Is It Time For Greater Hotel Security?

I usually don’t post in Blogs but your blog forced me to, amazing work.. beautiful …

I just heard Hilton Hotels Corporation made the International Security Director redundant last month indicating that security for Europe, Miidle East, Africa, Asia and Pacific regions from the US ? So the have no senior manager or Director on the ground in these areas of the world with a proactive responsibility for Security. Have the powers in the States gone completely mad of did they not read about attacks in Mumbai (mind you Hilton used to manage one of the hotels attacked.0 All travellers to Hilton Hotels should take note !!!!!!! hILTON GIVING TWO FINGERS TO CUSTOMER SECURITY AND TO THE RESPECT THAT TERRORISTS ORGANISATIONS DESERVE RELATING TO THE HIGH RISK THE PRESENT !!!

Hello Jeff, thankyou for a very thoughtful and interesting forum. As a seasoned road warrior, I am shocked at recent events and now recognize just how fortunate we are here in North America. I have stayed at over 100 hotels throughout Canada and the United States in these last few years (many several times), and the number of times I have actually felt or been in immediate danger, I could count on one hand. This was usually due to misunderstanding on booking my reservations. Everyone needs access to lodging, and hotels/motels must therefore be located in all parts of a city, including projects etc. Enough said... The number of "

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often. Joyce

The attacks in Mumbai and the earlier one in Marriot in Pakistan have certainly changed the way hotels are going to look at their security. Actually, for some strange reason, hotels have never thought of taking this seriously. In spite of the spread of terror across the globe, I fail to understand why hotels in India just overlooked this whole thing. I am certain that the current staff at any of our hotels is equipped to handle this in future. This will require hiring experienced people at a higher level in the security departments of hotels who can then go on training other staff. It will require certain staff in hotels to be allowed to carry guns, as a couple of lunatics with blazing guns can not be stopped otherwise. Immense training for down the line staff like room boys, servers, bell boys etc will have to be trained on recognizing various kinds of explosives etc etc. I feel, in my opinion that this had to happen some day and this incident in Bombay has certainly set the tone for the change in the way we look at security in our hotels. Local authorities will also have pressure to improve their preparedness to tackle these issues in future, and hopefully we all will be secure eating dinner at a hotel.

Hotels can look at new technology that is on the market today to protect thier quests and staff. Guests are expecting the hotel industry to react to the perceived increased risk of staying in an hotel. The technology company I work for is just one of many technology solutions that need to be considered. Our Company specializes in breakthrough Neural Technology products that use smart sensors for threat recognition and localization. Safety Dynamics,Inc. is currently installing and supporting a system for Law Enforcement called “

(cont)"delay their arrival" by scanning their luggage or ask for additional identification upon check in. If you do, you risk the guest taking their business to another hotel with less stringent security requirements, giving the guest a discounted room rate "for their inconvenience" or get a poor survey response from Market Metrix.sbarbour@luxuryresorts.com

Continuing from my response on Dec. 1st. Most hotel's do not allow armed Security Officers due to insurance reasons, use of force law suits, etc. I have used off duty police officers when necessary, but not on a daily basis. Checking guest bags, limiting parking options, etc. are all good practices. Unfortunately, if you work in a 5 star hotel in Beverly Hills (or anywhere else), you better have front drive parking access for all guests and visitors, you better not "

We can always stretch our Security force out to each and every staff memeber. We have to think outside the box and train our front line staff such as the door staff, bell staff and front desk staff along with housekeeping to be more cognizant of their surrioundings. Training on what indicators and behaviors to look for goes a million miles with the staff. Then they feel empowered in their own safety as well. Just by doing that, you have increased your securit staff in multiples wihtout increasing your payroll.

Having experienced first hand what can happen to a hotel when attacked by terrorists with a mind of their own, I can assure you that your mindset changes dramatically. All previous security norms have to be set to one side and completely different criteria formulated, even for hotels in locations which are supposedly "less" at risk. If you think that your location does not need armed guards, think again. They may not need to be obvious, but if they are permitted by law, they are highly recommended. It is good to obtain a security assessment from a security contractor with protection experience in Iraq or Afghanistan. All luggage should be scanned by x-ray, if possible, before the luggage enters the building - not in the lobby. Each hotel has its own challenges to protect itself, and my sympathies go to the Oberoi and Taj hotels, neither of which have any protection from the public thoroughfare. Hotels with gardens around them can build walls and set up CCTV syutems that give them advance warning of something happening. CCTV is now essential and it needs to be manned 24 hours a day, with immediate communication to a competent, trained security guard force. Those hotels that do not change for fear of putting off their guests, may soon find that they have lost all their business to the competitors who invest in convincing security measures and enhancements. Guests are expecting the hotel industry to react to the perceived increased risk of staying in an hotel.

