I was recently asked for my opinion of a "How to secure your hotel" manual that was published on the open market. I read the manual with interest, of course. After all the subject matter is very dear to my heart. But even though hotel security is an area where I have plenty of experience, it occurs to me that my opinion is wholly irrelevant. The very existence of such a book begs a broader question: Can you really secure your hotel with a manual?

There is some well-deserved discussion and criticism of manuals and other books in the security industry. There is no lack of articles, blogs and books about securing facilities, VIPs, cruise ships, religious institutions, banks and more. Here, I think it is important to draw attention to a subtle but important difference between "about" publications and their "how to" counterparts.

"About" books can be interesting reads that inform us about an aspect of the industry such as covert protection or securing public vents. These publications often provide interesting insights into the challenges involved as well as common and best practices. When they're good, they illustrate different methodologies and approaches to security that enrich the reader with a deeper understanding of the subject matter. They are not a "connect the dots", DIY security manual.

"How to" manuals also have their place, but only within rather specific parameters. An overview of how to set up corporate executive protection program, or general guidelines on how to set up a Global Security Operations Center (GSOC), for example, can be extremely useful – but only if they provide insight into the general approaches and lessons learned about how to facilitate security services and do not attempt to tell you how to actually do security in the messy, varied real world. There is a huge difference between the two.

So, can you rely on one manual, no matter how well it is written, to secure a variety of hotels? Surely a hotel is a hotel is a hotel?

Well, not really. Let's look at four lessons I've learned in working with hotel security over the years to discover why.

1. Hotel security master plans must be risk-based and built upon updated, site-specific Risk, Threat and Vulnerability Assessments (RTVAs)

To suggest that there is some "one size fits all", rubber stamp security master plan for hotels the world over is like suggesting that there is one guide book for every country or one vaccination for all diseases.

Each location presents a different set of risks, threats and vulnerabilities. These might include terrorism, crime, natural disasters, political unrest or maybe just a tendency of the guests towards excessive drinking that lead to aggressive behavior. Even two hotels in the same city might have very different RTVAs depending on the neighborhood, the prominence of the operator brand, star-rating scores, typical clientele and more.

Hotel security is inherently site-specific. Of course, good RTVAs for different hotels will contain similar considerations such as perimeter fences or walls, access controls, CCTVs, vehicle barriers, luggage screening, etc. But how security master plans result from these RTVAs will be anything but uniform. Just consider the questions below, and you tell me how anyone can write one security manual that works everywhere.

  • Is the property road side or is it surrounded by large grounds?
  • Does it have a vehicle entrance?
  • If so, what is the distance from the vehicle entrance to the main lobby?
  • Are the neighboring properties in close proximity to the hotel?
  • Does it have additional buildings such as a conference center or standalone banquet hall?
  • Is there a location for a luggage scanner that provides adequate "standoff" distance to the lobby?
  • Does the hotel need safe rooms or bomb shelters?
  • Is the area known for earthquakes, hurricanes or other natural disasters?
  • Does local law permit CCTV coverage in work areas?

2. Hotel operators and hotel owners don't always see security in the same way

Security inevitably becomes a football that gets tossed back and forth between hotel operators and owners. When developing a security plan for a hotel you must take both these forces into account.

Every international hotel brand has its own "operator culture" that managers strive to imbue into all their properties. This extends from the room layout to the service orientation, restaurants, and, of course, to security matters.

On the flip side, you have the owner who finances the project. While all owners do understand the need for security, especially in higher-risk environments, they are not always willing to foot the bill for what you would like to do.

So, our one-size-fits-all manual may be brimming with great suggestions on how to secure hotels. But are they a good fit with the operator culture? And are initial and ongoing costs palatable to the owner?

To answer such questions, you may need to ask even more, such as:

  • Does the operator allow CCTV in room corridors or only public spaces and elevator lobbies?
  • Do they permit luggage and guest screening at their hotels in high-risk environments?
  • Do they allow screening to be done at the vehicle access point (necessitating that guests exit their vehicles) or only in the lobby? (While we're on the subject, let's remember that there is little point to scanning for firearms and explosive devices once people are already inside!)
  • Is their policy to outsource security personnel or hire as FTEs?
  • Do they consider security an integral part of the operational team or a "must have" to be tolerated, but not really supported?
  • Is the owner willing to pay for the security measures deemed necessary to mitigate risks and vulnerabilities discovered in the RTVA process?
  • Can you sell the needed security measures to the owner as an investment rather than a cost?

