Front Office and Guest Security

Security Issues-

Security encompasses areas such as security of the property itself, company assets, employees' and customers' personal belongings and valuables, life security, personal security etc. In all workplaces management stipulates that it is not responsible for valuables and employee’s personal belongings (their handbags, items kept in the personal lockers, etc.). Yet management must take all possible measures to prevent theft among employees and of employee belongings through its hiring practices and through the implementation of effective management, human resources and operational policies, such as: -

1.?????? Background checks of selected applicants

2.?????? Policies related to employees' entry to, and exit from, the workplace

3.?????? Spot checks of locker rooms and lockers ?

4.?????? Effective supervision and control during the work cycle

5.?????? Policies related to the discovery of criminal records and wrong doing among, and by, employees

6.?????? Control of people entering and exiting the workplace with regard to guest valuables, management informs guests that the hotel is not responsible for valuables left in the room, advising them to secure these in safety deposit boxes provided by the hotel.

Besides taking care of security issues related to the people they employ (as outlined above), management must undertake some necessary measures, among which:

1.?????? Providing "secure" (safety) deposit boxes and areas to keep valuables

2.?????? Policies and practices to ensure the security of these boxes and areas

3.?????? Management and operational policies regarding the security of guest rooms

4.?????? Management and operational policies regarding the security of public areas

5.?????? Security policies and practices for the back-of-the-house areas

6.?????? Employment and training of security personnel

7.?????? Policies and practices to minimize the "presence" and "patronage" of "shady characters" and criminals, verification of registration and check-in personal data and documentation submitted, and curtailing free movement of unknowns on the premises, as well as direct, free flowing communication with local, national and international security authorities)

8.?????? Training of staff in guest and valuable security

9.?????? Effective supervision and control procedures.

Some of the security measures taken by Hotels & Resorts:

1.?????? Key Card Locks:? While key card locks on guest rooms are quickly becoming the standard, some hotels still don't take advantage of the added safety provided to guests. Guest room locking systems these days include punch and magnetic key cards which have locks with flash memory and other productivity linked functions. The system can directly be linked with PMS.

2.?????? Security Guards:? Most hotels or resorts do not have security guards while some employ them only at night or less numbers. At good branded hotels or resorts, have our own staff or trained security guards working 24-hours every day to provide the best in safety and security for our guests

3.?????? Defibrillation Units: ?A life saving device in case of cardiac arrest, heart attacks, defibrillation units are starting to be deployed among all hotels & resort and emergency personnel across the nation to take appropriate action during medical emergency.

4.?????? Security CCTV Cameras:? Few Hotels have security cameras with digital technology, intelligent access central system, software interface with CCTV for matching undesirable visitors and criminals, interfacing with motion detectors, pocket lie detectors and spy cameras and use of biometric readers like hand key reader or face recognition system etc. All CCTV cameras should be monitored on regular basis 24x7 to prevent any untoward incident.

5.?????? Fire Alarms:? While most hotels or resorts now have smoke detectors and fire alarms, some hotels have a state of the art alarm system with smoke detectors in each guest room and throughout the entire complex that is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days per week that pinpoints the exact point of the alarm allowing our security staff to respond immediately to the area of any alarm condition.

6.?????? Emergency Power: ?Very few hotels have any provision for emergency power in case of an electrical outage while a few hotels provide limited emergency stand-by power to provide elevator service and some lighting. Some hotels has stand-by generator that provides 100% emergency power that can provide uninterrupted guest service during a power outage.

7.?????? Emergency Manual:? Hotels maintain an emergency manual, detailing operations in the event of a variety of emergencies and tested it in regular intervals.

8.?????? Employee Photo ID:? For added security, some hotels have employees wearing a photo ID name tag allowing quick identification.

9.?????? In -Room Safes:? In addition to the safety deposit boxes offered by most hotels at the front desks, some hotels provide in-room guest safes capable of holding a lap-top computer, valuables etc.

10.?? Guest elevators: Elevators may also be interfaced with a room electronic locking system, where swiping the room card key takes the guest to the floor on which he is staying.

11.?? Bomb threat security: Precautions and measures that may be taken in the above case:-

A)????? ?Security nets and body searches for guests not known to the staff.

B)????? Banqueting suites and other non-public areas should be security checked and locked after use.

C)????? Goods received and bags should be checked and kept tidy.

D)????? If a bomb threat is received via telephone, the telephonist should note carefully what exactly is said, the time of the call received the accent of the caller and background noise if any and complete the bomb threat assessment form. After the alert the GM should stay put in the lobby where he can be reached easily.

E)????? Duties and responsibility of staff during an emergency should be well-defined.

F)?????? The hotel should work closely with the police to keep them updated.

G)???? HK staff and HK supervisors should be trained to conduct security checks in the guest rooms.