Ensuring the security of hotels and their guests is a central part of the hospitality industry. Creating a safe and comfortable environment is an essential part of generating positive experiences and encouraging guests to come back often. This process is hugely complex and requires careful planning. The constant flow of visitors in and out of hotels, combined with increased traffic during conferences and other events, can add a level of difficulty to security as compared to other industries.
In today's ever-changing operational landscape, up-to-date security approaches will likely involve a mix of technology, staffing and advanced planning. Hospitality leadership will come up with a unique approach based on their own situation, with the size, location and traffic level of a hotel determining the best ways to protect that facility. Managers who haven't looked at their safety procedures in a while may benefit from reviewing and improving these strategies now.
Top approaches include off-duty police hiring
Describing both the challenges facing hospitality managers and the approaches they can use to counter them, Mountain Home News columnist Adam Richards recently mentioned the positive impact off-duty police officers can have on hotel security. He indicated that hotels' busy nature is one of the traits that makes them potential hotbeds for security threats. Another is the fact that money is constantly changing hands. Disruptions could target those funds, demanding a careful approach to protecting the premises.
Richards noted that having the right personnel on duty at any given time may represent the difference between safety and trouble. He indicated that hotel managers must balance the risks and costs of potential hiring decisions. When it comes to providing the overall highest level of protection, Richards recommended off-duty police services, specifically for hoteliers operating in areas that have encountered problems before.
Police personnel have the knowledge and training needed to respond effectively to incidents. That extra experience could represent a critical edge when a problem erupts. While there are ways to train various kinds of personnel in the best practices of facility security, the education given to law enforcement officers is a reliable indicator of their readiness.
More needed than ever
When breaches in security occur, they act as reminders of just how important it is to protect facilities. A particularly chilling and tragic incident occurred in late 2017, when a gunman in a Las Vegas hotel killed over 50 concertgoers at an outdoor music festival, wounding hundreds more. CNBC explained that the killings may have an effect on the way hotels conduct security procedures in the future, with leaders trying to figure out the best ways to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again.
One of the issues under consideration is whether hotels should adopt more advanced screenings for people who enter the venues. The use of devices such as metal detectors could end up being costly, and managers will have to find ways to balance the risk levels they face with their available budgets and determine the most effective way to spend their security funds in the years ahead.
Valuable assistance from off-duty police
Working with off-duty police officers represents an especially sensible use of hotels' security budgets when leaders work with third-party partners such as Frizell Group. This is because Frizell Group provides reduced liability in terms of insurance coverage and reduced administrative issues in terms of payroll and year-end tax forms.
Hospitality security is a field impacted by a huge number of variables, complicating the essential day-to-day act of keeping hotels safe for workers and guests. Filling staffing needs with off-duty police officers can take some of the uncertainty out of the process.
