Today, it seems that we are always being recorded, filmed or otherwise monitored by some device. While there are practical limits and legal restraints, a question often lingers — How safe is safe enough? Hotel owners and managers struggle with balancing the need for guest security with guest privacy. In its basic form, security involves employee background and fingerprint checks, video cameras, secure key locks, security guards and other measures not always visible to the guest. Given recent events like the 2008 Mumbai hotel terrorist attacks, the alleged sexual assault of a hotel employee by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, or the simple theft of personal items from a hotel room, security is increasingly being viewed as a key aspect of professional management and an essential component of the hotel’s reputation. Guests want to know and feel that they are safe and that the hotel staff and management are doing their best to deter any type of crime or attack whether large or small in nature. Additionally, in the unfortunate and unlikely event of such a crime or attack, guests want to know that appropriate plans and measures are in place to handle their concerns, safety and any required evacuations, or other actions required in such an emergency. Our blog series about security and safety will discuss many aspects of hotel security and how security plays a more important role for hotels today than ever before.
