Safer than houses

Rape, theft, vandalism, drug dealing, murder - any one of these crimes could easily take place in a hotel, and a cursory flick through any local or national newspaper would reveal that they all have. According to the Home Office's Crime Reduction Unit, crime against businesses costs the UK economy almost £19b a year. And hoteliers risk damage to their property, loss of business, and reputational damage on top of the financial impact.

What can you do to combat these crimes or lessen the risk of them occurring?

The task is certainly not easy. As the security experts' bible, the Kluwer Handbook of Security, points out: "The complex organisation of a modern hotel, together with the necessarily ever-changing population mix, means that ensuring the safety of guests [and] staff, and the protection of the contents and fabric of the building, is one of the most demanding [tasks] in the security industry."

According to George Glennie, senior risk control consultant at security firm Gauntlet Risk Management, to ensure that a hotel is a safe place, "a fine balance between comfort and security must be achieved". He adds: "Security must be apparent, effective but unobtrusive."

The two main areas of risk when it comes to hotel security are theft and arson, both of which can cause massive damage to hotels' bank balances and reputations. But there are some simple measures you can take that offer some protection against these risks (see panels, opposite and page 30).

With security issues such as theft and arson, your staff members are likely to be closest to them, either as the victims or as the first resort for guests - or even as perpetrators. It is, therefore, vital that you conduct proper employment and reference checks on all new staff, and that you regularly train your employees for any circumstance. Glennie notes that employees who hold management or supervisory posts can inflict a great deal of damage on a business, so it's important that all senior management candidates have their previous work records verified.

But motivated staff can, of course, take an active part in crime reduction, and their suspicions should always be responded to and encouraged by management. If a hotel is not big enough to warrant its own security manager, Glennie says that a member of the management team should be given overall responsibility for all areas of security, as this provides a focal point for management staff where guidance and training are required.

All employees should know their conditions of service, particularly in relation to found property, security of guest rooms and the possibility of being randomly searched. And because of the high staff turnover in the hotel industry, make sure you repeat and update your crime and safety training regularly.

In short, training, awareness, communication and a good understanding of the risks you face can all go a long way to protecting you against them.

"Induction training and ongoing topic training for management and staff is a very important facet of the security of any well-run hotel," says Glennie. "The management and staff are at the forefront of all activity and, with proper training, they will become more aware and more vigilant."

Another way of using people to secure your property is to start or join a hotel watch programme - basically, a message-passing link between the hoteliers involved, informing each other of potential security risks. Such schemes also work to improve communication between the police and hoteliers. A good tip is to use voicebanks, which store messages and let users know that important information is waiting for them. E-mail is another great way to communicate quickly.

With attacks on hotels hitting the headlines recently, no discussion on security would be complete without taking a look at the threat of terrorism (see risk analysis panel, right). Most hotels do not fit the terrorist target profile, so hoteliers need not lose too much sleep worrying about being the next extremist target, although there are still associated risks. Hotels can be used as a base for terrorists, or as explosives or weapons stores, and Glennie says that all staff at hotels should be given awareness training to combat this risk.

Simple measures to deter light-fingered crooks - Be alert - members of staff should be vigilant at all times. Anything unusual should be noted and reported to the general manager or the police.

• Be bright - maintain a high level of lighting inside and outside the hotel. If people think they can be seen, they are less likely to commit a crime.
• Be hospitable - acknowledge guests early. Make sure guests and visitors are aware that a member of staff has seen them enter.
• Be unusual - being a creature of habit is dangerous. If someone is watching you and your business, picking up on patterns is easy. Although procedures in a hotel are vital, predictable routines should be avoided. This is particularly important when it comes to transferring money (see panel below).
• Be a team - your hotel is at its most vulnerable when staff levels are low. Make sure staff working alone have extra security arrangements.
• Be equipped - CCTV, personal attack buttons, metal detectors, strengthened doors and windows (and signs saying you have all of these) all work as great deterrents.
• Be shy - don't have gratuities on show. All your staff's hard work could prove too tempting for a light-fingered visitor. Also, pay your staff by cheque or transfer, not cash-in-hand.
• Be secure - make sure all service doors, other than the front entrance and exits, are kept locked when not in use.
• Be prepared - review your measures for fraud prevention, and make sure staff know about point of sale checks and bank reward schemes for detecting stolen debit and credit cards.

