Safety & Security At Your Hotel

The safety, security, and reputation of a hotel are often factors in where a guest chooses to stay. Taking steps to prevent crime will make your hotel more attractive to guests; and prevent others from using your facility for criminal activity.

Common types of illegal activities that affect hotels are those related to theft, drugs, and human trafficking.

Signs of possible illegal activities include:

• Unexplained loitering.
• Individuals peering into vehicles.
• Abandoned packages or suitcases.
• People waiting outside of locked doors.
• Guests who insist on paying with cash.
• High traffic to a particular guest room.

If human trafficking is taking place at your property, other criminal activities such as drug dealing and credit card fraud may also be taking place. These activities often go hand in hand, and pose a serious risk to your guests, your staff, and your business.

To prevent these types of unwanted behaviours from occurring at your hotel, consider implementing the following practices:

• Keep track of who is entering and exiting the hotel.
• Ask guests for two pieces of ID upon check in.
• Always keep guest information confidential from other guests.
• Compare the booking name to the ID of the person checking in to prevent fraudulent bookings.
• Verify license plate numbers.

An important part of your crime prevention efforts is training staff to recognize the signs associated with illegal activity. Suspicious behaviour should be reported to the police as soon as possible.

Ensure a list of non-emergency phone numbers is available at all times and call 9-1-1 in case of an emergency.

Visit TourismWorks for courses on crime prevention and dealing with vulnerable individuals.