Hotel safety & security

Chapter 9:Safety and Property Security

Hotel Operations Management, 1/e ©2004 Pearson Education Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Hotels are not required to ensure guest safety.

However, must exercise reasonable care for guest and employee safety.

Hotel may be held wholly or partially liable for resulting loss or injury if it is found that a hotel has exhibited an absence of reasonable care for guest safety.

Personal Safety: Legal Liability & Guest Safety

Protection of an individual’s physical well-being and healthSafety

Protection of an individual or of business’ property or assetsSecurity

Hotels are not required to ensure guest safety.



Facility Engineering & MaintenanceLocal law enforcement officials can provide no-cost safety and security training for employees.

Training employees to 1) ensure guest safety, 2) work safely, and 3) assist hotel’s security efforts.Employee safety training is an ongoing process

Reinforces that:

Guest safety and hotel security is the responsibility of every manager, supervisor, & employee of the hotel.

Personal Safety: Staffing for SecurityOperation of Safety & Security Committee

Employee safety training

Local law enforcement



Reduce chance for guests to be victimized in their rooms by someone who had rented the same room on a prior night

Help reduce the incident of employee theft from rooms

Personal Safety: Safety ResourcesRecodable locks

Surveillance systems

Use of VCR

- Recording activity at front desk, in parking areas, and near cashiers

Use of CCTV (Closed-Circuit Television)-In a multiple-entry property where management desires to monitor

activity outside each entrance



Internal alarms

Alarm systems

Notify (contact) an external entity such as fire or police departments if alarm is activated

Contact alarms

Personal Safety: Safety Resources

Serve to deter criminal or mischief activityNotify an area within the hotel if alarm is activatedProtect storage areas, hotel facilities (pools, spa, and exercise areas), and hotel and perimeter

Both federal law and local building codes mandate hotel fire alarms



Fire / power outages / severely inclement weather / robbery / death or injury to a guest or employee / bomb threat / intense negative publicity by the media

Personal Safety: Safety ResourcesEmergency Plans: the identification of a threat to the safety and security of the hotel & hotel’s planned response to the threat

Response to events in most hotels’ emergency plans

An emergency plan must be a written document, including:

Type of crisisWho should be told when the crisis occursWhat should be done and who should do it in the crisis Who should be informed of the results or impact of the crisis when it is over

Where practical, hotels should practice implementation of their plan !



Figure 9.3 lists ten key practices for parking lot safety

Figure 9.2 lists ten key practices for spa safety

Figure 9.1 lists ten key practices for swimming pool safety

Swimming pools

Personal Safety: Special Safety Issues

Spas

Parking lots

Always remember how to improve guest safety and minimize the legal liability of the hotel!



All hotels should document their safety and security related efforts!

Personal Safety: Documenting Safety Efforts

Prepare & complete MOD checklists for each critical area of hotel- Appropriate frequency, content and number of checklist should be determined

Incident reports listing the “who, what, where, and how” should be filed and maintained

Document minutes from safety and security committee meetings, general staff meeting’s notes relevant to safety issues, records of employee training related to safety and security, and safety seminars attended by employees



Provide a safe workplace for employees by complying with OSHA safety and health standards

Personal Safety: Occupational Safety & Health Administration

OSHA regulations ensure businesses:

Provide workers with only tools and equipment that meet OSHA specifications for health and safety

Establish training programs for employees who operate dangerous equipment

Report to OSHA within 48 hrs of any worksite accident that results in fatality or requires hospitalization of five or more employees

Maintain the “OSHA Log 200” (an on-site record of work- related injuries or illness) and submit it to OSHA once per year



Display OSHA notices regarding employee rights and safety in prominent places within the hotel

OSHA regulations ensure businesses (continued…)

Provide all employees access to the Material Safety Data Sheets that provide information about the dangerous chemicals they may be handling during work

Personal Safety: The Occupational Safety & Health Administration

Offer no-cost hepatitis B vaccinations for employees who may have come into contact with blood or body fluids

Compliance with OSHA standards

Results in

Fewer accidents lower insurance costs healthier workforce



Hotels bond those employees in a position to embezzle funds

Property Security: Threats to Asset Security- Internal Threats

Methods of fraud related to cashiering

Charging guests for items not purchased, then keeping the overcharge

Changing totals on credit card charges after the guest has left or imprinting additional credit card charges and pocketing the cash difference

Misadding legitimate charges to create a higher-than-appropriate total with the intent of keeping the overcharge

Voiding legitimate sales as “mistakes” and keeping the cash amount of the legitimate sale

Facility Engineering & Maintenance 9

Charging higher-than-appropriate prices for hotel goods or services, recording the proper price, then keeping the overcharge



Property Security: Threats to Asset Security- Internal Threats (continued….)

TimeShould have strong controls in place regarding time cards.

Three noncash assets most subject to employee theft:

Company property

Carefully screen employees prior to hiringReduce theft opportunities by using effective security Treat all proven cases of similar theft in a similar manner

ServicesMonitor long-distance telephone bills generated by each administrative telephone extension number



Property Security: Threats to Asset Security- External Threats

Cash

Robbery is not the occasion to attempt the protection of cash assets.Robbery is the time to protect staff !During a robbery, complying with robber’s demands and observing the robber should be the employee’s sole concern.If no contact alarm is installed in the cashier’s cash drawer, an employee who is robbed should, at the earliest safe opportunity, contact local law enforcement officials as well as others indicated in the robbery section of the hotel’s emergency plan.



Other assets: security-conscious manager:

Property Security: Threats to Asset Security External Threats (continued….)

Hang all artwork in lobbies & guest rooms with lock-down style hangersAvoid placing valuable decorations & décor pieces in areas where they can be easily taken by guestsTrain room attendants to alert management if excessive amounts of in-room items go missing from stay-over roomsBolt televisions securely to guestroom furnitureTrain all employees to be alert regarding loss of hotel property & to report any suspicious activity



Guest-theft of housekeeping supplies

Theft from guest rooms by room attendants or other employees

- best policy is to report the incident to local law enforcement

Largest area of security concern is fraudulent selling of rooms

Use housekeeping discrepancy report to detect room revenue fraud

Front Office

Property Security: Threats to Asset Security Department-Specific Threats to Asset Security

Housekeeping



Employee theft of hand tools and supplies Implementing a sign-in/sign-out program for tools

Misstating mileage traveled, clients entertained, or sales trips taken

Hotel suppliers such as silverware and glassware taken by guestsEmployees accepting kickbacks from vendors or by purchasing, then stealing, food and beverage items intended for the hotel

Food & Beverage

Property Security: Threats to Asset Security Department-Specific Threats to Asset Security

Sales & Marketing

Maintenance & Engineering

Hotel safety & security

Health & Medicine

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