Last month, I offered some suggestions for Hospitality Brands and Management Companies relating to their training and protocols on safety and security matters.
Following that column, I was contacted by several individuals and companies who had additional ideas to share. Some of these included:
- Communication devices for housekeepers and hotel staff who work by themselves in isolated or remote locations
- Web sites offering online counsel or webinars
- Equipment representatives who offer options to flipping mattresses or assistance to room attendants in making beds by addressing potential back injuries
- Trainers who provided live training sessions for staff at all levels
- A local police department resource of Potential Indicators of Terrorist Activities Related to Hotels and Motels.
These ideas all have potential merit. These and other suggestions are among those that should be assessed and considered by Hospitality Brands and Hotel Management Companies.
I encourage you as a hotel owner or manager to consider these legalese definitions:
- Safety program: Those procedures and activities designed to insure the physical protection and good health of guests and employees.1
- Security program : Those procedures and activities' designed to protect the property of guests, employees and the business.2
In order for Hotel Safety and Security programs to be effective, hospitality managers must take steps make sure that their programs covers every component of a guest's visit and every aspect of it facilities operation.
Effective managers may implement different policies, procedures and training programs it together work to create a comprehensive safety and security program
When doing some additional research on a related matter for another client, I found four additional topics of particular value and interest at the upcoming 2012 Global Congress on Travel Risk Management, to be held in Houston in early October 2012:
1. Secure Design Integration: Designing from the Beginning with Safety and Security in Mind
We are aware that the many facets of public accommodation (hotels, resorts, restaurants, banquet space, clubs, etc.) are possible targets for criminal acts and violence? As an industry, care if being taken to make these areas more attentive to the needs of safety and security, often a daunting, expensive task. This conference module asks "What if" questions relating to design and constructions from various property components such as CCTV, energy sources, landscaping and sanitation, that could better deliver safer and more secure facilities while not compromising the guest experience.
2. Accommodating People with Disabilities and Prosthetics
While ADA compliance has long been enthusiastically embraced by most hospitality businesses and hotels, statistics reveal that the 50 million people with disabilities in the USA annually spend more than $13 billion on travel. This session details compliance techniques relating to government legislation and addresses both security concerns and best practices in accommodating individuals with different types of disabilities.
3. Protecting Guests Traveling in Unstable Environments- From Civil Unrest to the Risk of Terrorism. What is the Hotel Industry Doing?
Since 9/11, hotels globally have become frequent targets for terrorism and are often in the center of civil disruptions in locations around the world. While select hotel companies have implemented physical measures and increased operational security to address potential future attacks, there are many best practices and security measures to be shared and learned from each other on ways to be better prepared for terrorism and other crises.
4. Best Practices for Meeting Contracts, Including Safety, Security and Insurance Aspects
Who should be assuming the risks and liability in meeting and event contracts? How is the responsibility for a safe and secure meeting for both people and property fairly allocated? What are the fundamentals of effective confidentiality, indemnification, insurance and force majeure clauses? These and other questions will be addressed
Learning is a continuous journey. Events and Conference like the Global Congress on Travel Risk Management sometimes speed the process of learning by avoiding some of the potholes experienced by others who may have traveled this or similar roads.
Notes:1 - Legalese Definitions: Hospitality Law- Managing Legal Issues in the Hospitality Industry, Stephen Barth, JD John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2001 Page 305
2 - Legalese Definitions: Hospitality Law- Managing Legal Issues in the Hospitality Industry, Stephen Barth, JD John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2001 Page 305John Hogan is a successful hospitality executive, educator, author and consultant and is a frequent keynote speaker and seminar leader at many hospitality industry events. He is CEO and Co-Founder of HospitalityEducators.com , which has more than 1600 resource pages and has become the #1 independent website for hotel owners and managers. He is also the Principal of HoganHospitality.com, which offers hospitality consulting and hotel expert witness services. Contact us for assistance – John.Hogan@HospitalityEducators.comwww.HoganHospitality.com 
