2. Chapter 13
Safety and Security

3. Learning Objectives
To stress the importance of keeping hotel guests and employees safe.
To identify a variety of internal and external resources available to help hoteliers meet their safety and security goals.
To describe safety threats unique to the hotel industry.

4. Learning Objectives To stress the importance of property security.
To identify internal, external, and area-specific threats to hotel security.

5. The Importance of Safety
Safety: Protection of an individual’s physical well-being and health.
Security: Protection of an individual’s or business’s property or assets.

6. The Importance of Safety
Legal Liability for Guest and Employee Safety
Damages: The actual amount of losses or costs incurred due to the wrongful act of a liable party.
Compensatory damages: A monetary amount intended to compensate injured parties for actual losses or damage they have incurred.

7. The Importance of Safety
Legal Liability for Guest and Employee Safety
Punitive damages: A monetary amount assessed to punish liable parties and to serve as an example to the liable party as well as others not to commit the wrongful act in the future.

8. The Importance of Safety
Hotel Responsibility for Guest Safety
To demonstrate reasonable care, a hotel must address the following issues:
The hotel’s facility
The hotel’s staff
Policies and procedures implemented by the hotel

9. The Importance of Safety
Hotel Responsibility for Guest Safety
Facility
Threat analysis: A systematic procedure designed to identify and eliminate identifiable safety risks.
When this is the case, reasonable care demands that guests must be informed of the risk.

10. The Importance of Safety
Hotel Responsibility for Guest Safety
Facility
Step 1
Identifying and removing known threats to safety
Step 2
Informing guests about any remaining safety threats
Step 3
Prohibiting behavior that is known to create safety threats

11. The Importance of Safety
Hotel Responsibility for Guest Safety
Staff Training
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): A federal agency established in 1970 that is responsible for developing and enforcing regulations to help ensure safe and healthful working conditions. 

12. The Importance of Safety
Hotel Responsibility for Guest Safety
Staff Training
Provide a safe workplace for employees by complying with OSHA safety and health standards
Provide workers with tools and equipment to do their jobs that meet OSHA specifications for health and safety
Establish training programs for employees who operate dangerous equipment

13. The Importance of Safety
Hotel Responsibility for Guest Safety
Staff Training
Report to OSHA immediately (within 8 hours) any worksite accident that results in a fatality or requires the hospitalization of three or more employees

14. The Importance of Safety
Hotel Responsibility for Guest Safety
Staff Training
Maintain the “OSHA 300” form (an on-site record of work-related injuries or illnesses) and keep it available for inspection for a period of five years
Display OSHA notices about employee rights and safety in prominent places within the hotel

15. The Importance of Safety
Hotel Responsibility for Guest Safety
Staff Training
Provide all employees access to the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) that provide information about the dangerous chemicals they may be handling during work (see Chapter 8)
Offer no-cost hepatitis-B vaccinations for employees who may have come in contact with blood or body fluids

16. The Importance of Safety
Hotel Responsibility for Guest Safety
Policies and Procedures
Written policies and procedures help inform all hotel employees of what is expected when responding to safety and security threats.

17. Safety Resources
Hoteliers have two different types of resources at their disposal as they seek to create safe lodging environments. These can be classified as:
Internal resources
External resources

18. Safety Resources Internal Resources
Among the most important internal tools available to hoteliers are:
Recodable locks
Alarm systems
Surveillance systems
Emergency plans

19. Safety Resources Internal Resources
A clearly developed emergency plan should include:
The type of crisis
Who should be told when the crisis occurs
What should be done
Who should do it
Who should be informed

20. Safety Resources External Resources
Two primary external allies in their efforts are:
Local law enforcement
Insurers

21. Safety Resources External Resources Local Law Enforcement
Local law enforcement officials can advise and assist managers and, in many cases, provide no-cost safety and security training for the hotel’s employees.

22. Safety Resources External Resources Insurers
When assessing risk, and before selling insurance to a business, an insurance company predicts the average number of times the risk is likely to result in actual loss or damage.

23. Safety Resources External Resources Insurers
The average monetary value of the loss is then established.
The premiums (fees) for the insurance to protect against the loss are then determined.
When there are few claims, the premiums charged for insurance are lower.

24. Special Safety Related Threats
For hotels, these unique threats include:
Swimming pools
Spas
Exercise facilities
Parking lots

25. Special Safety Related Threats
Swimming Pools
Posts the pool’s operating hours and opens the pool only during those hours.
Clearly mark the depths of pools accurately on the sides and ends and in both metric measurements and in feet/inches.
Ensure that the pol and pool area are properly illuminated and that any electrical

26. Special Safety Related Threats
Swimming Pools
Posts the pool’s operating hours and opens the pool only during those hours.
Clearly mark the depths of pools accurately on the sides and ends and in both metric measurements and in feet/inches.
Ensure that the pol and pool area are properly illuminated and that any electrical components are regularly inspected and maintained to comply with local electrical codes.

27. Special Safety Related Threats
Swimming Pools
Install self-closing and self-latching and/or locking gates to prevent unauthorized access to the pool area. If possible, lock the entrance to the pool with a recordable lock.
Have appropriate life-saving equipment on hand and easily accessible as well as at least one cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certified employee on duty at all times the pool is opened.