Banking procedures Whatever the size of your hotel, someone will have the responsibility for transferring large amounts of cash from your premises to the bank. If substantial sums of money need to be banked on a regular basis, the safest method is to employ a recognised cash-carrying company such as Securicor, but if you decide to do it yourself, try the following basic guidelines:

• Always choose a secure container for carrying cash, but don't draw attention to it. There are specially designed briefcases, etc, that often include smoke and dye devices, or alarms.
• Don't be predictable. Vary the times and routes you take to the bank.
• If you are walking to the bank, try to use the busiest roads and walk in the centre of the pavement, towards oncoming traffic.
• Never use public transport.
• If you are using a car, try not to use the same one every time. If possible, use a decoy car as well.
• Remember that you are at your most vulnerable at the start and end of your journey.
• Make sure all vehicles are well maintained. Keep all doors locked, and don't make unnecessary stops or leave the vehicle before you reach your destination.

How to set up a hotel watch scheme - Appoint a hotel watch co-ordinator and a small committee of volunteers to help. It will make things easier if the co-ordinator is a well-known figure in the trade.

• The co-ordinator should approach the police at superintendent level and set up an introductory meeting between the committee and police to establish support for the scheme and basic responsibilities for each party.
• It is important that attendees at this meeting are senior enough to make decisions about involvement and financial matters.
• Set up a launch meeting. Make sure it is well publicised and that all local hoteliers are invited to attend.
• Following the launch, participating hoteliers should be provided with all the necessary information, including details of the scheme, contact hotels, communication plans, posters and relevant crime-prevention leaflets.
• Hold regular meetings to discuss local security issues and share advice and solutions.

Geographical risk analysis For large multinational hotel companies, conducting risk analyses on countries and areas where they are thinking of opening hotels is a useful tool, helping them to identify the problems they may face.

Simon Sole is managing director of risk-analysis company Exclusive Analysis. We asked him to explain what risk analysis is and why it is important.

"Risk is, by definition, the deviation from an expectation or norm," he says. "Risk analysis can be about the present or about the future but, for the most part, risk assessments describe what risks apply at a given point in time.

"More specialised - and useful - is specific intelligence that forecasts the changing conditions. Such analysis, underpinned by intelligence, is more useful since it allows risk managers to allocate limited risk-management resources, such as security or insurance premiums, on the basis of objectively assessed risk.

"Naturally, objectivity is not always to be found from those who offer either security or insurance broking services.

"Risk-analysis companies, which offer objective, intelligence-led forecasts, give clients a competitive edge both in winning new business, since clients understand the environment better, and in delivering it, since they can plan supply-chain issues better and deliver duty of care of employees.

"For example, Exclusive Analysis has rated Spain the European country most vulnerable to terrorism, primarily since there are two risk vectors that have an impact: ETA and Islamic extremists. In part, that risk is increased by the relative effectiveness of security forces in Morocco, which may have forced some militants to operate abroad.

"It is clear that, notwithstanding the French stance on the war in Iraq, France is not to be spared from threats, following its government's ban on headscarves. In Italy, there are renewed, albeit low-level, attacks by anarchists to add to the threat from Islamic extremists.

"There is no doubt that, in those countries where suicide bombers are the chosen tactic, hotels and restaurants are suitable targets, since attackers can count on sufficient numbers sitting at appropriate densities - that is, not so close as to muffle the effects of suicide bombs, as they might be on buses."

Tips to reduce the risk of arson Arson is great risk to hoteliers, as hotels are often easy targets because of their open-door policy. Insurance company Axa says that vigilance, attention to detail and common sense can all go a long way to preventing arson from wrecking your business. It offers the following advice:

• Make sure extinguishers, hose-reels, alarms, detectors and sprinkler systems are maintained in full working order and protected against damage by vandals.
• Keep externally stored combustible stock or waste material well away from buildings.
• Ensure that doors and windows are in good repair, and keep them locked when they are not in use.
• Regularly transfer combustible waste into metal waste bins with lockable lids.
• Put "wheelie" waste bins at least 5m from external building walls. They are often set on fire by vandals and can cause significant fire damage to buildings.
• Keep designated escape routes clear at all times.