Chapter 11

© 2010, Educational Institute

Chapter 11Safety, Security, and Risk

Management

World of Resorts: From Development to Management

Third Edition

(424TXT or 424CIN)

© 2010, Educational Institute 2

Competencies forSafety, Security, and Risk Management

1. Discuss the essential role of security at resorts.

2. Describe the elements of a comprehensive security program.

3. Summarize safety issues and activities at resorts.

4. Explain how resorts can effectively manage a crisis.

5. Describe how resorts can manage the various risks they face and control their insurance costs.


Safety and Security Issues

• Guestroom security• Room door visual identifiers (peepholes)• Proper identification of persons requesting keys• Lock and key control• Safe-deposit boxes• Lockouts and luggage liens• Surveillance of common areas• Malfunctions in elevators• Perimeter and access control of grounds and buildings• Swimming pools and other recreation amenities

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• Alarm systems• Communications systems• Computer security• Inventory security• Adequate security staffing• Pre-employment screening and

employee bonding and training• Drugs and addiction• Handling intoxicated patrons• Handling disturbances

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• Removal of trespassers and unauthorized solicitors• Investigation of incidents• Reporting accidents• Handling deaths/suicide attempts• Fire safety alert and evacuation• Blackouts• Terrorist threats, bomb scares• Natural disasters• Emergency procedures• Risk/crisis management• Insurance coverage

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Training Topics for Security Personnel

• Safety guidelines• Crowd and traffic control; guarding; maintaining order• Accident prevention and first aid• Fire prevention; fire evacuation• Handling bomb and terrorist threats• Procedures for dealing with accidents and emergencies• Preventing persons from disrupting lawful meetings held in

the resort• Dealing with intoxicated guests and seeing to their safety

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• Escorting resort cashiers who carry money and other valuables

• Investigating thefts in guestrooms and other areas of the resort

• Interrogation techniques and legal means of obtaining information

• Guarding property in public areas• Policing loading areas• Inspecting parcels carried in and out by employees

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• Fostering good public relations with guests• Communicating with local authorities on security

checks• Inspecting physical barriers and mechanical and

electrical equipment• Monitoring electronic security systems• Ensuring that alarms are in working order

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Possible Components of a Security Department Reporting System

1. Daily activity report

2. General incident report

3. Loss report

4. Other reports

5. Monthly statistical report

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Ways Employees Can Assistin Security Matters

• Being alert to and reporting suspicious activities, situations, or persons anywhere on the property.

• Reporting on any drug paraphernalia or other suspicious items that may be in plain view when cleaning or making repairs in a guestroom.

• Reporting any unsafe conditions that merit immediate attention and correction.

• Alerting security when checking in guests with large but empty suitcases.

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Ways Employees Can Assistin Security Matters

• Alerting security of unidentified packages left in public areas.

• Checking on the proper posting of innkeepers’ notices, if required by local regulations.

• Ensuring that any information pamphlet, tent card, or letter advising guests about the need for safety/security caution is placed where it will be seen.

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Resort Areas Covered by Security Technology

• Outside grounds• Hotel and perimeters• Timeshare condo• Vacation club villa• Resort-operated shops• Recreational facilities• Conference hall• Spa and health center

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Resort Areas Covered by Security Technology

• Inventory storage—liquor and food stores, etc.• Money-handling areas—cashiers’ stations, house

bank, etc.• Specific objects—safes, safe-deposit boxes, art

and artifacts, etc.

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Major Areas of Security Concern

• Physical security and perimeter control• Surveillance• Guestroom security• Alarm systems• Communication systems• Electronic room-locking systems• Electronic in-room safes

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Electronic Guestroom Locking Systems• Per-room cost, as well as central control cost, of the original

installation.• Cost of card keys and reprogrammable card keys.• Quality of the locking mechanism.• Levels of keying (guests, room attendants, bellpersons,

maintenance employees, security personnel, etc.).• Battery (type, life, out-of-order or run-down warning, and ease of

change).• Reliability of access card under special conditions (humidity,

scuffing, etc.).• Ability to provide a record of entries in case of an incident.

