While information is still coming in about the Jakarta hotel bombings, now is a good time to recap hotel security tips, says Hospitality Lawyer Stephen Barth. Jim Stover, Vice President of Hospitality Loss Prevention for Arthur J. Gallagher, suggests that to enhance hotel security, the following changes would probably have to be made:
- Fence the circumference of the property with an 8- to 10-foot tall fence.
- Limit vehicle and pedestrian access to only one entrance to the property.
- Vehicles would have to be valet parked, some distance from the building.
- Install a state-of-the-art video and electronic surveillance system to monitor the entrance to the property, the perimeter fence, and all public spaces.
- Install metal detectors and explosive sniffers at the ONLY entrance to the building.
- Increase the numbers and the training of the security staff. Increase the security officers’ wage to a level where this is a desired position and not a throwaway.
- Establish strict educational and physical requirements for these positions.
- Teach hotel staff how to recognize unusual behaviors and how to respond to them appropriately.
- Control access to guestroom floors by requiring key cards to enter stairwells from public spaces and to operate the elevators.
- Ensure all hotel employees are well trained in emergency response.
For the full article, titled “Hotel Security: How Much is Too Much?”, please click here. The article appeared in the HospitalityLawyer.com February Risk Management Newsletter.
HospitalityLawyer Stephen Barth also recommends the article “Get Your House in Order for 2009” by Ray Ellis, which provides helpful tips regarding terrorism and hotels. The article appeared in the HospitalityLawyer.com 2008 December Loss Prevention Newsletter.