What to expect?

[HotelSecurity]

Canada's Prime minister is expected to go to the Governor General on Sunday & ask her to disolve parliament, launching a federal election. He will then be travelling around Canada for a month. My hotel received a phone call from the P.M.O. (Prime Minister's Office) asking if we had a block of rooms & a suite available for this coming week. I expect a visit from the RCMP. Has anyone been involved in a visit by their President orPrime Minister & if so, how did it go with the RCMP Protection Service or the US Secret Service? Can I expect to work with them or will it be more "stay out of our way & let us work"?

[mjw064]

Canada's Prime minister is expected to go to the Governor General on Sunday & ask her to disolve parliament, launching a federal election. He will then be travelling around Canada for a month. My hotel received a phone call from the P.M.O. (Prime Minister's Office) asking if we had a block of rooms & a suite available for this coming week. I expect a visit from the RCMP. Has anyone been involved in a visit by their President orPrime Minister & if so, how did it go with the RCMP Protection Service or the US Secret Service? Can I expect to work with them or will it be more "stay out of our way & let us work"?

You just blew OPSEC dude.
They won't be at your hotel now.

And to answer your question, you should expect them to work extensively with you. You are the expert about your building and you have all the keys. I know you have a small operation, but normally a member of the security force where they are operating would be placed in their command center for the detail to help with logistical issues. Generally speaking, the EP types who work those type of details are much easier to work with than uniformed cops. The fake EP guys who think they are hot stuff are a different story.

[Son-Of-A-Pilot]

You just blew OPSEC dude.
They won't be at your hotel now.

Ooops! That won't go over well with the hotel director.

[HotelSecurity]

[QUOTE=mjw064;72226]You just blew OPSEC dude.
They won't be at your hotel now.QUOTE]

I wrote that we received a call asking if we had a block of rooms. As did every other large hotel in downtown Montreal that is not presently on strike or closed for renovations. (One of the hotels the PM usually stays in is on strike, the other is closed for 18 months of renovations.)

How long does does the location of where someone like a PM or President is staying stays secret anyway? The limos & escort vehicles parked outside usually attract attention.

[mike booth]

It's all how you write the report. If you said the PM was looking for a block of rooms, it would be a little more neutral, less OPSEC sensitive. Props to you for trying.

Can't speak for you Canucks, I've been in Palm Beach, doing quiet, armed, plain clothes detail when Bush was in town. My boss actually refused him an invite to a major fundraiser. LOL

His handlers left everyone alone, as long as we didn't get close, but they covered major square blocks with their presence. It was fun to watch them try to blend in at Starbucks with the Tommy Bahama shirts and IWB Glocks the locals sport.

[bodyguardone]

Having worked as EP taking principals into hotels and then later working as a hotel Director of Security, I can share with you some of my experiences. Granted it is difficult to keep a Head of State visit secret for long if you can keep it at all. From the EP side we knew that and instead of secrecy we went for "please do not confirm the visit or the visitor involved". In all practicality, when the General Manager has the Executive Housekeeper double and triple cleaning your Presidential Suite, purchasing new linens, telling the Executive Chef that he'll be receiving special requests, telling the Chief Engineer to check all the plumbing and hot water levels etc. the staff will soon know that something extraordinary is happening. As long as the staff doesn't know exactly who the principal is is probably the best you can hope for during these visits. Our advance agent and then our site agent would ask that the hotel's head of security be available as much as possible during the visit and then stay as a partner with the site agent. It's probably best described as we wanted them handcuffed together. As a general rule we found that the head of security had keys to everything, knew every part of the building, knew the fire and security alarm systems and most of all, knew every employee and could obtain employee schedules and backgrounds if needed.
Later in life as a hotel Director of Security we got more than our share of VIP's because the protective details would tell the principal's staff how easy it was to work with our staff whenever they were coming to our city. I held training sessions with our staff so that they could better understand these high level visits which reduced their questions and gossip. I had an understanding with all the GM's that we supplied the appropriate food and drinks in the Command Post. We also always provided a suite away from the principal's to be used by the detail agents as a hospitality suite. We stocked it as well. Head of State visits are exciting and you don't want to dampen the experience for your employees. Afterall, they are the ones that make everything work! You are right in that once the VIP is in house and the motorcade is staged the chances of keeping a secret are zero.

[HotelSecurity]

Ended up that we had 2 VIPs. The Leader of the Liberal Party used the hotel Monday during the day. Being the leader of "Her Magistries Loyal Opposition" he was protected by a small tram of RCMP Protection Services Agents.

The Leader of the Conservatives, the oresent Prime Minister of Canada slept at the hotel overnight Wednesday. He had a much larger ECMP tram based on the US Secret Service midel.

My major role with both leaders? Elevator Operator :)