Security and Loss Prevention

Targets

Hospitality Businesses are ______. The ______of business, ______, guests with wallets/purses and valuables, ______, ______on the premises all make the hospitality business an attractive target!

Security involves protecting the ______, ______&______of the property from ______, ______, and ______situations.

Student activity with shoulder partner

Prevention

The emphasis of security is ______. Security is the responsibility of ______.

Loss prevention can be defined as the prevention of inventory loss, employee work time loss, loss of assets and or cash.

Security Officer’s To Do List

Today security officers:

•respond to reports of ______(theft, vandalism, robbery, etc.)

•assist ______with on-property investigations

•provide ______(key control, foot patrols: perimeter checks, floor checks, VIP Guests, etc.)

•participate in property ______

•monitor for:

•______

•drug-related activities

•______

•signs of terrorism

Security vs. Police

Hotel security does ______ but acts as a watchdog for guests, employees and property security. Security staff may be ______contracted from outside of the property or be a ______.

Clothing Optional

Security may be______or ______.

Uniformed security can make guests/employees feel more secure or make guests and employees feel uncertain, as if there is something wrong that needs security

The presence of plain-clothes security can be comforting because they are an undetectable presence or their presence is not detected so guests/employees do not feel protected and secure.

QUESTION:Other than hotels what are some other businesses that employ plain clothes security/law enforcement?

ANSWER:

Qualities of a Security Officer

The most important characteristic of a good security officer is honesty. They must also be:

•______

•able to stay calm, cool and collected

•able to ______on their feet

•able to ______

Size of the Security Dept.

Department size is dependent upon:

•______

•number of guests & employees

•______- residents, transients, VIPs, world leaders, etc.

Communication

Communication is a key element in security as they must communicate with ______, ______, & ______and other community agencies to guarantee that appropriate levels of security are achieved.

Reasonable Care

The Security Dept. must provide Reasonable Care. Reasonable Care can be defined as “the degree of care that a ______would use under like circumstances.”

Liability

•Liability means ______, especially responsibility to pay for damage or loss?

•In the case of a lodging property who is responsible for replacing a wallet when it is stolen?

–Stolen from a guest room? ______

–Stolen from the hotel lobby where it was accidentally left by the guest? ______

Innkeepers Laws

Innkeepers Laws were passed in the 1700s to protect travelers and overnight guests from inconvenience and injury. The laws today focus on the hotel operator’s areas of responsibility such as ______, evictions, and ______.

Liability

•Most states have rules that protect hotels by ______of the liability for losses.

•Hotels must post signs that state ______and the availability of safe-deposit boxes and safes.

Most hospitality businesses are at risk for lawsuits. If the company/property consistently follows good safety and security procedures, the company ______.

______of safety and security issues is mandatory by hotel employees.

Insurance

______Insurance – pays for loss or damage of property owned by the business due to fire, tornadoes, hail, accidents, burglary and arson

______ Insurance –pays if the court determines the loss or damage is the responsibility of the lodging property.

______ Insurance - pays for losses due to crimes such as theft, arson, forgery, and embezzlement. Theft and arson may be covered under property insurance too.

Emergencies

Emergency preparedness involves ______for an emergency, ______the hotel with necessary supplies; ______every employee with their responsibility for a time of emergency; ______the emergency responses; ______the practices and work to improve performance

4 Areas of Security

  1. Structural security
  2. Security policies
  3. Surveillance
  4. Safety and emergencies

1. Structural Security - The security systems ______:

emergency alarms: fire, smoke, flood, burglar; door alarms; security lights, motion detectors, locks on windows and doors, employee lockers, all keys, In-room safes, main vault & safe deposit boxes,

guest’ rooms and corporate technology.

2. Security Policies -rules that employees must be familiar with and follow:

  1. Employees wear ______
  2. Practice Key Control
  3. ______to property
  4. Lost and found
  5. ______

3. Surveillance - The process of ______; looking for trouble both with people and property; also the task of locking/unlocking doors at certain times, turning lights on and off at certain times.

4. Safety and Emergencies - Plans and procedures must be in place for responses to ______and ______. These plans and procedures must be practiced frequently so employees know what they are supposed to do.

5. Special Procedures

Lock-Out and Luggage Liens

Guests that ______or that are ______in their rooms will be “locked-out.”

A ______is also used. The guest’ luggage is kept until payment is made or the situation is resolved.

Current Technology - There are systems used by lodging properties that alert a central control panel when the fire alarm goes off. Immediately guest room phones are rung to alert guests of emergency; all doors at the bottom of stairwells are unlocked; a 911 call is made and exhaust fans are activated to push smoke out of the building.

Important Duties of the Security Dept.

The important duties of a security officer are to:

  1. Patrol ______to ensure guest and employee safety and security (surveillance)
  2. Utilize electronic surveillance of public and employee areas if necessary

Questions: Why do security officers look at the physical conditions of:

–the parking lot? ______

–entry and lobby? ______

–guest room hallways & staircases ______

–all Pull-Stations? ______

3. ______by guests and employees, determine if law enforcement should be involved, and assist law enforcement as needed.

4. Keep a current and active log of all “______”

Questions:

Why is the Security Log kept? ______

Why are Patrol/Surveillance Logs kept? ______

Why are Accident Report files kept? ______

What type of information should be recorded in an Accident Report?

5. Report ______the results of daily patrols, all investigations, and other security activities experienced

6. Safeguard sensitive ______and confidentiality

7. Keep in touch with Front Desk personnel at all times

Questions:

Why must Front Desk and Security be able to be in-touch at any time?

What are some devices that could be used to ensure Front Desk and Security were able to be in-touch?

8. Respond to ______of guests and employees

9. Respond to the death of a guest or employee by evacuating the area and leaving the sceneof the death as is until authorities arrive and take control

10. Respond to ______, especially when a guest or employee is trapped inside the elevator

11. Maintain a ______

-tag item with date found, place found, found by __, condition of item found

12. Emergency preparedness -protocol for emergency situations

13. Key control – (controlling access)

Policies to Reduce Employee Theft

•Employees are not allowed on the property ______

•Any package that an employee brings into or takes off of the property must be ______

•Employees must punch-in and punch-out with time cards that record the arrival/departure time/date

•Employees must enter and exit through the employee entrance. Security will be posted at this entrance during employee arrival and departure times.

•Theft can be prevented with ______of all assets.

•______secure alcoholic beverages, etc. on a property.

•______at certain areas also monitor who is accessing the area and what is being brought in or removed

•______that require 2+ signatures for certain items

Questions

Those of you that are employed, is this protocol for your place of employment?

Does your place of employment have an employee handbook?

Why are employee handbooks important?

Why not just tell the employees what the policies are?

Does your employer use a Requisition System?

Do you know of an employee that was fired because of theft? (no names, only facts!)

How many keys do you have on your key chain? ______

What do the keys open? ______

Hard or Electronic Keys??

•______are metal, less expensive in the beginning but can become a security threat if lost.

•Electronic keys are easily and quickly changeable; often use a magnetic strip or RFID.

**______(radio frequency identification) – no swiping necessary

Electronic key systems can indicate ______to access an area.

Key Control

A strong key control system is needed in a hotel operation.

•Key Control prevents ______of guest areas and back of the house operations

•It also manages the issuing of keys to employees

•provides security for and control over, who has access to ______

•manages ______to a facility/property such as side doors and vendor entrances

•Some hotels use a ______. There is an entrance key and then inside there is a flip-bolt.

4 Specific Responsibilities of the Security Dept.

  1. Develop and implement safety and security policies
  2. Train all employees
  3. ______security staff schedules
  4. ______all security equipment

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