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Providing security and safety in a hotel includes protecting people – guests, employees and others- and
assets. Each hotel should develop it’s own need-based security program keeping in mind the legal
requirements and implications that prevail.
To make the hotel a safe place for guests and employees, hotel management must pay attention to both
SECURITY and SAFETY aspects with regard to prevention of a situation and if it occurs, then to develop
procedures to deal with it in an appropriate manner.
I. SECURITY aspects usually include security of physical assets, security relevant to persons –
both guests and hotel staff and security of systems
II. SAFETY: Safety aspects may include:
A. Fire prevention and control
B. Accident prevention-guests & employees
C. Dealing with sickness or death of guests
III. Lastly , the hotel needs to have clear cut policies concerned with dealing with other situations
that may occur from time to time.
A security program is effective only when the employees of the hotel participate whole-heartedly.
Front office personnel play a vital role. Front office staff, including front desk staff, bell desk staff,
door attendants, the concierge and parking attendants have the opportunity to continuously
observe whoever arrives at or departs from the premises. Suspicious activities or circumstances
involving a guest can be reported to the hotel’s security department.
Some procedures that front desk agents may use to protect guests and property are:
Front desk agents should never give keys, messages or mail to anyone asking for them without
first seeing appropriate identification.
The agent should never announce an arriving guest’s room number loudly to avoid being
overheard.
Most hotels have a policy that prohibits its staff members from providing information to callers or
visitors.
Guest room numbers are also not given out. People calling the hotel for the guest may be directly
connected to the guest’s room without being told the room number. Visitors calling in person on
the counter may be directed to use the house telephones to call the guestroom.
Front office employees may inform the guests of precautions they themselves may take. For
example, front desk agents may suggest that a guest arriving by car should secure all valuables in
the car.
The bell person taking the luggage to the guest room can explain the features of the guest room,
especially the operation of room equipment, the use of access control devices on the doors and
windows, familiarize the guest with pertinent security information and point out any notices in
the room relating to security.
Regarding the guests’ personal property, the front office may develop a method for ensuring the
safety and security of the luggage of the guests.
A valet parking attendant should secure all parked vehicle keys so that they cannot be removed
by anyone except authorized employees.
Front office staff also plays an important role in protecting the hotel’s assets – collection of
payments or even items stolen by the guest.
Though a hotel is open to the public, it is finally a private property and it can monitor and control the
activities of the persons on the premises. Every hotel has it’s Security Department that is responsible for
most crisis situations. Surveillance plays a great role in most aspects of guest and property protection.
Though security in the hotel is the responsibility of the Security Department, it is every ones’ business.
All staff should be security minded and should report anything of a suspicious nature. The slightest hint
of a scandal is enough to bring down the reputation of the hotel.
ON GUESTROOM FLOORS:
A room attendant has access to all areas on these floors including the guestrooms and needs to be
doubly careful since many guest belongings are left about.
They should be instructed to issue the mastered keys with proper authorization and to keep them
safely while in their possession.
They should not open doors for guests without first confirming with the front desk.
They should keep an eye on all activities and people on the floor and report any guestrooms
found with the door open and any keys found hanging in the room door locks.
They should not give their master keys to any other person-guest or employee.
If any colleague needs the room door opened to carry out any task inside, they should open the
rooms themselves and stand by till the job is completed and then lock the room door carefully.
All faulty door locks and catches and other security mechanisms in the room should be reported
to maintenance immediately.
At night all French windows and balcony/patio doors should be locked securely.
Special attention needs to be paid to the locking of interconnecting doors after the checkout of
guests. Housekeeping should keep a lookout for and immediately report guests having drugs or
firearms in their rooms. They should also follow proper procedures for handling lost and found
items of the guest while reporting missing or damaged hotel items for recovering costs from the
guests.
Regular rounds of the floors are also taken by security personnel for checking any irregularities
and suspicious people.
IN PUBLIC AREAS:
In public areas, the security officer moves casually amongst the guests keeping a sharp lookout
for shady and suspicious characters.
Bellboys also help in recognizing regular undesirable characters and are alert to people with a
nervous or uncomfortable behaviour.
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They also tend to remember previous unpleasant guest or those that create problems or even
blacklisted guests. Anybody seen carrying firearms in the property should be reported
immediately.
In the lobby it should be possible for the front desk staff to observe the hotel’s main entrance,
elevators, escalators and stairways. Strategically placed mirrors can help.
Front office staff can also be trained in the procedures for stopping elevators and escalators in
the event of an emergency.
