Hotels advised to screen guests

Hotels should consider screening all guests for explosives and weapons before allowing them to enter, the American Hotel & Lodging Association told a seminar.

The association said that front-desk staff should carefully check the identity of anyone paying in cash and request picture identification of all guests at check-in.

It added that hotels should also consider copying the passports of non-Americans and contact all guests who display "do not disturb" signs for more than 24 hours.

Other measures the association said hotels should consider included limiting the number of entrances to one; clearing any landscaping around the hotel that might provide an "area of concealment"; and removing all rubbish bins.

Hoteliers attending the security seminar were given a full briefing on anthrax and what staff should do if they feared they had come across it.