Tag Archives: Training

by | February 27, 2012 · 9:28 am

Hospitality Industry Terrorism Risks: FBI And Bureau Of Justice Assistance (BJA) Release List Of "Suspicious Activities" Hotels Should Be Aware Of

The FBI and the BJA set up a joint regional intelligence center, a hotline, and published a Release with some tips specifically for hotels and motels:

  • Request specific room assignments or locations.
  • Use cash for large transactions or a credit card in someone else’s name.
  • Arrive with unusual amounts of luggage.
  • Make unusual inquiries about local sites, including government, military, police, communications, and power facilities.
  • Refuse cleaning service over an extended time.
  • Use entrances and exits that avoid the lobby.
  • Abandon a room and leave behind clothing and toiletry items.
  • Do not leave their room.
  • Change their appearance.
  • Leave the property for several days and then return.
  • Thefts of official vehicles, uniforms, identification, and access cards.

    Reports of guest rooms with:
  • Burn marks or discoloration on the walls or door.
  • Unusual odors or liquids seeping from a guest room.
  • Unusual amounts of traffic.

Discovery of unusual items in guest rooms or facility dumpsters:

  • Fertilizer or agricultural products.
  • Chemicals or chemical containers.
  • Fuel or fuel containers.
  • Weapons, ammunition, and explosives.
  • Extremist training manuals or literature.
  • Fraudulent credit cards or documents.

Parked vehicles in isolated areas.


For more:  http://www.4hoteliers.com/4hots_fshw.php?mwi=6658

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

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by | December 16, 2011 · 7:03 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Prevention: Montana Police Task Force Trains Hotel Employees To Look For Evidence Of Drug And Prostitution Activity

Employees are taught to look for signs such as people who pay only in cash, give false vehicle information or don’t let housekeeping into their rooms for long periods of time.

The task force recently began implementing a program in which hotel and motel employees are trained to look for evidence of illegal drug activity coming from rooms, and to know who to call if they see something suspicious.

The recent arrests of three people suspected of running a prostitution operation in a room at the TownHouse Inn was a result of a tip made by an employee of the hotel to the Central Montana Drug Task Force.

The employee was trained by Sgt. Chris Hickman of the Great Falls Police Department, a member of the multi-agency task force, to recognize signs of suspicious behavior. While it was initially suspected that the three individuals were running a drug operation, Hickman said he was glad that officers were able to shut down the alleged prostitution as a result cooperation from hotel staff.

 According to Hickman, police are pursuing three active cases because of tips from cooperative lodging employees in Great Falls, but an unfortunate by-product of that cooperation can sometimes be a sullied reputation for the business if a tip leads to a publicized arrest.

For more:  http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20111214/NEWS01/112140311/Great-Falls-program-netted-prostitution-ring-relies-hotel-staff-tips

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

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by | April 5, 2011 · 2:15 pm

Hospitality Industry Security And Terrorism Risks: "Eye On Awareness—Hotel Security And Anti-Terrorism Training" Online Video Course Offered By Hotel Association (Video)

CLICK ON "SEE" TO WATCH "EYE ON AWARENESS" PREVIEW

Hotel bombings in Baghdad, Jakarta, and Morocco—hospitality properties have become popular targets for terrorism in recent years. Not surprisingly, a majority of today’s guests list safety and security as their most important concern when planning a hotel stay.  How can your hotel ensure a sense of security and still offer a welcome and inviting environment for guests? A property’s front-line employees may well be the most crucial, yet often overlooked, element of effective hotel security.

Developed in partnership with international security experts, hospitality leaders, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s If You See Something, Say Something™ campaign, Eye on Awareness—Hotel Security and Anti-terrorism Training™ provides the skills and knowledge essential for hotel employees to recognize, report and react to suspicious situations at their property.

For more:  http://www.ahlei.org/eyeonawareness/

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Filed under Conferences, Guest Issues, Injuries, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Training

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by | January 28, 2011 · 7:42 am

Hotel Industry Security Risks: Department Of Homeland Security's "If You See Something, Say Something" Campaign Promotes Training Hotel Employees And Managers To Report "Suspicious Situations" On Property (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znBuKpuPb_Q]

How can your hotel ensure a sense of security and still offer a welcome and inviting environment for guests? A property’s front-line employees may well be the most crucial, yet often overlooked, element of effective hotel security.

Developed in partnership with international security experts, hospitality leaders, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s “If You See Something, Say Somethingâ„¢” campaign, Eye on Awareness—Hotel Security and Anti-terrorism Training provides the skills and knowledge essential for hotel employees to recognize, report and react to suspicious situations at their property.

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Filed under Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

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by | December 1, 2010 · 7:43 am

Hotel Industry Guest Relations: Hotel Owners Must Invest In Employee Training To Create A “Positive And Egaged” Environment To Retain Guest Satisfation

Make reputation management a priority. Whether your property is a five-star resort or a one-star motel, your guests are evaluating you on how well you communicate and deliver on your brand promise. Subscribe to a social media monitoring tool and start tracking your Market Share of Guest Satisfaction; in the age of social networking, it’s as important as your revPAR index. Formulate a strategy for optimizing your online reputation, set goals, and meet regularly with your social media team to review progress.

Speak up. We would never ignore a guest ranting in our lobby, so why do so few negative reviews receive a response? (7%, according to TripAdvisor). It’s our chance to show the world we care, to thank the guest for feedback, to apologize and explain, and to clear up any misconceptions. On TripAdvisor reviewers can’t reply to hotel responses, so effectively we get the last word. Use it.

Engage. Hotels used to hire mystery shoppers to tell us what we were doing wrong; now our guests do it and pay us for the privilege. User reviews keep us in touch with guests and allow us to reach a mass market we could never hope to reach through our own marketing efforts. Be grateful. Wherever possible, engage writers of negative reviews and try to make amends. With expert handling, our harshest critics can become our most powerful advocates.

Take the high road. If the review is petty or vindictive, there’s no need to stoop to that level; travelers are smart enough to read between the lines. If allegations are false and defamatory, dispute the review with the host site, post a diplomatic response to set the record straight, and let it go. If your property’s reputation is so fragile that one or two bad reviews will devastate your business, you’ve got more issues than bad reviews. Read on.

Create a cycle of positivity. Use guest feedback to justify investments in training, labor, capital upgrades and communications. Improvements will generate positive reviews, which will attract more travelers and in turn will generate incremental revenue, thereby funding more improvements, and so on. The alternative? Ignore feedback and create a cycle of negativity, with the opposite results.

Prevent escalation. If you listen closely, bad reviews are often less about the issue itself than how staff responded when it was brought to their attention. Train employees to prevent on-property issues from escalating to online complaints by listening, empathizing, offering solutions and following up to ensure guests are satisfied. Some issues take time and money to fix; in the meantime, ensure staff are minimizing fallout by expertly managing complaints.

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article50511.html

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