Closed circuit television (CCTV) can be effectively used as a surveillance tool in multiple-entry
hotels. The monitors may be placed in a control center. However, personnel would still be
required to monitor the television. Therefore it must be kept in mind that the surveillance
equipment is intended to assist the employees and not replace them.
HOTEL ASSETS:
Employees are physically checked upon their departure from the hotel.
Any staff found to smuggle the smallest hotel property or guest belonging out of the hotel is
terminated.
A proper gate pass or red tag system should be employed for dealing with items of the hotel or
guests being removed from the premises with proper authorization.
Guestroom keys are most important and the slightest mistake or careless handling may cost one
their job. Proper procedures should be laid and followed in the case of key handling.
Even guest are expected to return room keys upon their departure.
Housekeeping should also follow proper procedures for reporting missing or damaged hotel items
for recovering costs from the guests.
SPECIFIC AREAS OF INTERNAL CONTROL (Prevention of theft and ensuring guest security):
All hotel properties use three types of guest room keys- emergency keys, master keys and individual
guest keys.
a) An emergency key or grand master key opens all guestrooms even when they are double-locked.
These keys should be highly protected and their use should be strictly controlled and recorded.
Such a key should never be removed from the premises.
b) A master key opens all guestrooms that are not double locked. It should be secured in a
designated place for safekeeping and should be issued to authorized personnel only and that
after a written record is maintained of identity of individual and time taken and returned. It can
be also called a floor master key or a section key depending on the area where it can be used.
c) A guestroom key opens a single guestroom if the door is not double locked. This key should be
given to a guest after proper identification of the registered guest. Front desk agents should
remind guests to return the key at check out. Well- secured key boxes in the lobby and entrance
can serve as additional reminders.
Some hotels do not list their name, address or room numbers on guestroom keys to avoid tracing
back if they fall in the wrong hands. A code number may be stamped on the key in place of the
room number.
Hotel keys should not be taken from the property at all.
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Many hotels require that all keys be returned to security and placed in a locked cabinet when not
in use.
Keys issued should be entered in a logbook with such information as the date of issue, time of
issue, person taking the key and the reason for issue along with the issuer’s name.
With the use of PMS, every door opening can now be recorded along with the user identity and
the time of access, which improves the implementation and control of the security system.
In case of any unauthorized or unlawful use of a key, or any loss or theft, every lock affected
should be changed or rotated to another part of the property.
Note: All electronic keys can be mastered to serve as master keys or section keys or even grand
master keys as in the conventional key systems.
Most hotels provide safe deposit lockers for the use of guests in which they can protect their
belongings. Technically, the hotel that provides safe deposit lockers and informs the guest of such
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facility has limited liability in case of theft of the article, since the guest had been informed of the
facility and still chose not to avail it.
The required notice can be made through postings made in the guest room, the registration card
and through the front desk agent registering the guest.
Safe deposit lockers or boxes should be placed in an area to which there is limited access and
unauthorized guests or staff should not be allowed in the area.
They are usually located near the front desk or in a room behind the front office cashier in a
secure area.
These days every guestroom is provided with in-room safes for the guest valuables. The guest can
employ his own code for access.
Two keys should be required to open a safe deposit box- a control key and the guest key. The control
key, which must be used in conjunction with the guest’s key to open the box, should be secured carefully
and kept in possession of employees authorized to access the boxes. It should always be accounted for at
each change of shift.
Even when more than one guest is using the same locker, there should only be one guest key issued. If a
guest key is lost, the locker is drilled open in front of the guest in the presence of a witness and someone
from the property. The safe deposit agreement signed by the guest should make it clear that the guest
will be responsible for all costs related to the loss of the key.
A personal piece of guest information- date of birth or mother’s name - may be included on the
initial agreement for the correct identification of the guest if in doubt. The important thing is that
whatever procedure is adopted it should be followed carefully every time and for each guest.
After identity has been ascertained, the attendant should accompany the guest to the safe
deposit locker and use the control key and the guest’s key to open the box in view of the guest.
The guest may or may not be left alone as per hotel policy but the attendant is never left alone
with the guest’s belongings.
Only the guest should place items into or remove them from the box or locker. When the guest is
finished, the attendant should lock the box in view of the guest and return the guest’s key.
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Surrender of locker:
When the guest relinquishes/ surrenders the box and returns the key, the guest and the
attendant should sign a release notice that he has received all the articles that had been placed in
the safe deposit box.
