Information technology – as far as the hospitality sector was concerned – was a tool that stood largely for inventory management till the Mumbai terror attacks woke them up from deep slumber. The sector has been slow in IT adoption when compared to some of the other segments, but there seems to be greater awareness about its significance of late. Hotels are now game for a wide array of business applications that are suitable for their clientele, and security is no longer an after-thought. Surveillance is now a central theme.
As we all know, installing a few closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) was all that hotels did earlier in the name of security. But with India becoming an international destination for high profile conferences and the increasing frequency of visits by eminent politicians and business elite from across the globe, the issue of security at hotels has sharply come into focus.
Background verification of the hotel employees has become an important exercise. Hotels are engaging professional organisations to do deep background checks of their staff and are continuing to monitor their actions even after absorbing them. Hotels are now forced to inspect the quality of their safety installations from time to time, a feature that was non-existent till a few years ago. Biometric access control, metal detectors and baggage screeners have turned many of the hotels into a veritable fortress. Though this may seem inconvenient for some of the guests, no one would want to argue about its significance and relevance.
Saving a few lakhs at the expense of security would be a penny-wise, pound-foolish approach and hotels should resist the temptation of saving costs when it comes to the quality of their safety equipment. Often, the deal goes to the lowest bidder and this system needs to be reviewed. The hospitality sector has made a start towards forming a security ring but should ensure further progress to safeguard its guests. Here is wishing all EC readers a tech savvy new year.
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