Tag Archives: Hotel Security

by | October 29, 2010 · 5:45 am

Hotel Industry Security Risk Management: “Fingerprint Entry Systems” Are Starting To Become More Common As A “Reliable” Guest Security Option

If you want to get into your room at New York’s SoHo Loft, you’re going to have to lift a finger. The seven-room hotel has a fingerprint entry system. Guests touch the door pad then enter a code for extra security. Kimpton’s 190-room Nine Zero Hotel in Boston was the first hotel to install a biometric iris scanner back in 2004, but only guests of the 1,065-square-foot Cloud Nine penthouse suite have to bat their eyelashes.

Those plastic key cards that once seemed so innovative will soon go the way of the actual key. The new thing is contact less Smartcards and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) cards that need just be waved to allow room access.

Much like the cruise world’s one card system, these cards may soon make hotel stays easier by allowing guests to pay for services, as well as to check-in and check-out, through a single device. Travelers may even be able to save preferences on the cards, from pillow type to floor choice. RFID cards are already in use at New York’s Plaza Hotel, and Starwood Hotels are considering introducing them into their hip Aloft and Element properties.

But travelers worried they will constantly have to traipse back to reception every time they lose their card need not despair. Security systems in some hotels do away with cards altogether.

 “In addition to Radio Frequency Identification, there are also systems that use a smartphone, such as an iPhone,” says Frank Wolfe, CEO of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals. “When a guest checks into a hotel and provides their phone number, they get an encrypted sound code via text message.” You can then play back the code to unlock your room door.

Yet more card-free security systems are on the way. They may still be minor blips on the greater hotel horizon, but biometric systems that seem right out of Mission Impossible have been introduced in the U.S. If you want to get into your room at New York’s SoHo Loft, you’re going to have to lift a finger. The seven-room hotel has a fingerprint entry system. Guests touch the door pad then enter a code for extra security. Kimpton’s 190-room Nine Zero Hotel in Boston was the first hotel to install a biometric iris scanner back in 2004, but only guests of the 1,065-square-foot Cloud Nine penthouse suite have to bat their eyelashes. The uses for biometrics don’t have to stop at the guestroom door, either. The Nine Zero also uses the technology to make the property safer all round, as it has installed the LG IrisAccess 3000 at the employee and delivery entries to the hotel, as well, meaning that non-staff members and intruders can’t access the property.

For more:  http://news.travel.aol.com/2010/10/29/the-future-of-hotel-security/

8 Comments

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

Tagged as , , ,

by | October 14, 2010 · 6:24 pm

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: Arizona City Hotel Ordinance Seeks To Curb Guests Who Pay In Cash And Withhold Registering Name In Attempt To Stop Crime

The city is advancing a hotel-motel ordinance designed to track who stays in hotels, which police say will drive away prostitutes, drug dealers and other criminals who pay in cash and don’t give their name.

Police are more interested in patrons who pay by cash or who check in at hotels that don’t require a name, Chief Frank Milstead said. Patrons who check in with a credit card aren’t trying to hide, he said.

Mesa hotels will likely be forced to ask guests for an ID or some other proof of identity under a push to drive crime out of the city’s hotels.

The city is advancing a hotel-motel ordinance designed to track who stays in hotels, which police say will drive away prostitutes, drug dealers and other criminals who pay in cash and don’t give their name.

Police say other cities have fought crime with similar rules, but technology is posing a challenge as the city drafts an ordinance that requires a hotel to see a guest’s ID, verify license plate numbers and keep records for a year.

Many hotels are converting to paperless registration, so it’s possible for guests to check in, pay by credit card and get a key without interacting with a hotel employee. Hotels don’t want to burden guests with showing an ID when a swipe of a credit card will identify who is checking in, said Robert Brinton, president of the Mesa Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“We don’t want them to say it’s a hassle staying in Mesa,” Brinton said.

Police are more interested in patrons who pay by cash or who check in at hotels that don’t require a name, Chief Frank Milstead said. Patrons who check in with a credit card aren’t trying to hide, he said.

“Those aren’t the people we’re looking for,” Milstead said.

The city’s Public Safety Committee agreed to move forward with the rules on Thursday. The proposal stems from police statistics in 2009 that showed 6 percent of all warrant arrests and 4 percent of all drug arrests were at hotels and motels. Just 10 hotels accounted for 49 percent of the warrant arrests and 64 percent of drug arrests. Police say regulation will greatly reduce the time they spend at hotels and allow them to fight other crime.