In cases where space limits the number of boxes available for each individual guest, the guests
may have to share lockers or boxes. In this case, each guest’s property must be sealed in a
container or envelope to keep it separate from the other guest’s property.
The guest key to the safe deposit locker should be maintained in a secure place and it’s use
should be recorded in a Safe Deposit Locker Register.(Draw format)
In-room safes: These days, nearly all hotels provide in-room safes for the use of the guest. The guest
can use his own personal code for operating this during his stay. There is a master override for the
code in case the guest forgets the code or forgets to unlock the safe on his departure from the hotel.
The lost and found function is usually assigned to the housekeeping. Nevertheless, most guests contact
the front desk for any enquiries. Clear procedures should be developed to deal with such queries and
appropriate records should be maintained. Under no circumstances should an article be mailed to the
guest without his permission to do so or handed over to anyone other than the guest without proper
authorization received from the guest.
In today’s political climate nearly every public area or institutions is open to being a target for
terrorists. This danger is even more so in hotels that cater to VIPs.
Very often such hotels would be closely working and consulting with the local police for their
security arrangements.
In particular, staff would be expected to keep their eyes open and to report anything of a
suspicious nature.
All areas should be regularly patrolled and anything or any one of a suspicious nature should be
reported to security.
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All public areas should be checked and locked if possible when not in use such as banquet rooms,
banquet floor restrooms, etc. baggage and other items that enter the hotel must be checked and
kept securely.
In the evenings all rooms and public areas windows should have the curtains closed to protect
privacy and for safety of the residents.
The chief threat is the telephoned bomb warning. Even though these could be hoaxes, they
cannot be taken lightly.
Usually the telephone operators are the ones handling calls and they should be trained to handle
them correctly.
The front desk may serve as the command center in the event of any emergency, summoning on-
premises security staff or the local police. Front office staff should:
React quickly and efficiently
Remain cool and calm
Avoid panic
Follow standard emergency procedures such as, those mentioned above and use any
documentation necessary for notifying management and contact guests informing them of what
precautions to take and how to behave in an emergency (as prescribed in the procedures laid
down by management)
e. ROBBERY
Armed robbery is a possibility since a hotel has some cash on the premises.
Front office staff should respond as reasonably as possible.
They should not make any sudden movements and should comply with the robber’s demand.
They should not do anything to jeopardize their lives or those around them.
They should remain quiet unless directed to talk, keeping hands in sight and not attempt to
disarm the robber or use a weapon.
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A secret silent alarm may be installed in the cashier’s desk that is operated when a certain packet
of bills is removed.
The staff may make careful note of the robbers and their mode and direction of getaway or even
a license plate in order to report it to the police, but very unobtrusively.
The police may be notified as soon as it is safe to do so.
3. EXTERNAL SECURITY:
The measures used for achieving external security in general may involve:
proper lighting of the perimeter and outside of the building/s
proper fencing of the building
planting of shrubbery along the perimeter of the building
manning of all gates and entrances to the property and building/s
fixing and monitoring of surveillance equipment
External security may also include the prevention of vandalism or damage to hotel building
property and premises by miscreants (including writing graffiti on the premises).
NOTE: The important thing to remember in any unusual situation is that a report of the event/situation
has to be submitted by each department involved so that the management may be able to keep the
records and use these to assess the situation, the actions taken, the burden of responsibility and ensure
such steps that will prevent or reduce the occurrence of such events in the future.
Assignments for journal & class discussion: (Use reference books, eg. Hotel Front Office Operations &
Management by R. Tewari, etc. for further information and formats.)
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Q1. How would you deal with the following situations? Please state in steps.
a. An in house guest complains that he cannot find his Rolex watch he left on the dresser while
he was out.
b. The room attendant is cleaning an occupied room and finds a roll of foreign currency under
the pillow.
c. A report is received from room attendant on the floor that room 305 is checking out and is
settling his bill at the front desk and there is a table lamp, worth Rs. 3000/-, missing from the
room.
d. At the F&B service area you notice an unknown person hanging around.
e. The guest checking in has a woman with him who seems to be of suspicious nature.
f. The guestroom key is found hanging in the door keyhole by the room attendant.
g. A guest approaches you (hk attendant) on the guestroom floor claiming his key is with his wife
who has gone out shopping, so could you please open his room?
Q3. Draw formats of: i. Safe Deposit Locker Register ii. Safe Deposit Box Record Card
iii. Accident/Incident Report Form iv. Bomb Threat Check List
v. Lost & Found Form and Register vi. Key Control Register
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