SAFETY AND SECURITY IN THE HOTEL -----
Lost and found – This is a term used
in hotel parlance to refer to any item which is left by the guest or temporarily
misplaced by the guest but traced later by the hotel staff. Such articles to be
handed over to the housekeeping department which maintained a special locker
for this purpose .if the item belongs to the guest who has already checked
out ,then a letter has to be sent to the
forwarding address left by the guest while checkout or which is there in the
registration card ..If no reply is received by the hotel within certain time limit,
that may be auctioned to the hotel employees as per the hotel rules.
If
the lost belongings are found in the public areas and the guest is still residing in the hotel
then housekeeping department keeps those items with them till any complain is made
at the front office or in the lobby..in
this case a customer is required to give a description of the article which is
lost ,before that item is shown to him .
Fire in the hotel –
As
soon the fire is detected and intimated to the front desk ,the first thing to
do is to inform the telephone department .inmost hotels the telephone
department the telephone department plays a pivotal role of alarming the hotel
.in smaller hotel which have telephone department is merged with the front
office ,there the first job is to call the fire department of that city for the
help .the front office should alert all guest and inform them to use the
staircase and not the elevator .the telephone exchange should always be manned
during fire to communicate from one point to another .if the front office staff
have to get actively involved in the procedure then they should search each
room thoroughly ,specially under bed or in closets or bathrooms to ensure that
no guest is left behind .they must guide the guest through the fire exit map
.and help in extinguishing the fire by the use of appropriate fire
extinguishers
(Foam
for electrical fires and oil fires, water for the general fires and so on.)
Death-
The
front office should inform the General Manager, the security officer and call
for the hotel doctor,. no alarm is raised and none of the guest to be informed
.the General Manager may decide to call the police .the room to be sealed till
police formalities are over. People known to that person is to be contacted through the addresses entered
in the registration card .
Accidents –
The
house doctor should be called immediately on phone and informed the nature of
the accident and condition of the guest .the doctors instructions must be
followed immediately .bleeding must be stopped by swabbing wounds with cotton
wool and applying antiseptic or any lotion .if a fracture is suspected the
guest is not moved till the doctor arrives .burns are to be treated with creams
meant for the purpose .Water is never poured over the burns as this will surely
leads to the blisters .hotel should train staff for this purpose .
Vandalism –
The
front office staff must call the hotel security and order the main door to be
locked .if thing get out of the hand police must be called.
Damaged to property by the
resident guest
–
The
front office cashier is instructed to raise a charge for the value of the of
damages to property, a responsible guest will never argue but if it is the
subject to be referred to the general manager .
Drunken guest –
It
is prudent to never argue with drunken guest .he must be politely led away from
the public areas either into an office or in his room...if he is behaving
unruly the security may be called.
Theft –
Hotel
often adopts certain precautions to avoid thefts -
these are:-
·
Self
locking room doors.
·
Safety
deposit boxes for guest valuables
·
Watching
guests with light baggage who could become potential skippers.
·
Watching
a walk-in who can be a thief.
·
Avoiding
giving room numbers to visitors or guest names to telephone callers.
·
Strictly
controlling the master key.
·
Posting
security personals on floor.
·
Keeping
all entrances, corridors and staircases well illuminated.
·
Reporting
immediately any suspicious characters.
Bomb threats –
With
the increase in terrorism in the country and world ,the bomb threats are not so
uncommon these days .this may be a genuine threat with explosive planted some
where in the hotel or it may be a
hoax.which ever the case may be such threats are always taken seriously and the
proper action taken .
Mostly
bomb threats are made on phone are attended by either the telephone operator or
the receptionist of the hotel.in this following steps to be followed—
·
Signal
the colleague to also listen in the call and try to find out the location
through exchange.
·
Listen
the caller carefully and make it prolong and get all the information carefully-
place where planted,time of explosion and streghth of explosives.
·
If
possible this call may be taped and note the back noise and try to catch
information from accent and police to be informed.
·
Immidiatly
after disconnection the G M and security officer has to be informed .
·
If
the location is identified the department head should be also informed
·
People
from that suspected area has to be evacuated from that particular location .
·
After
“all clear” signal from the police the normal process of hotel can be
continued.
SAFE
DEPOSIT –
Though
hotel is not responsible for the guest valuables, the rule to this effect is
written in the guest registration card and also notified in the in guest room
.but a hotel offers a free safe deposit facility for his valuables.
Hotels
have bank type of lockers installed at the front office cash. A locker is
allotted to guest that can be opened by using two keys .the master key is with
the front office cashier and other key is issued to the guest. A contract is
also signed in between the guest and the hotel. Whenever a guest wants to open
that locker it has to be entered into the locker operating register. Signatures
are always verified with the specimen .head cashier inserts his key then a
guest inserts his own key, and then only a lock can be opened. Guest is left
alone to operate his locker..Guest can lock the locker with his own key. At the
time of departure the guest is asked to vacate the locker.
If
the key is lost by the guest .then the locker will be drilled open in presence
of the guest and can be charged for the replacement of the locker.
If
the forgets to vacate the locker .he or she has to be informed by the hotel to
come and vacate it either personally or by sending an authorised person with
authority letter.
These
days some hotels have installed an electronic safe deposit box in each guest
room .this safety box can be operated by using an electronic number. Guest can
use any number to open the lock. The number selected by the guest becomes the
locker’s code number .the guest’s are advised to keep there valuables in the
electronic safety box. Though hotel is not responsible for any lost item .But
hotels take this issue as prestige issue. So an inquiry is done on the hotel
security level.