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Electronic Guestroom Locking Systems

• Whether attempted forced entries are also recorded, identified, and timed.

• Ease of producing and controlling duplicate keys.• Handling of a wide variety of special operational situations

(for example, guest pays bill but remains temporarily in room; accidental assignment of new guest to occupied room; pre-arrival registrations, etc.).

• Adequacy of audit trail.• Ability to issue temporary keys for single access and/or for a

predetermined time period.

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Electronic Guestroom Locking Systems

• Interface capability with property management system. (When this is present, the system can, for instance, provide a listing of the last ten to fifteen guests occupying a particular room, lock out all personnel from a given room, and provide management with the ability to override the locking system for fire, safety, or other reasons.)

• Bi-directional communication between door and central computer.

• Possible system extensions to other technology categories (for example, life safety or energy conservation systems).

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Computer Systems and Interfaces

• Property management system (PMS)• Point-of-sale (POS) system• Marketing and sales system• Electronic locking systems• Telecommunications systems• Human resource systems• Data archival system• In-room entertainment • High-speed Internet

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Specific PMS Security Features

• Being SOX-compliant• Being PCI-compliant• Having tools such as “change logs” to track all

employee modifications to the database• Having multiple levels of backup, including redundant

multiple disks, high-speed tapes, and real-time upload to off-site company data storage centers of guest and hotel databases for quick data disaster recovery

• Regular testing of PMS integrity

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Resort/Hotel Safety Facts

1. Accidents do not normally originate from fires, floods, or earthquakes but from everyday occurrences such as lifting a carton incorrectly or straining to stop a fall.

2. Five working areas present the greatest hazards: food preparation, food service, stewarding (handling dishes and glassware and cleaning), receiving, and guestroom housekeeping.

3. The vast majority of all accidents (85 percent) are caused by unsafe behavior rather than unsafe working conditions.

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Resort/Hotel Safety Facts

4. Good safety habits are learned behavior; they are not simply common sense. The majority of accidents occur in an employee’s first six months of employment.

5. Large hotels usually incur more losses than small hotels, partly because of the higher rate of employee turnover in large hotels.

6. For most employees, their immediate supervisor is the originator of good and bad safety habits.

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Sample Resort/Hotel Safety Program

1. Development of a fire brigade

2. Formation of a safety and security committee

3. Development of emergency procedures

4. Regular hotel inspections

5. Investigation of accidents

6. Establishment of a medical/first aid program

7. Implementation of safety training programs

8. Establishment of written objectives for loss control

9. Implementation of claims-evaluation meetings

10. The filing of essential reports

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Crisis Planning

Items of concern:• Resources to be directed to a crisis management program

(personnel, equipment)• Involvement of local community or governmental agencies• Establishment of a control center• Predetermination of person(s) in charge• The chain of command to follow when senior management

is unavailable• Establishment of a crisis communication plan

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Crisis Planning

Items to check:• Readiness for the most likely type of crisis• Liaison possibilities with other lodging establishments in the

community• Personnel needs, availability, and skills• Emergency equipment, supplies, and communication needs• Training opportunities to prepare the staff for emergencies• Available technical assistance from hospitality trade associations• Opportunities for emergency preparedness and simulated

emergency drills at the community/state/provincial level

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Possible Actions in Structuring Emergency Response Teams

• Establishment of responsibilities by department for appropriate response by staff within department.

• Establishment of a command center with a prearranged chain of command and an alternative command center if the primary one is put out of commission.

• Possible establishment of a team of employees with technical, mechanical, and firefighting capabilities for use in the event of a community-wide emergency.

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Possible Actions in Structuring Emergency Response Teams

• Designation of a single spokesperson for the resort, with an understanding among all employees that they are not to talk to reporters or camera operators.

• Possible assignment to specific personnel of such responsibilities as feeding, housing, laundry, first aid, and construction repair as required by the particular emergency.

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Emergency Supplies

• Emergency power and lighting (flashlights, candles with protective containers); auxiliary power-generating capability with reserve or alternative fuel supplies.

• Sump pumps for relieving flooding problems.

• Emergency communication equipment.

• Food and water reserves.

