During the holiday season, hotels are flooded with guests. Everyone heads in different directions to visit their families and friends, meaning they’ll need a place to stay. Because hotels are so crowded during the holidays, many hotel managers and owners want to beef up their security before this busy season to properly prepare. We’ve compiled a list of the most common security threats that hotels face along with tips to help address them.
1. Unauthorized Visitors
It can be very hard to keep track of people in a hotel. You’ll have countless guests, and it can be difficult for each employee to know each guest. Additionally, your guests might have visitors that you won’t recognize. If your hotel has a restaurant or bar, those guests can add to the list of faces you’ll see in the hotel. With all of these different faces filling your hotel, it can be difficult to tell who belongs there and who is an unauthorized visitor. It’s important to encourage your employees to get to know as many guests as possible and to improve your security measures to keep unauthorized guests out and ensure that they don’t cause any problems. Posting security officers at your entrances and upgrading to the latest surveillance cameras and equipment can also help you properly monitor the building.
2. Theft
Theft can be a problem in hotels. Guests or other visitors can sneak into others’ rooms and take items. Additionally, it’s fairly common for guests to take items from hotels. While you might be able to spare a towel or travel soap, you’ll want to protect more valuable items from theft. Fortunately, taking steps to improve your hotel security can help prevent theft. Proper surveillance coupled with security guards that serve both as deterrents and prevention can stop theft in 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. Parking Area Theft
In addition to theft within the hotel, you’ll need to consider theft in your parking areas. 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 in to cars and commit theft. To protect your guests’ cars and personal property, conduct proper surveillance on your parking areas. Surveillance cameras can be a great option to protect parking areas. If your cameras are old, consider getting new ones that provide the best footage possible. You can also consider a security risk assessment in which security professionals will help you place cameras in the right places to maximize visibility. Vulnerable parking areas can also benefit from patrolling security officers who will keep an eye on the area, deterring criminals from committing theft and stopping any thieves in the act.
4. Disorderly Conduct
Everyone has heard the old cliché about rock stars and hotel rooms. However, rock stars aren’t the only ones who can potentially cause damage to your property. Unfortunately, many people look at hotel visits as an opportunity to act in ways they never would at home. They might vandalize your property, destroy things, or get into altercations with other guests. If your hotel has a bar, these risks only increase. For this reason, it’s important to have proper security measures in place to handle unruly guests. Security officers can help stop any conflict or disorderly conduct as soon as they arise to prevent any serious damage to your property or injury.
5. Safety Emergencies
In any building, there’s always the risk of a safety emergency such as severe weather or a fire. In hotels, this concern is especially important because you will have a large number of guests that are not properly briefed on emergency protocol. For this reason, it’s essential to have your staff not only aware of how to act in an emergency, but also aware of how to help guests and provide clear instructions. One way to promote safety during emergencies is to hire private security officers. They are highly trained to remain calm even in the most stressful situations and will be able to provide instructions to employees and guests, keeping everyone calm and safe.
USI Security | Hotel Security Solutions
For the past 29 years, USI has created safe, secure environments for commercial and government employees and customers by investing in our people, innovation and relationships. As engaged, owner-operators, our investment begins with recruitment and screening to ensure we have the right people and continues through our policies and practices that enable USI to properly train and retain the best personnel.
USI is engaged in supporting your security and business by developing customized security solutions that support your business objectives while cost-effectively minimizing risk. Clients receive continuous support from a highly responsive team of professionals including owners, management, field supervisors and officers. Our commitment to quality includes field inspections and audits, as well as investments in innovative solutions for continuous training and compliance.
Click below to schedule a no-cost property evaluation to see if your hotel has the security it needs.
