Well-secured security policies

There are many factors that determine the loyalty of the guest in a hotel, offering customers good conditions of cleanliness, quality and comfort are fundamental to the good image of the establishment. However, there is one vital factor that determines the return or not of the customer: safety.

 

Due to the characteristics of the service offered by the hotels, they are vulnerable to many dangerous situations, not only because of the number of staff that converge during the 24 hours between guests and different hired personnel, some for a short time, but also because of the number of doors, corridors and stairs with which these buildings have been designed.

 

To discuss the issue, we wanted to present the position of the Crowne Plaza Tequendama, an establishment that was recently recognized by IHG with the Global Partners in Safety Award 2011, awarded to the best hotels in the region in the area of safety and risk management. Jairo Agudelo, representative of the same shared some elementary aspects for security in a hotel.

 

"The building is fundamental, when a structure is thought and built to be a hotel, fundamental problems such as distribution of fire extinguishers, cameras and emergency exits are solved." As for the personnel dedicated especially to security, "we have three rings, one internal, one medium and one external, the middle ring is military police personnel, which is around and at the entrances of the hotel," says Agudelo.

 

He also states that one of the most important aspects that led to the recognition of the hotel was the "integration of security personnel with technology, especially with CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) systems."

 

There are many insurers that offer contracts or policies prepared especially for hotels, but do not always guarantee the replacement of the insured goods, this happens, for example, in cases when embezzlement becomes effective and the theft protection measures declared in the contract were not being fulfilled.

 

These measures may vary according to each insurer, but in general terms they evaluate if the security equipment was properly installed, that the protocol against theft has been carried out correctly or that the security box of the room has been used properly.

 

It is in this context where the importance of the security system used by hotels becomes relevant, since not only the investment to replace material goods is at stake, but the prestige and trust that the organization will transmit to the user.

 

Protection has no discussion

Security in a hotel can be divided into two parts; the first is security for customers and visitors, which corresponds to all equipment used for both surveillance and risk prevention; for example, fire extinguishers, alarms, security cameras, emergency exits, etc.

 

The second category is referred to in the industry as comprehensive security, which is dedicated to personal safety, preventing assaults, robberies, losses. Everything that represents insuring the client during their stay.

 

Protocols in case of theft

Crown Plaza Tequendama security chief Judy Castro shared the details of the process that security authorities must follow in the event of a theft.

 

"When a robbery happens, the hotels have already prepared a protocol, once the incident is reported, either to the housekeeper, to the reception or to the first security person who is found, the guest is approached," explains Judy.

 

Whatever object has been lost in the room, the first step that the security inspector takes is to record all the data and all the information that is required, "after that, a sheet metal audit is done in the room, to verify the people who entered the room."

 

Then, "interviews are conducted with the staff who entered, waitresses, minibar providers and supervisors. Generally, hotels use a specific system to interview who will be their employees, because the people who for their work have to enter the rooms must be reliable for the institution. When there is definitely nothing, all the evidence is shown to the guest so that he can verify the investigation and the hotel is not responsible for the loss."

 

If the theft is to a safe deposit box, an audit is also done, "this will help verify if the guest left it open, if he used it or not, many people say that they stole and did not even use the security box," says Castro.

 

The use of the cameras is made at the time when the client left all day and there is evidence that indeed someone entered the room; "Then we reviewed the security videos. When theft happens in the lobby, cameras play a critical role."

 

Finally, the head of security of the Crown Plaza Tequendama, reflects that "apart from providing security to the guest we have to provide confidence, be very kind and not leave in the guest the typical image of the policeman making a bad face, is to show the attitude of interest in the well-being of customers."

 

The challenges of taking care of a hotel

Every day millions of people travel and stay in hotels, change their routine, their way of acting and that makes them more vulnerable, often the same neighboring guests are their worst enemies, they leave the door open or paired while they go to the corridor, they leave the laptop in the hotel work room or their portfolio or bag on the restaurant table while they go to the bathroom.

 

This type of visitor behavior represents a constant challenge for security personnel, as groups of thieves can steal laptops and handheld items in a very short time and escape undetected. And customers, by contrast, are generally slow to report the loss.

 

The modality of theft by scam has been proliferating in hotels, there are many fraudulent transactions that are made through credit cards or checks. Guests become victims because they are distracted and professional thieves take advantage as they act as a team.

 

Each hotel has different security procedures, depending on the specific threats it faces. For example, hotels that have a higher incidence of robbery and violence are more likely to use armed guards. The hotel is evaluated to determine what threats they have, towards the property and towards the guests.

 

In this way each hotel is responsible for establishing and implementing the level of security that it considers appropriate to work in a quiet stay and guarantee an optimal level of protection for guests and their belongings, finally much of the prestige and image of a hotel depends on it.