Safety and security issues in Hotels are a significant concern in an industry that deals with a highly diverse set of clients. In this day and age, the hotel business stands out for its wide range of clientele. Operating a hotel means accommodating all types of guests, from VIPs to laborers, truck drivers, and common people. During the holiday and festive seasons, the number of guests can reach into the thousands.
This crowded situation and the prospect of harnessing a lack of attention attracts many thieves, burglars, and intruders to the hotel area, and many safety and security issues in hotels can arise.
Today we will look at the most common security issues you can face while managing a hotel and how to find the solutions to them.
Safety And Security Issues In Hotels With Solution
Some of the most common security issues in hotels, which can be detrimental to the staff and the lodgers, include.
Unknown Visitors
It is common for many people to bring their friends and family into their rooms without proper authorization. But for the hotel manager and staff, these unauthorized visits can create grave problems, and keeping them within a limit can be a serious concern.
These visitors are dangerous because the hotel staff lacks any valuable data for background checks, making them harder to track in an emergency. Moreover, many of these visitors come with evil intentions to steal the hotel property or cause damage. This increased number can also pose problems in addressing and complying with safety regulations. Thus we can’t ignore the importance of safety and security in hotels.
Theft
Hotels deal with large numbers of cash transactions daily. This cash flow attracts man thieves and fraudsters, making the hotel vulnerable to their tactics. In addition, owing to the sheer number of rooms and suites in the hotel, the security check of each room can become difficult, and many thieves can make their way with many hotel items.
Many outwardly loyal and straightforward customers can also sometimes steal or fraud the hotel in their transactions, and identifying and dealing with them can be a big problem for the hotel management.
Similar to the thefts inside the hotels, be they property theft or cash fraud, the parking areas are equally susceptible to criminal activity. Many big hotels have large parking spaces to cater to their massive clientele, and managing these lots can be difficult.
These parking lots can become the spot for many car thefts and vandalism. Thieves can also make their way by stealing car parts such as side mirrors or can get into the vehicles through unlocked doors or windows and can get away with the car itself or any valuables present inside it.
Disorderly Behaviour
In many cases, authorized guests themselves become a source of nuisance for the staff and managers. There have been many cases when the guests harassed the hotel staff after a little lapse of judgment from the staff side. Female staff members are even more susceptible to such conduct and can suffer a lot at the hands of many disorderly guests and visitors.
In addition to harassment, many guests opt for rude behavior with the staff and don’t comply with the hotel rules. These guests can become violent, attack someone, and even create altercations with other guests, damaging hotel property. Thus, disorderly behavior by the guests can threaten the general order of things and disrupt the normal everyday life in the hotel.
Safety Concerns
The hotel business has a lot of turnovers, partly because the employees are not treated well and don’t feel secure during their time in the hotel. All the main reasons we discussed above can contribute to this lack of security felt by the staff.
Unknown visitors or authorized guests can be rude to them, thieves can steal their belongings or vehicles, or they can be the target of harassment and disorderly conduct.
These causes are the exact reason why many of the employees, especially women, prefer working in groups and despise going anywhere in the hotel alone.
This is a significant area where a hotel security protocol is lacking and can create a big nuisance for working people.
Solution to the Safety and Security Issues in Hotels
Although many of these problems are man-made and can easily be solved if the involved people become responsible, the hotel staff and management can implement several solutions to mitigate them. Some of the most essential practices that the hotel staff need to implement to secure themselves from any danger include:
Hire Security Guards And Control Access Points
Hiring security guards to man all entry and exit points can prevent unauthorized visitors from entering the hotel. Using access control systems helps contain the entry of such visitors, maintaining safety.
Installing security cameras to check the hotel activity can also help keep an eye on these unknown visitors.
Cash-less Transactions And Background Checks
Making the hotel cashless and accepting only card payments can help control the cash flow and reduce cash thefts. To prevent fraud, the hotel must have a system to perform background checks on all the guests before admitting them into the hotel.
This background check will also prevent internal theft by the hotel staff. Installing security cameras around the hallways and entry points can prevent property theft.
Conflict Resolution And Guest Tracking
To prevent any altercations between the guests or staff, the staff should have appropriate conflict resolution skills. The staff must also employ security guards to handle any serious problems with such guests. The guards should also track the guests showing any propensity for disorderly behavior around the hotel to check their conduct.
In order to get the best guards for security and handling any issues in the hotels and workplace, you can reach out to the most efficient security guard services San Diego at Professional Security Guard Inc.
Staff Discussions And Close Communication
The hotel can address employee safety by actively listening to them and discussing the possible solutions to the presented problems. In addition, the staff must always be in close contact with security guards to reach out to guards and prevent any danger from befalling them. The guards and the staff should also have personal panic buttons to call for assistance in any matter.
We have covered all these issues as well as their solutions in a comprehensive hotel security checklist. You can refer to this checklist to make sure that you have covered all security points.
FAQs
Conclusion
Safety and security issues in hotels are common and can present challenges for the staff and management to deal with them. But if the hotel has a good security system in place, it can prevent all these issues before they cause any major disturbances for the guests or the staff.
Identifying such issues and other lapses in the hotel’s security procedures should be the top priority for management. This allows these issues to be isolated and prevented in their early stages, ensuring the hotel’s integrity is maintained.
We offer a complete range of hotel security services in San Diego, to ensure the safety of the guests and the staff. Reach out to us to make your hotel completely crime free and secure.