A hotel-motel review board would oversee the rules, with some members being nominated by the hotel industry and some by the city. Hotels that don’t collect IDs and keep the information for a year could face fines of $250 to $2,500.

Hotels support the rules, but say the ID issue needs to be resolved so it’s possible for guests to check in without showing an ID to a hotel when their identity has been revealed through a credit card payment. Also, Brinton said the six-page ordinance could probably be thinned to two pages to make the rules simple.

For more:  http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/article_cdd2a84c-d7e3-11df-a6e4-001cc4c03286.html

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Security Risks: Arizona City Hotel Ordinance Seeks To Curb Guests Who Pay In Cash And Withhold Registering Name In Attempt To Stop Crime

Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Privacy, Theft

Tagged as , ,

by | October 4, 2010 · 6:24 am

Hotel Theft Risks: Florida Law Protects Hotel Ownership From “Most Liability” But Continued Guest Loyalty Demands A Secure Premises

“…A… Naples, FL couple’s plans were shattered…when their motel room was burglarized shortly after they checked in and went to dinner. Everything of value — including electronics, cash, a designer purse and sunglasses, theme-park tickets, a passport, checks and Social Security cards — was gone when they returned…”

They… filed a police report and demanded reimbursement from the motel for the $5,200 loss, but it was denied. A Florida law protects operators of public lodgings from most liability. Even when a hotel is negligent, a guest cannot recover more than $500 in most cases and $1,000 for jewelry or cash left with the hotel for safekeeping.

In Orlando, where tourism is the engine that drives the economy, hoteliers are well aware of the need to protect their guests as much as possible, said Rich Maladecki, president of the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association.

Most hotels have full-time security staff and work with law enforcement to root out problems, he said. Look for hotels with good lighting in hallways, at entrances and in parking lots, experts caution.

For more:  http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/law/os-law-and-you-hotels-tourist-rights-20100923,0,6507664.story

Comments Off on Hotel Theft Risks: Florida Law Protects Hotel Ownership From “Most Liability” But Continued Guest Loyalty Demands A Secure Premises

Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Theft

Tagged as , ,

by | September 17, 2010 · 9:26 am

Hotel Industry Security Risk Management: Hotel Management Can Limit Guest Theft Liability By Maintaining Room Locks, Posting Legal Notices, And Keeping Back And Side Entrances Closed And Locked

Security expert Chris McGoey of  CrimeDoctor.com defended the hotel’s security practices with one exception, the back door not requiring a key card to open. He says that if the victims’ story is true, it’s quite possible the theft was committed by another hotel guest.

Gallagher says he’s considered suing the hotel, but under state law, the hotel would most likely not be liable for the lost belongings because it provided locks for the suite and likely posted the various required legal notices inside of it.

As was later reported in the Chicago Tribune, the Gallaghers claim that when they went out for coffee on the second morning of their stay (as the Bruners slept soundly in another of the suite’s rooms), the suite was burglarized, resulting in the loss of $2,000 in valuables, including purses, wallets, cameras, cell phones and luggage.

Both couples blame the hotel’s lax security for allowing the theft to happen. But Lawrence Duffy, the hotel’s general manager, says the victims told him the break-in happened after they left their door propped open, an allegation the victims deny. He says the hotel rarely has problems with crime.

For more:   http://www.milwaukeenewsbuzz.com/?p=254429

Comments Off on Hotel Industry Security Risk Management: Hotel Management Can Limit Guest Theft Liability By Maintaining Room Locks, Posting Legal Notices, And Keeping Back And Side Entrances Closed And Locked

Filed under Crime, Insurance, Liability, Risk Management, Theft

Tagged as , ,

by | September 3, 2010 · 7:11 am

Hotel Industry Liability Risks: Florida Hotel Owners Sued By Victim Of Hit-And-Run Car Accident In Parking Area During A Sponsored Golf Event

The lawsuit claims that the tournament operators and sponsor, along with the property owners and manager, had inadequate lighting in the parking area where the crash occurred, failed to follow industry standards in designing and building the parking area, failed to use proper traffic control devices, designed the parking area in a confusing fashion, and didn’t properly staff the parking area.

The attorney representing Jack Justice, one of three people run down by a sport utility vehicle in the parking lot of the ACE Group Classic golf tournament in February, has filed a lawsuit against the owners of the property where the crash occurred, the tournament operators — including the PGA Tour — as well as the owner of the SUV and his company.

The 37-page lawsuit was filed by Mark S. Weinstein on Aug. 27 in Lee County Court.