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Emergency Supplies

• Gas-, battery-, or manually operated tools for use in the event of a power failure; tools for cutting, lifting, and moving debris in the event of a building collapse due to flooding, wind, or earthquakes.

• Shutters for covering glass windows and doors.• Miscellaneous supplies—strapping tape and rope needed

for fastening things, first-aid kits, etc.• Bedding, cots, and bed linens if the property is designated

as a housing center in a community-wide incident.

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AH&LA Basic Guidelines for Handling Communications in a Crisis

• Every lodging establishment should be ready with a prepared crisis communication plan. A plan can provide a coherent way for management to tell its side of a crisis story, and present the hotel’s image as professional and concerned.

• An audience with the press in the heat of a crisis may be the only opportunity to explain the steps taken to guard against such a crisis, and to show the operator’s efforts to protect guests, employees, and the community. Cooperating with the press gives management some control over the way the crisis is reported.

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• Truthfulness is mandatory. One lie, misrepresentation, or intentional failure to disclose relevant information will damage the hotel operator’s credibility before the press, the public, the guests, and the employees.

• Guests and employees must be informed. Making them aware of efforts to resolve the crisis—and providing them with instructions on a regular basis—assuages feelings of helplessness, frustration, panic, or despair, and could ensure their cooperation when it is most needed.

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• Whatever the nature or cause of the crisis, management must publicly express concern for the victims for any inconvenience, loss, or harm caused by the crisis. Failure to do so can result in news coverage that focuses on the hotel’s culpability and lack of compassion.

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• Designating a single spokesperson to communicate with the press in time of crisis—and instructing all employees to refer all questions to this spokesperson—is essential. It is the only way to ensure that facts are reported accurately and consistently, with no speculation by employees about what occurred.

• Legal help in preparing and vetting media statements is advised to avoid jeopardy from possible material misrepresentations.

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Four Steps in the Risk Management Process

1. Risk identification

2. Risk measurement and evaluation

3. Risk reduction or elimination

4. Risk coverage—how much risk to accept and how much to insure

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Typical Industry Risk Coverage

• Risk of asset or property loss from exposure to fire, explosion, sabotage, crime, or such natural disasters as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, or earthquakes.

• Risk of income loss that may occur with property loss or when business is disrupted. In such cases the loss is twofold: loss of revenue from business disruption, plus the cost of rebuilding or repair. To identify income risks, the risk manager considers the effect of building malfunctions that render rooms unsalable, or external factors that could impact operations.

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Typical Industry Risk Coverage

• Liability risks, which are harder to identify but can be more devastating. Huge awards are often won in individual lawsuits and sometimes in class action suits. Lodging operators need liability coverage for the products and services they sell, acts of employees, or business vehicles that are employed in the business.

• Loss of a “key person,” one whose skills, knowledge, or special qualities are not easily replaced, and whose presence is essential to the reputation or visibility of the business. Generally, in the lodging business, the key person refers to a principal or a CEO, not managers at the property level.

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Types of Coverage Provided by RHAProperty Program—Comprehensive coverage• Flood, earthquake, and wind• Business interruption (e.g., loss from unusual events on

property, food contamination such as E. coli, murder, suicide, contagious disease)

• Boiler and machinery• Decontamination and cleanup expense for land and water on

resort grounds• Golf courses, plants, trees, and shrubs• Land improvements• Builder’s risk• Terrorism coverage (available)

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Types of Coverage Provided by RHA

Casualty Program• Comprehensive general liability• Liquor liability• Spa• Saddle animal/trail rides• Business vehicle liability and physical damage• Umbrella/excess liability

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Pollution Legal Liability• On-site cleanup of pollution conditions• Legal liability for pollution conditions• Business interruption coverage resulting from

pollution condition causation• Underground storage tank coverage (available)• Microbial matter coverage (available)

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Employment Practices Liability• Prior acts coverage• Punitive damage coverage• Third-party coverage (e.g., guest claims of

discrimination)• Accidental death and dismemberment coverage• Aggressive rates and deductibles• Limits to fit individual member requirements

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Chapter 11

Education

Transcript of Chapter 11