For a person on holiday, a hotel is the next best thing to home. Taking into account the hassles related to traveling, the last thing a visitor to foreign place needs is to be overly concerned with the intricacies of security. The leaders in the hospitality industry take the issue under discourse as a major aspect of value addition.
Hotel security starts at the entrance. Porters must have authentic name tags, bearing the name of the hotel as well as the attendant’s, and current photographs. Several cases have been reported where a person with untoward motives masquerades as a porter in a bid to steal clients’ personal effects, and more importantly, credit card information. Some of these people double up as valets, making away with clients’ vehicles, and even worse, kidnapping unsuspecting patrons in a bid to extort astronomical ransoms for their release (MacGeey, 1998).
Concerning accommodation, individualized electronic cards would work well, activated based on the date of checking in and the length of stay. Using this method, only guests can access their rooms, eliminating the possibility of locks being picked. Moreover, as they operate on self-locking doors, this method does away with the cases of guests forgetting to remove keys from the keyholes. Solid doors are best, with peepholes for guests to identify people knocking on their doors before opening for them. Biometrics also ranks very high as an element of hotel security. Using a client’s unique physical features definitely, cuts reduces theft fourfold. Fingerprints and retina scans are the most commonly used. The traditional lock and key system will not wash in this day and age (Bernard, 2005).
A new trend sweeping through the hotel industry is the application of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, particularly at access points. This is a primary response to terrorist attacks, giving the relevant authorities round-the-clock surveillance of their premises.
Restaurants are no longer located in open lobbies or areas accessible at street level. This element ensures that only vetted staff and authentic guests can access such spaces. If this was not the case, a terrorist could waltz in at any time, under the guise of having a cup of tea before wreaking havoc. Owners of such establishments go a step further to provide safe transport between airport and hotel, effectively controlling who enters the parking lot. When it is a tad late and certain security elements have been breached, the relevant mitigation steps must be put in place. Well-defined fire escape routes are mandatory and so are alternative power sources for escape critical services lighting and ventilation. This also indicates the need for a high level of structural integrity and building strength (Bernard, 2005).
Even though hotel management must ensure the security of staff, patrons, and premises, the onus is on the patrons to have their wits about them in everything they do. It may be a threadbare cliché, but prevention is better than cure. Patrons must not divulge sensitive information without asking the relevant questions. After all, the customer is always right.
References
- Bernard M. Tips on Hotel Safety Measure. New York: Prentice Hall 2005
- MacGeey C. Hotel Motel Security. London: Oxford University Press 1998