Parking offence
This time last year the Swallow Hotel in South Normanton, Derbyshire went through hell. Every night there were instances of theft and vandalism in the hotel car park "on a big scale", as general manager Andrew Gore recalls.
"Cars are stolen to order in this part of the world and you get lots of kids joy- riding. I had two incidents of major blue chip companies threatening to take their business away if we did not take positive action. It must have affected our business without a doubt."
Unable to cope any longer with the extent of the problem, Gore contacted local crime prevention officers. As a result of their recommendations the following equipment was installed:
brighter lighting;
an improved video-surveillance system;
la car park monitor in reception so guests could see their cars on-screen;
la traffic control barrier which allows automatic entry but requires a security code from reception for departure.
At £25,000 these improvements did not come cheap, but Gore says there has not been one incident since. A full-time security guard has also been employed to keep watch on the area.
So great were the improvements that the upgraded 300-space surface car park was singled out for a Secured Car Parks (SCP) Silver Award in January this year.
The Secured Car Parks scheme, launched in September 1992 by the Association of Chief Police Officers in conjunction with the AA, has only 212 members, just four of which are hotels, including the Swallow. The others are the Metropole car park next to London's Metropole Hotel; Tudor Park Hotel in Maidstone, Kent, and the Sea Hotel in South Shields, Tyne & Wear.
Gold or silver awards are given to those car parks which meet specific criteria. To apply for this stamp of approval a yearly fee of £150 is payable along with £50 for each subsequent car park registered. Local police officers carry out the inspections and car park operators are made aware that if their standards slip they could be taken off the scheme.
In an environment where car owners are not protected by law SCP is important believes the AA. Hotels are not legally liable for theft of or from any car on their grounds, but many hoteliers feel obliged to deal with the problem.
At the centre of joy-riding country in South Shields, Alan Watson, general manager of the Sea Hotel, says: "It is very easy to put disclaimers up but true caterers should feel a responsibility for customers' cars because they are in our house." At the Sea Hotel the problem was so bad that Watson averaged it out at "something like a car stolen a week and two broken into.
"We had a small car park of about 20-22 cars and its design lent itself to car theft with lots of places for criminals to hide," he recalls. "People would not stay here again because of the problems. Businessmen would lose half a day's work waiting for the police and getting new windows installed."
Once again help was sought from a local crime prevention officer who gave some pointers and introduced the hotel to the SCP scheme.
Some £98,000 was spent on a new 70-space car park. New measures included:
perimeter fencing
token-operated barriers at the exit
posts to stop people driving out over flower beds to avoid the barrier
all-night security lighting
microphones in the CCTVs so staff can hear if car alarms go off
outside public address system to scare intruders
locking up the car park after midnight
CCTV monitor visible in reception to customers
The new car park won the hotel an SCP gold award and has had additional benefits. "One client put us in his brochure to attract his overseas customers because business people have tended to avoid staying in the North-east. I have not lost one car since we set it up," says Watson proudly.
The Tudor Park Hotel, Maidstone, Kent also has a SCP gold award for its 257-space surface car park. Maintenance manager Brian Browne says its car park was always secure and already met SCP requirements.
"We've had vehicles broken into and stolen but it has never got to the proportion that some car parks experience. I can tell you about one hotel where people know if you want your car nicked you park your car there," he says.
Inspector Keith Brayne, who administers SCP on behalf of the Metropolitan Police at New Scotland Yard's crime prevention department, thinks the reason that few hotels are on the scheme is because they know their car parks do not come up to scratch and it would cost a lot of money to upgrade them.
"If only car parks were designed properly in the first place they would reduce opportunities for crime," Brayne says.
But circumstances vary and a substantial investment may not be the answer to every problem.
Mark Moran, editor of Parking Review, argues that CCTV is not a replacement for staff, but allows you to deploy staff more effectively. Electronic barriers do not mean attendants are superfluous, he says. Cameras can be a deterrent and are an aid to identifying people but on their own they are not the ultimate deterrent.
Additionally, it's worth remembering that no camera can cover every corner of a car park dotted with pillars and hiding places between cars. "All you have to do is squirt paint on the lens and it is out of action," says Moran.
And the AA warns that although a country hotel is probably less vulnerable than one in a city, there are criminals who will go to a remote spot if they think there will be quality cars. "If you have a reputation for attracting businessmen you might find someone rips the cars off just for the mobile telephones," says spokesman Luke Bosdet.
The above have been selected at random. For further advice and contacts call the British Security Industry Association on 0905 21464.
