9 Ways to Help Boost Hotel Security for Guests and Employees

Hotels are high-traffic places where a lot of money transactions are made. These two things alone make them potential targets for all sorts of nefarious behavior, from vandalism to data theft. If you want to make sure that your hotel, or the hotel you manage, is safe, here are some ways you can boost its security.

1. Understand the Risks

Even though the crime rates in the United States have been steadily falling, there are large discrepancies between cities and even different areas in the same city. You cannot control the crime rates in your area, but you can learn about them. Knowing what you must deal with will help you decide which security measures you need to implement.

2. Prepare for the Worst

Security and safety go hand in hand. If you are a hotel owner or manager, you don’t have only your customers’ belongings to think about. You need to think about things like an assault on the premises, fire, extreme weather. Then you need to think about small things like accidents, cuts, and falls that might happen to your guests and employees alike. And once you have thought about everything that might happen, develop a safety and security procedure for it.

3. Staff for Security

Your choice of security personnel on the premises is very important. You will have three options when it comes to choosing who takes care of the security in your hotel. Carefully consider each one of them, keeping in mind the costs and potential threats. If your hotel is in an area that sees plenty of criminal activity, consider hiring off-duty police officers. They are the best trained and equipped to deal with crime.

4. Involve Your Entire Staff

When it comes to security, even the little things you can do can help a lot. The members of staff in your hotel who are not trained security personnel can do a lot to improve the overall security. For example, you can train your staff to notice certain warning signs. You can also make sure that they communicate and greet the guests often because that might help them discern intruders from the people who are actual guests.

5. Practice Access Control

Access control is the go-to security method for every institution that has to pay special attention to security. Everything from the locks on the room doors to the locks on the doors to staff only areas should be updated to the latest security standards. You will need to make sure that it doesn’t interfere too much with the everyday operations in the hotel, though.

6. Update Your Tech

Door locks are not the only pieces of security tech you should keep up to date. Your security cameras should be periodically changed for better, more modern solutions. Advanced readers can help you safely and securely take information from your guests’ passports, IDs, or other documents. At the very least, you should regularly update the firmware of the tech you use.

7. Pay Extra Attention to Digital Security

Data breaches in hotels are becoming an increasingly common occurrence. At least six serious breaches were discovered last year. Who knows how many might have happened that went under the radar. Cybercrime is a part of today’s world, whether we like or not. Hotels are prime targets because they work with sensitive customer data. A hotel that doesn’t have some type of digital security measure in place cannot be called a safe and secure hotel.

8. Have Regular Safety Meetings

Fostering an atmosphere where employees can be open when speaking about security and safety can be very important. A great way to do it would be to hold regular safety and security meetings with the staff. Allow them to voice their concerns without fears of repercussion and encourage them to point out areas that need to be improved. Keep in mind, though, that some security themes should be kept secret even from the staff.

9. Always Improve

Never rest on your laurels. Security and safety threats are constantly evolving, and so should your security measures. Whether it’s staff training, hardware, or software solutions, always make sure to look for new ways to keep your hotel and its guests and staff safe.