3. The security of a hotel also depends on the hotel's target market

Some of the questions we always ask our clients are: Who is your target market? What kind of guests are you expecting? Which ones would you like to attract? You may say this makes no difference. After all, any paying guest is a good guest, right? Well, when it comes to security, not exactly. Allow me to explain. But first, let's take a look at our "how-to" manual.

As we page through the manual and read about all the various access control options, it's hard to know what to choose. Do we need simple vehicle barriers or hydraulic bollards? Ha-ha ditches and pop-up anti-ram barriers? What about under-car mirrors and explosive scanners? Will simple handbag scanners do, or do we need six-color suitcase scanners? Hand-held wands or walk-through metal detectors?

It's easy to come away completely confused. Which of these do I need for my hotel? How do I decide? Well, it's tempting to say just ask your friendly security consultant. But before doing so, you may want to think about the following questions:

  • Do you want personnel or visitors from the British or American embassies to visit your hotel in Africa?
  • Do you want heads of state to stay in your hotel?
  • Do you want ranking government officials to stay in your hotel?
  • Are you expecting to host high-level events and conferences with VIPs in attendance?
  • Do you want executives from U.S. and European corporations to stay at your hotel?
  • Do you want to be able to sign yearly contracts for a fixed amount of rooms with said corporations?
  • Do you want Fortune 500 CEOs to stay at your hotel?
  • Do you want UHNW individuals to stay at your hotel?

If the answer to any of the above is yes, then you'd best know the ropes. All these client types have security requirements that the hotel must meet before they will permit their executives or VIPs to frequent your hotel. Expect government agencies and corporate security managers to carry out security audits of your hotel to ensure you meet their standards that they have set out.

I can promise you one thing: no two sets of standards are alike. Nonetheless, failure to meet an organization's security standards can result in significant financial loss as said corporations and governments will not approve your property for their personnel.

4. As the political landscape changes, so do security requirements

I have encountered incredible questions and heard unbelievable stories about the situations hotels have had to deal with when it comes to security and the political landscape. If your property is in a high-risk area with political instability, then this will once more greatly influence not only your security measures, but also your contingency preparation and crisis management plan.

A few examples I have come across:

  • A hotel somewhere in the Baltics was occupied for two weeks by rebel forces. They quite literally walked into the lobby with AK-47s and said they needed a place to stay. The manager, to his credit, kept his composure, accommodated them, and no harm came to anyone.
  • Another hotel in the same region had a gunfight in their lobby, quite literally bullets flying over guests and employees' heads.
  • A hotel in the Middle East had to be evacuated due to civil war.
  • I was asked how to deal with the fact that senior ISIS lieutenants held meetings in the hotel lobby. As if this wasn't enough, the local secret police were demanding the hotel hand over their CCTV recordings each evening.
  • Another question: What do you do when local police threaten to arrest hotel employees on trumped up charges?

It is highly unlikely that any manual would address issues such as these. However, an expert security consultant who has carried out an in-depth for the hotel and understands the threats it faces, can provide guidance in how to best prepare for these extreme situations.

Now back to our original question: Can you secure your hotel with a manual? In my humble opinion, the answer is quite plainly, no.

There can be no checklist that by itself ensures your hotel is secure. Of course, security audits are essential and great for certification, but there is a significant difference between feeling safe and being safe. Just because you tick the boxes on some list does not mean that your hotel, in its particular location, with its particular clientele and political environment, is secure.

A checklist may be an excellent tool as part of a security assessment. But it's not going to do the job on its own. Relying on a manual rather than an expert consultant to secure your hotel is as effective as treating your ailments by self-diagnosis and treatment plans you discover by surfing the internet as opposed to visiting your physician. You might get lucky. You probably won't.

As we have seen above, there is way too much that the manual does not know, too many variables and considerations that it simply cannot take into account. Hotel security is about protecting life, about keeping guests and employees safe, happy and productive. The price of failure is too high to entrust this responsibility to an inanimate object.

Katie Gugino
+1 425.270.9374
AS Solution North America, Inc.