“Mr. Justice almost died,” Weinstein said. “He’s lucky to be alive.”

“His injuries were completely avoidable,” Weinstein added. “When a corporation sponsors a golf event; when a corporation runs a golf event; when a corporation is paid to plan a nationally televised golf event where the purpose is to invite the public onto your premises and in the end make money … you can’t just have a parking lot area and just say ‘Everyone park here. Good luck.’”

For more: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/sep/01/victim-ace-group-golf-cart-crash-files-lawsuit-all/

Comments Off on Hotel Industry Liability Risks: Florida Hotel Owners Sued By Victim Of Hit-And-Run Car Accident In Parking Area During A Sponsored Golf Event

Filed under Crime, Liability, Risk Management, Training

Tagged as ,

by | August 21, 2010 · 8:50 am

Hotel Industry Risks: Hotel Managers And Employees Must Spot Prostitution And Drug Risks When Local Guests Book Rooms For One-Week Or More

Police have started a program to educate hotel employees on how to spot prostitutes and drugs. One warning sign” When a guest with local address books a hotel room for seven or eight days, the Inquirer says.

Hotel prostitution became a high-profile last year when a woman who had advertised erotic services in a Craigslist ad was beaten and fatally shot at close range at the Boston Marriott Copley Place. Police ultimately arrested Philip Markoff, a medical student who was dubbed the Craigslist Killer, for her killing and other robberies of women in hotels. Markoff committed suicide in jail earlier this week.

Crime has been climbing at airport hotels over the last six to eight months, and Capt. Dan MacDonald III says that it can be linked to prostitution.

“This violence has resulted in numerous robberies, assaults and one homicide all directly related to prostitution going on at Philadelphia airport hotels,” the Daily News quotes him as saying.

Philly isn’t alone in fighting prostitution activity in airport hotels

For more:   http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2010/08/philly-police-bust-airport-hotel-prostitution-ring/108959/1

Comments Off on Hotel Industry Risks: Hotel Managers And Employees Must Spot Prostitution And Drug Risks When Local Guests Book Rooms For One-Week Or More

Filed under Crime, Liability, Risk Management, Training

Tagged as , , ,

by | August 20, 2010 · 5:40 am

Hospitality Industry Cybercrime Risk Management: “Cloud Computing” Providers Will Carry “Cyber Insurance To Mitigate The Risk Of Data Breaches Or Unexpected Downtime”

The manager of a fine hotel would never allow an electrician or plumber to work without being insured; it’s standard fare on service contracts in the physical world. Not so in cloud computing, where provider coverage in the form of cyber insurance is far from a given. This undoubtedly will change as businesses push providers to share the risks of a data breach or unexpected downtime, experts said.

Such large cloud computing providers as Salesforce.com Inc. do carry cyber insurance to mitigate the risk of data breaches or unexpected downtime, but “smaller providers are not carrying insurance and have no plan to [do so] until the larger customers push back and say, ‘You’re in our risk profile now,'” said Drew Bartkiewicz, vice president of technology and new media markets at The Hartford Financial Services Group, a cyber insurance company based in New York.

For the cloud computing model to work, cloud customers, as well as cloud providers, need to share the risk, according to Drue Reeves, director of research for the Burton Group in Midvale, Utah. If a provider were wholly responsible for the data of hundreds or thousands of tenants, it simply wouldn’t be able to buy enough insurance to cover the liability. To protect themselves in this risky situation, cyber insurers generally cap their policies at $10 million or $15 million, forcing providers and large customers to keep shopping, experts said.

For more:  http://searchcio.techtarget.com/news/2240021040/Cyber-insurance-mitigates-the-risk-of-data-breaches-in-cloud-computing

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Cybercrime Risk Management: “Cloud Computing” Providers Will Carry “Cyber Insurance To Mitigate The Risk Of Data Breaches Or Unexpected Downtime”

Filed under Crime, Insurance, Liability, Theft, Training

Tagged as , ,

by | August 7, 2010 · 6:55 am

Hospitality Industry Data Theft: Hotel Owners Must Prevent Breaches Of Credit Card Processing Systems By “Cyber-Criminals” Who Install “Malicious Programs” To Steal Data

“… remote attackers installed a malicious program into the card processing system of Englewood, Colo.-based hotel chain Destination Hotels & Resorts. Guests at 21 Destination properties may have been subjected to credit card theft…”

“..the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in Los Angeles disclosed a possible data breach of its POS systems dating back to 2009. Also, between November 2008 and May 2009, the computer systems of some Radisson hotels in the United States and Canada were illegally accessed. And the computer systems of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts were accessed on two separate occasions by cybercriminals who stole customers’ card numbers, expiration dates and other data…”

Cybercriminals last year targeted hotels more than any other industry for credit card theft, according to a recent report by data security company Trustwave. Hotels are being targeted because they have large amounts of credit card data and frequently neglect to implement the most basic security precautions, such as changing default passwords or ensuring programs are up to date, said Nicholas Percoco, senior vice president of Trustwave’s SpiderLabs.

