates and speak the same languages as your customers or guests. All too often, security fails simply because the staff cannot communicate with the people it is serving. Whenever possible, make sure that hotel staff is certified in its security knowledge by an independent agency.
• Protect your property. It is the responsibility of the security specialists to protect not only guests but also their property. In an age of terrorism, while there are people whose purpose it is to destroy or harm a specific site, site protection must also take into account the careless traveler. Often, vacationers simply forget to care for furniture, appliances or equipment. Hotel security must also take into account the needs of the cleaning staff and hotel engineers and seek to assure that site environment is both attractive and as secure/safe as possible.
• Make sure that your security agents are well trained in the customs and cultural habits of your hotel guests. For example, some cultures tend to be more trusting than others and different cultures may have distinct patterns for what is acceptable or not for female guests. It is essential that management develop security patterns that meet not only the local environment but also meet the cultural needs of the hotel’s guests.
• Develop a relationship between your hotel’s security staff and the local police department. The local police department should not have to learn where things are in a hotel after an incident has taken place. Regular walk-throughs and meetings can save both time and lives and reduce what might have been a major incident into a minor one.
• Obtain the best equipment for guest protection that your business can afford. While not all properties need metal detectors, there are a number of less obvious improvements that can be made. Among these include the changing of widows to bulletproof ones in those areas that overlook sensitive or dangerous places, the alarming of exit doors, the upgrading of key systems, tight controls on who may dispense keys. Review your key return policy, make sure that security cameras create “safe areas” where guests can go in case they feel uncomfortable on an elevator, and do regular reviews of equipment to decide what changes may be necessary. In an age of terrorism, hotels need to protect those locations where trash is disposed and make sure that all parking lots are well lit.
• Know what upgrading your facilities may need. For example, has your security staff checked the hotel’s air ventilation system? Are all fire exits clear of debris? Could guests be evacuated from the hotel’s roof in case of a terrorism attack or fire? Is there helicopter access? Hotel staff needs to have a back-up plan in case there is an electrical blackout and that plan needs to include an evacuation plan that will work without electricity. That means that guests may have to be evacuated without lights and informed of the situation without a loudspeaker system. Furthermore, in a world of international tourism, hotels need to have a plan to communicate with their foreign language speaking guests. Giving orders in a language that is not understood is not useful
• Make sure that the food that guests consume is safe. This means much more than simply refrigerating the mayonnaise. It means making sure that food preparation areas are secure and that there is a close working relationship between your security department and your food preparation services. Food safety in today’s world also means that background checks need to be performed on all employees who handle food and that these employees are trained in pertinent aspects of hotel security.