I am a Corporate Director of Security for 2 major resorts in Scottsdale Arizona. Hotel Security is an interesting thing. We never make our hotels any revenue so most don't take security seriously. That time has changed. If security works you really never see it. The statement "Well that’s never happened here" is a very dangerous way of thinking. We as security directors for hospitality miss the boat completely when we do not involve our sales and catering staffs in our security training. We must educate them so they can advise their clients about security. I just spoke at the State of Arizona Hospitality Security conference and it was about the training I provide my staff at both resorts. This includes front desk agents, sales, catering, bellman, all people who are front line people who would notice anything suspicious. We add value to any group that books conferences and meetings to speak before the group for a few minutes on day one to let them know where to go in he case of emergency, what to do in case of emergency, what they will hear (alarm) and what to avoid while staying at the resort and other areas they might visit as tourists (not propping open doors while they get ice, leaving lap tops even for a minute, and other security tips). A recent study of 700 meeting planners said that security is the #1 issue when booking an event or conference; however I have sat at pre con after pre con where they never ask any security questions. Its time we sell security along with the other amenities that we offer. I teach a seminar "Selling Security" and would be happy to assist you with this program. You can contact me at tbauer@hotelvalleyho.com

Jeff, matters to the extend as they have occured recently (India, Pakistan amongst others) would make even an army base blush. Finding the correct balance between extending Hospitality and security has always been a delicate balancing act. At any given time, pending too many a definition to list here,the balance can tip in favor of either or remain perfectly in harmony. Our industry can and has proven to learn from each occurance and will certainly do so out of these recent events. On the reverse by tipping the balance by default in favor of security; is it not that we start to give in to one of the main demands these identies demand: the restriction of our freedom??

Since we know for a long time that Tourism in general and hotels in particular are a lucrative target for terrorists we have to give maximal security to our guests and employees. We could finance this by putting a security surcharge like is common with some airlines. The know-how is there. My Country, Israel, has one of the best security systems in the world and hotel security staff is trained to deal with terror attacks. I suggest to you to come, visit and buy the know-how.

as someone said when chips are down what you need is good , trained staff to get you thru.as a knee jerk re-action every hotel 3-5 star is reviweing thier hotel with whatever capability they have.unfortunately security system dont have star rated classification. and they dont have to be rated perhaps. but probably it will help if we had a body of people from within the hotel business to come up with a single guideline along with star rating guidelines. maybe? i am told that 6 week back taj hwas doing full checking of all the guests and had to tone it down 2 weeks before the incident as lot of high class guests started complaining of the elaboorate/ tacky procedure they had to go thru.and may be it makes practical sense to have systems, which do thier job ( automations/ gadets ) without bothering guests of all class. otherwise everything that we do , will die its natural death , just as any other "

As a Sec. Dir. for a small hotel near Los Angeles, we would need immediate assistance from the local PD. I have worked in large hotels (Century Plaza, 1000 + rooms with POTUS and other federal visitors), medium hotels( 400+ rooms) and 2 small hotels(Beverly Hills, and currently in West Hollywood). Even with 18 officers back then at Century Plaza, we still would be outnumbered due to the size and physical layout. These terrorists wanted to kill 5,000 people. The police and fire dept.'s would be stretched very thin, espercially if the terrorists decided to hit more than 1 hotel in the area. I am hoping that my staff and the hotel staff would be courageous enough to do what the employees in India did.

No hotel is going to stop fully armed well planned terrorists, your best option is to have good operation plans for evacuations and guest safety coordinated by well trained security staff, if the hotel was based in really volatile areas would safe rooms work?, were as one room per floor is set up with visual and audio communications and can be sealed, but I do stress the the industry needs to have better funded security, not just cheap outsourced security firms that put people through a short course and then deploy them as fully trained officers, when the chips are down you need good well trained people.

In my experience overseas, the industry in general under estimates the practical importance of security which typically is too under manned and under budget to be practically effective. It is deemed as a necessary expense that detracts from the feel and image of the hotel. Common duties that should fall under security for them to be full prepared, such as employee searches and business continuity or emergency measure plans, are often divided amongst other department heads such as HR, Hotel Manager or Chief Engineer. The industry as whole needs to offer competitive salaries and packages to get qualified security staffing, private security specialists willing to adjust to the bordom of typical hotel operations.

I think the first question we all asked ourselves when the attacks in India occured was, what would happen at my hotel? My response was probably like most others in that their is not much you can do. Obviously I think security needs to be stepped up in "hotter" spots of the world, but do you really want armed guards at the front entrance of your hotel? Talk about taking away ambience. This will become a major issue in our field now, even today I was watching CNN where they were discussing the idea of staying at 3 star properties instead of 5 star properties when staying overseas with the idea that it would be safer to travelers. If you work for a high end chain like I do, thats the last thing you want to hear. The only real thing we can do is enhance security features, re-evalute our security protocals and be more diligent about what we face overseas.