As a result, attackers commonly gain entry into a hotel’s network by exploiting default passwords on point-of-sale (POS) applications, added Dave Ostertag, manager of investigative response at Verizon Business. From there, customized malware is loaded onto the hotel’s transaction server that steals credit card information as a transaction occurs.

In March, the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in Los Angeles disclosed a possible data breach of its POS systems dating back to 2009. Also, between November 2008 and May 2009, the computer systems of some Radisson hotels in the United States and Canada were illegally accessed. And the computer systems of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts were accessed on two separate occasions by cybercriminals who stole customers’ card numbers, expiration dates and other data.

For more:  http://www.scmagazineus.com/rampant-hotel-data-theft/article/174579/

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Data Theft: Hotel Owners Must Prevent Breaches Of Credit Card Processing Systems By “Cyber-Criminals” Who Install “Malicious Programs” To Steal Data

Filed under Insurance, Liability, Privacy, Risk Management, Theft

Tagged as , , ,

by | July 18, 2010 · 12:13 pm

Hospitality Industry Cybercrime: Hotels And Restaurants Combine For Over 50% Of All Credit Card Data Theft Because Of Their Dependence On Credit Cards And Focus On Servicing Guests

“…According to a recent study, 38% of all credit card breaches occur in hotels…financial services industry accounts for 19% of breaches… Retailers 14%, and restaurants at 13%…”

Hotels are easy targets because they are all credit card-based. It is possible to reserve a room without providing a credit card number, but they don’t make it easy. And hotels themselves certainly aren’t fortresses designed to keep bad guys out. They’re designed to be open and inviting, with, at best, a bellman whose focus is assisting guests rather than guarding the front door. Maybe that mentality exists in hotels’ IT security departments, too.

The root of the issue is the hotel industry’s insufficient security measures to prevent data breaches. Many rely on older point of sale terminals and outdated operating systems, which are more vulnerable to hackers. When the recession hit, many hotels cut back and decided to hold off on upgrades.

While their defenses were down, hackers slithered into their networks to steal guests’ personal financial data. Once thieves have accessed this data, they can clone cards with the stolen numbers and use them to make unauthorized charges.

For more:   http://www.finextra.com/community/fullblog.aspx?id=4286

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Cybercrime: Hotels And Restaurants Combine For Over 50% Of All Credit Card Data Theft Because Of Their Dependence On Credit Cards And Focus On Servicing Guests

Filed under Crime, Insurance, Liability, Theft

Tagged as , , , ,

by | July 16, 2010 · 6:27 am

Hotel Industry Privacy Risks: ESPN Reporter Erin Andrews Files “Negligence, Negligent Infliction Of Emotional Distress And Invasion Of Privacy” Lawsuit Agains Hotels

“I do hope that my experience will cause the hospitality industry to be more vigilant in protecting its guests from the time they reserve a hotel room until they check out.”

Her suit claims negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy against the hotel entities.

ESPN reporter and road warrior Erin Andrews filed a civil suit today against Marriott International, Radisson Hotels International and others involved with the hotels in which a stalker surreptitiously filmed her nude through a hotel-room peephole.

Andrews was stalked and/or filmed in rooms at the Marriott Nashville at Vanderbilt University, the Radisson Airport hotel in Milwaukee, and a third hotel in Columbus, Ohio. Andrews stays in hotels frequently for her job as an ESPN reporter “always with the expectation of privacy once checked into her room,” the release says.

“Although I’ll never be able to fully erase the impact that this invasion of privacy has had upon me and my family,” Andrews says in the release , “I do hope that my experience will cause the hospitality industry to be more vigilant in protecting its guests from the time they reserve a hotel room until they check out.”

Comments Off on Hotel Industry Privacy Risks: ESPN Reporter Erin Andrews Files “Negligence, Negligent Infliction Of Emotional Distress And Invasion Of Privacy” Lawsuit Agains Hotels

Filed under Crime, Insurance, Liability, Privacy, Risk Management

Tagged as , , ,