Hotels face a lot of threats that their security guards need to be prepared for. Holiday seasons and weekends are the most popular time to take a vacation, with many people heading in all different directions to visit family and friends or simply to just relax from work. This means that hotels will have more guests than usual coming through their doors. So in this article, we’ve put together a list of the most common security threats that plague hotels along with ways to help prevent them:
1. Unauthorized Guests Within the Premises
To create an amazing hotel experience, you need to pay attention to a lot of details. It can be difficult for anyone to recognize every person who walks through the door in a hotel. Therefore, it’s important for hotel employees to get to know as many guests as possible, and for the hotel management to ensure staffing levels and hiring practices result in a professional staff that knows how to keep customers happy.
How To Prevent: Your staff would need to know how to suspect guests who may seem skeptical but also know how to keep their composure in front of them. This is necessary in keeping unauthorized people out.
2. Theft of Hotel Property
Hotel theft can be quite common. There are a few ways that guests can enter rooms in hotels and steal items. Additionally, it’s fairly common for guests to steal from hotels. While you might be able to spare a towel or travel soap, you’ll want to protect more valuable items from theft. Security guards are also important to have as both a deterrent and prevention of theft at your hotel.
How To Prevent: It’s a good idea to install surveillance cameras both inside and outside of your hotel. You should also consider updating your security system. The latest technology will provide new solutions to help you monitor your property effectively. When you install new security cameras, you can also consult security experts on proper placement to ensure maximum visibility.
3. Unexpected Emergencies
A threat can mean anything that could result in a safety incident or an emergency. Fire, severe weather, and facility mechanical issues are some of the most common threats. In buildings that have large numbers of guests, this is even more important because the average person will not be prepared to take care of themselves in case of an emergency such as fire. This is yet another reason why it’s imperative for hotel staff to have proper training in emergency procedures and protocol.
How To Prevent: Have a clear evacuation plan in place and make sure that your employees know the protocol. Hired security personnel must also be quick to take action and all of the staff of the establishment must be trained with first aid just in case it is needed.
4. Improper Behavior By Hotel Guests
Considering all the great guest experiences you provide at your hotel, it can be hard to imagine a scenario where a guest might cause harm to your property. But it happens more often than people think. Over the past few years, more and more businesses in the hospitality industry have seen their property damaged by guests. This is because many people view hotel rooms as an opportunity to act like they never would at home. Obviously, this can be a major liability for you as the owner of a hotel, resort or other property with overnight guests. That is why hotel staff must be quick to take action and be properly trained when such an incident occurs.
How To Prevent: Hotel staff must be quick to take action and be properly trained when such an incident occurs. It’s important to relieve the situation and also respect the guests at the same time.
5. Parking Area Safety
Parking lots and parking garages are highly vulnerable to theft in hotels, as many people leave their cars unattended for days on end. If parking areas are not under surveillance, people will be likely to break into cars and commit theft.
How To Prevent: To protect your guests’ cars and personal property that are left in the hotel’s parked area, make sure you’re doing security risk assessments, asking security professionals where CCTV cameras should be placed, and hiring security guards to patrol the parking area to deter thieves and catch them while they’re in the act of stealing.
Following through with these tips, you can boost your security measures and keep yourself protected from threats from a variety of angles. At the end of the day, it’s not about the expensive equipment you buy but the proper usage and set up of apparatus along with trained personnel. We hope the tips above can help you identify and remove a threat from your establishment if ever it arises, or at least minimize the harm it will cause when it does.
If you need specialized security services for your business, contact our team today and we will be glad to help solve any issues.