Hotels have to take the best measures to prevent crime from happening in their businesses and making guests feel safe. Protecting customers in a restaurant or hotel isn’t only a good business practice and a moral responsibility. Apart from ensuring the safety of the premises and preserving their investment, hotel owners are also responsible for ensuring their customers’ safety and well-being.
Of course, safeguarding a hotel from crime can be a daunting task. There are many factors to consider, including employee trustworthiness, customer movement, building layout, and more.
Commercial package insurance can help your clients mitigate losses and damage resulting from criminal activity. These policies typically cover crime, property damage and loss, general liability, equipment breakdown, and business interruption.
Prevent Crime: What Hotels Can Do
Here are some things your clients need to know to keep their hotel property safe:
Hire Hotel Security Guards
Hiring security guards can be effective in securing hotel security. Trained guards will usually thoroughly understand the security threats common to such establishments. They can spot criminal activity before it happens and deal with suspicious people effectively.
The appropriate security measures differ from hotel to hotel because each establishment has specific needs and circumstances. Therefore, security practices and protocols that may be sufficient for one might be inadequate for another. Hotels in high-crime areas usually have better security and more extensive surveillance than establishments in low-crime neighborhoods.
Install CCTV In Hotels
Your client should consider investing in the latest security technology. Out-of-date technology could be an open invitation to criminals. If necessary, professional security advisers can educate your client on the latest security systems. These include CCTVs, security cameras, and motion-detecting software that alerts users to suspicious activity and helps prevent crime before it happens.
To maintain a close watch on hotel premises, your clients should consider installing cameras in public areas such as the lobby, bar area, and entry and exit points. It could be an effective deterrent in itself, as criminals are less likely to continue their illegal activity when they know there is active surveillance.
Hotel staff should keep pathways, garages, and other entrances clean and well-lit. It is also advisable to monitor these areas frequently.
Use Room Keys And Locks
Installing strong locks and using hotel room keys helps improve security and keeps the premises safe. Deadbolts and similar locks are especially effective at preventing burglary. Your client may also want to look into electronic keys after each use. These locks could prevent uninvited visitors from entering hotel rooms to which they should not have access.
Watch For Signs Of Drug Activity
Prostitution and drug dealing are the most common criminal activities in hotels and short-term rental properties. But your clients should also be on the lookout for methamphetamine laboratories, which are among the most dangerous. In most cases, meth cooks need only 12 hours to begin operating and manufacturing the drug after checking in.
Many cooks set up labs in rental properties such as farmhouses and self-storage units. But hotels and motels have become popular because of their privacy and accessibility.
It is in your clients’ best interests to prevent criminals from setting up meth labs on the premises. Acting quickly reduces the chances of losing the property to asset forfeiture by law enforcement agencies. Doing so also helps them avoid being held responsible for cleaning up the hazardous materials.
If your client suspects someone has bused the room as a meth lab, they should stay away from the area and contact local law enforcement and the fire department’s hazardous materials team as soon as possible. It ensures a chance to remove the contaminated materials and dispose of them safely without causing further damage to the property and other people.
About Snyder Specialty
Snyder Specialty, LLC is a New York-based underwriting facility that provides a range of property and liability solutions for personal and commercial lines. Specializing in coastal properties and hard-to-place risks, Snyder Specialty expands your current capabilities with proven solutions for complex risks. Find out more about the company’s range of services by calling (718) 362-8039.
