Question: Define a Security System? The duty of care is a complex legal principle.

In general, we should be aware that a hotel has invited guests and visitors (and employees and contractors) onto its premises, by the nature of its business, and in law it, therefore, has a duty to take reasonable care to protect them from loss and injury. This duty of care is increased by the contract between a hotel and its paying guests and employees. The hotel has specific obligations to ensure that the premises are safe, and that people entering those premises receive the protection (for themselves and their belongings) that they are entitled to expect as part of their contract. The hotel should have a proper security system to protect the human beings (guests and the staffs), physical resources and assets (buildings, equipments, appliances) and also the belongings of the guests i.e. his luggage and property and sometimes even pets. There are two types of security threats hotels should be concerned with: 1. Threats that might affect a guests health, comfort or wellbeing. 2. Threats that affect the hotel directly, in particular its fixtures and fittings, its revenue and its reputation. Therefore, it is important for the hotel management to select reputable and reliable system and agency or agencies which will provide protection against all such threats which will create problem for the hotel. Safety and Security Measures 1. Resident card (identity card) has to be provided to the employees and insisted to use them regularly at all times during work. 2. Key control system should be employed. Bellboy errand card should be instituted. 3. Maintain record of master key used by staff. 4. Housekeepers occupancy report to be made regularly. Proper procedure of checking keys in rack should be followed. 5. Double lock system, magic eye and a door chain system to be installed. 6. Proper left luggage system to be followed. 7. Safety lockers for guest valuables should be provided. 8. Smoke detectors to be installed. 9. Install modern and efficient fire fighting system. 10. Proper regular maintenance of equipment, appliances and building should be carried out. 11. Install close circuit camera at parking and other strategic areas in the hotel. 12. Fire escape route must be designed and highlighted. 13. Frequent patrolling by the security staff must be made. 14. Security frisking (body check) if needed (without offending the guest). 15. Heavy drapes to be drawn during night on windows and exposed glass panels to cut out external light. 16. Computer and data processing security installed (for safeguarding of computer information, so that it does not reach the competitors and protection against virus in the program.) 17. Preferably use computerized magnetic keys or room keys. 18. Employ a house detective. Question: What is the importance of Security department? The front office is a hotels communication center; it is the vital link between the hotel management and the guest. When a guest calls for assistance because of fire, illness, theft, or any other emergency, it is usually the front office that must respond. The staff on duty at the front office cannot leave and resolve the emergency because they must continue to provide communication services and process financial transactions. The security department staff must react with speed and efficiency to serve the guest. The security department is often regarded as a passive department, acting only when called on. In reality, it is an active department, setting policies, organizing programs, and delivering training programs to promote guest and employee safety. The director of security is a trained professional who must ensure that a busy hotel filled with guests, employees, and equipment stays safe. One of the departments goals is to prevent emergencies through planning. Another goal, however, is to train all hotel employees to respond to emergencies.

Question: What are the various emergency situations and how they should be handled? 1) Protecting Guests from Fire One of the major threats is that of fire. Although we have not had loss of life in hotels in India (perhaps as a result of our methods of construction and the absence of wall to wall carpeting) hotels here are also bound by law to take necessary fire safety precautions.

A front office manager is duty bound to ensure that he is satisfied with a hotels: fire detection systems fire containment provisions escape procedures fire-fighting equipment 2) Terrorist Threats There is little, if anything, a front office manager and his staff may do if there is some kind of threat from terrorist attack. However, bomb threats are received by someone at the front line a telephonist or a front office clerk - and a procedure must be in place to ensure that all the information that can be gathered about the nature of the threat is recorded thoroughly investigated. 3) Threats to Privacy It is the duty of front office to protect the privacy of its guests even and perhaps especially if they are in the public eye. However, it is not only the privacy of VIP guests that must be respected but also every one of our guests is entitled to his / her privacy. Steps must be taken to ensure that information about our guests is not divulged to outsiders. Giving room numbers to individuals other than the persons being accommodated in those rooms is unethical and should be avoided at all costs. 4) Threats to Guests Property Although the hoteliers liability is limited, it is in the interests of protecting the reputation of the hotel to ensure the safety of its guests and their property if anything to protect the reputation of the hotel. If the hotel is in an unsafe area, or in an area frequented by unscrupulous characters, guests should be made aware of this, especially if they intend to venture out of the hotel at night. 5) Misbehaving Guests Guests themselves may also threaten each others enjoyment. If a traveller turns up in a drunken state asking for a room a hotel is entitled to refuse him on the grounds that he is not in a fit state to be received. This is true even if he already has a booking / reservation, as he has broken one of the implied conditions of the contract. Similarly if the guest misbehaves throughout his stay the hotel is not obliged to let him stay. When guests complain about being kept awake by a noisy couple or a drunkard next door, it is not good enough to tell a disturbed guest that nothing can be done about that. One must employ considerable tact in dealing with such situations and settle problems satisfactorily.

6) Theft from Hotel It is unfortunate that even the wealthiest of guests may have a propensity to pilfer a hotels property as a souvenir. This normally happens at check out when a guest leaves the hotel with a variety of items virtually anything that is not securely fastened down: soap, towels, mats, sheets, blankets, coat hangers, lamps, trouser presses, electric kettles, TV sets and even plumbing fixtures. 7) Walk-outs, Skippers or Runners There are a number of guests who leave without paying bills. These guests can generally be divided into three groups: The accidentals - these are guests who simply forget to pay, often their extras bills. Most of these guests do not intend to leave the hotel without paying they simply believe their account is being settled by someone else. When contacted these guests pay their bill immediately and are highly embarrassed. The hotel should deal with them tactfully and courteously. Opportunists. These guests check in with the intention of paying their bill on departure, but when they realize that they can get away with not paying their bill (or simply a transaction that should have found itself on their bill e.g. last minute breakfast or mini bar consumption) they make a run for it. Premeditators. These are guests who, from the start, have the intention of leaving the hotel without paying. Some of these guests go into considerable lengths in order to avoid paying. These guests generally stay for short periods and will move to other hotels as soon as payment is demanded. Experienced room staff can often detect premeditated walkouts.