28. Special Safety Related Threats
Swimming Pools
Allow pool use only be registered guests and specifically authorized others.
Contact the hotel’s insurer to determine the number, placement, and content of necessary pool warning signs.
Post all pool policy and information signs in the language(s) of guests. Enforce the policies at all times.

29. Special Safety Related Threats
Swimming Pools
Provide an emergency telephone in the pool area that rings directly to the front desk or to 911 depending on the preference of the hotel’s insurer.
Carefully document all activities related to pool maintenance, local ordinance compliance, and operating policy enforcement.

30. Special Safety Related Threats
Spas
Inspect and document the inspection of the spa drain covers on a daily basis.
Post all spa policies signs in the language(s) of guests.
Install a thermometer and check the spa temperature frequently; recording your readings. A range not to exceed degrees Fahrenheit ( degrees Celsius) is recommended.

31. Special Safety Related Threats
Spas
Display spa temperatures in a manner that is easily readable by guests.
Clearly mark the depths of the spa in both metric measurements and in feet/inches.
Do not allow the consumption of alcohol while using the spa.

32. Special Safety Related Threats
Spas
Install non-slip flooring surfaces around the spa and provide stairs/ladders for entry and exit.
Prohibit spa use from children and non-guests.
Provide an emergency telephone in the spa area that rings directly to the front desk or to 911 depending on the preference of the hotel’s insurer.
Carefully document all activities related to spa maintenance, local ordinance compliance, and operating policy enforcement.

33. Special Safety Related Threats
Exercise Facilities
Signs stating rules and regulations involving the use of the facility.
Policy Signs
Signs stating specific risks in an area of the facility or with a particular piece of equipment.
Warning Signs

34. Special Safety Related Threats
Exercise Facilities
Signs indicating entrances, exits, fire evacuation plans, and other safety information.
Directional Signs
Signs indicating where various emergency items are stationed, such as fire extinguishers, first aid kits, and telephones.
Emergency Signs

35. Special Safety Related Threats
Parking Areas
Inspect parking lot lighting on a daily basis. Arrange for replacement of burned-out lights immediately.
Inspect parking lot surfaces daily and arrange for payment patches immediately if they threaten guest safety.
Ensure that parking lot stripes and directional signs are easily seen to avoid pedestrian/ vehicle accidents.

36. Special Safety Related Threats
Parking Areas
Post easily readable signs in the parking lot reminding guests not to leave valuables in their vehicles.
If valet parking is provided, document the training of all drivers employed.
Require guests to identify their vehicles by license number or make/color upon check-in.

37. Special Safety Related Threats
Parking Areas
Keep landscaping around parking lots well-trimmed to avoid dangerous areas that may provide hiding places for individuals who could threaten guest safety or property security.
If possible, arrange for regular and frequent parking lot drive-through patrols by local law enforcement officials.

38. Special Safety Related Threats
Parking Areas
Arrange for daily daytime and nighttime walk-through patrols by hotel staff.
Use a manager’s daily log to document parking lot maintenance procedures.

39. Protecting Property from Security Threats
Hotels are subject to many security threats. These include:
Internal threats
External threats
Area-specific threats

40. Protecting Property from Security Threats
Internal Threats
A hotel faces two basic types of internal asset threats: those related to cash and those related to other assets.

41. Protecting Property from Security Threats
Internal Threats
Threats to Cash
Embezzlement: The theft of a company’s financial assets by an employee.
Bond(ing): Purchasing an insurance policy to protect against the possibility that an employee will steal.

42. Protecting Property from Security Threats
Internal Threats
Threats to Other Assets
There are three non-cash assets most subject to employee theft. These are:
Time
Company property
Services

43. Protecting Property from Security Threats
External Threats
Hotels are open 24/7, thus they are susceptible to asset threats any time of the day or night.

44. Protecting Property from Security Threats
External Threats
Threats to Cash
To help apprehend robbers, many managers install a contact alarm system in their cashier’s cash drawers.
The alarm is wired to summon local law enforcement officers trained to deal with robbery-in-progress situations.

45. Protecting Property from Security Threats
External Threats
Threats to Other Assets
Hanging all artwork in lobbies and guest rooms with lockdown-style hangers
Avoiding the placement of valuable decorations and décor pieces in areas where guests can easily take them
Training room attendants to alert management if excessive amounts of terry cloth products or in-room items are missing from stay-over rooms

46. Protecting Property from Security Threats
External Threats
Threats to Other Assets
Bolting televisions and in-room computers securely to guest room furniture
Training all employees to be alert regarding the loss of hotel property and to report any suspicious activity they encounter

47. Protecting Property from Security Threats
Area Specific Threats
The following departments, by the nature of their operation, are subject to specific security threats:
Front office
Housekeeping
Food and beverage
Sales and marketing
Maintenance departments

48. Hotels and Global Terrorism
Hoteliers whose properties are at a high risk of terrorist attack must exercise special vigilance, this includes:
Proper maintenance of existing security and safety equipment/procedures
Careful consideration of potential vulnerability
Controlled access to non-public areas of the property

49. Hotels and Global Terrorism
The screening (background checks) of employee applicants in accordance with applicable laws
Management training
Regular participation in “best practices” discussions with those who face similar threats
Discussions with local law enforcement officials who can provide guidance