Hotel Security: Preserving Hospitality While Protecting Guests

Business and recreational travelers demand safe and secure hotel accommodations and responsive and friendly customer service. How can hoteliers ensure that their property provides as secure an environment as possible, while maintaining friendly customer service? 

As Warren Buffet said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” A single act of crime on your property could diminish your brand. Hotels need to partner with an experienced physical security provider, and ensure that the entire staff understands the need to keep security top of mind - always. 

While maintaining friendly, responsive interactions with customers is crucial, it is also important to vigilantly follow all security protocols. Savvy hoteliers should consider the following solutions when looking to improve their property’s security: 

• Maintain security-minded customer service 

• Review key card access 

• Establish evergreen background screening protocol 

• Control after-hours access 

• Assess location and local crime statistics 

• Train security officers to welcome and protect 

• Bolster public/private initiatives 

• Maintain emergency response plans 

• Commit to ongoing training

Hotels are held to extraordinarily high standards with regard to safety and security. The open environment fostered by hotels is welcoming to guests and visitors but, unfortunately, also creates vulnerabilities that must be addressed. Ensuring that all public spaces are continually monitored by staff and security personnel is crucial in maintaining a hospitable environment. 

Read more on these hotel security solutions in the article "Hotel Security: Navigating Concerns and Identifying Solutions."

Tell us - What challenges have you experienced in securing your hotel and how have you addressed them?

  About the Author 
  Ken Bukowski is the Vice President of Vertical Market Business Development for Allied Universal. He focuses on developing innovative solutions to address healthcare budget compression, workplace violence prevention and enhancing the patient experience.