Tips on Hotel Security

[Cactus]

Hey guys, I just did my first full shift alone doing hotel work. I thought it went VERY well personally. The staff appreciated my work and the patrons of the hotel loved me! There was a group of teen athletes in town and the parents actually bought me pizza! I couldn't believe it. However, there seems to be a problem somewhere as my supervisor was called and told to come check on me next shift. Well, its not necessarily a problem, maybe the staff really liked me as much as I think they did. On the most part though, our mobile guys don't come out here much. They mostly stick around downtown as thats where most of our sites are located. So for him to say he was coming tomorrow makes me think that perhaps I did something wrong.

To go over my night this is how my shift went.

I arrived on site and was suprised by how many patrons were on site. However they were well behaved on the most part. Then the fire alarm went off. I went door to door getting everyone up and out of the building. FD arrived and said it was the elevator, they then said it was safe for people to go back in. Patrons came back on site, and the kids went straight to bed. Its now around 23:00 so the teens are going to bed as well. Now its just me and the sports parents who were drinking to celebrate the win today.

Now the hotel I was working at has a policy that you are not to be drinking alcohol from anything other then a plastic cup. No cans, no bottles. Security is to turn a blind eye to plastic cups. So I was told that if anyone was publicly drinking I was supposed to tell them to put it in a cup. If they don't listen then have them either dump the drink in the nearest sink (likely their room) or just go back to their room and drink there. I did this, in fact, this is the main reason the patrons liked me. I was very easy going and polite while dealing with them since most had already been drinking. I know how to handle my drunks and keep them happy

Anyways a couple of guys refused to listen to me, I asked them 3 times and on the 3rd time told them "If you do not comply with the rules sir, we will have to remove you from the hotel." Those guys listened finally once they realized that while I am a nice guy, a job is a job and I need to keep mine so no more Mr. Nice Guy at that time.

Because of the amount of alcohol being consumed I decided to be VERY high visibility in an attempt to keep all noise and general drunken rowdiness to a minimum. It actually worked surprisingly well. I was doing constant patrols, random floors each time. 1,3,4,2 then 4,1,4,2,3 so on and so forth. The 3rd floor seemed to get tired of seeing my mug so they packed it in pretty early. The 2nd floor guests moved to the dinning room as the staff had informed me that I could group the guests in there as to keep the noise on each floor to a minimum. So now the 2nd and 3rd floors are absolutely mute. I have guests on the 4th sitting around drinking, but only out of cups and I have guests in the dinning room.

Personally I think I did very well considering it was my first shift in a hotel, nobody trained me on what to expect and I was alone (other then hotel staff which consisted of 2 receptionists)

However I do realize that things could have went smoother with more experience or better planning of how to handle the situation.

In retrospect I would have gotten the 4th floor into the dinning room as my main sites of patrolling would be much closer.



Anywho, I was wondering... those guards out there who work hotels, what are your keys to keeping your sites quiet, safe and secure?

[flashlightcop509]

When I was posted at Killington, the resort had a "3 strike" policy; Well, actually 4 if you consider sometimes an Officer addressed a noise complaint while on patrol without getting a call first. A complaint lodged by another guest warranted a verbal warning, a second visit for the same offense resulted in forfeiture of room deposit (between $200-$400 normally), a third would be to let the guest know that they have 30 minutes to pack and find lodging elsewhere for the night. After those 30 mins. we would return with a hotel representative and a constable to make sure nothing in the room was damaged and that the guest leaves without incident...

[HotelSecurity]

We used to have the 3 strikes and you are out rule too but now have trouble enforcing it. (I have mentioned this problem in previous posts). A few years ago the Montreal Police Department's lawyers decided that since the Canadian Constitution makes it illegal to evict someone from their home without a court order and a hotel is a temporary home, they could not help hotels evict registered guests in the middle of the night. We still do. Individual cops will still help but I have been told that if they followed their legal department's instructions to the letter they can arrest us when we open a door to evict someone. So far it has only been the young out of town teenagers that have had to be evicted & they do not know the law.

The type of group you had is my nightmare, even after doing hotel security for over 30 years now. These jock parents come to these tournaments more for social getogether than to look after their kids. They end up having parties in the rooms & halls. They don't want the kids around, so they tell them to go & explore the hotel. We then have packs of kids roaming everywhere, disturbing other guests as welll as the noise from the parents parties. When you catch thso kids up on another floor where they should not be & bring them to their parents to control them, the parents tell you off!

Working alone dealing with large drinking groups means you have to change your approach. You can not possibly control a large group alone. If you try they will see that you have no control & you will loose any authority you do have. Your best bet under this type of situation is containmnet. Getting a noisy group to move into a room instead of a hallway. In severe cases NOT patrolling on a floor as long as ALL the guests on that floor are part of the group, it is staying on the floor & no one complains. I my case some nights we are so busy responding to noise complaints that we do not have time to do a patrol anyway.

You just hope that your hotel does not do what mine does. They insist that every room be sold. Some days a room becomes available on a floor where the rest of the rooms are occupied by a nosy group because the guest who was in the room was disturbed the previous night & was moved to another floor. Instead of leaving it vacant they will sell it to someone else who that night will be disturbed & will make noise complaints. Had they just left the room free there would be no complaint.

We also face a dangerous situation when they try to fill every room. I have dealt a few times where kids from 2 schools from the same town have been out on the same floor. I have spent the night breaking up fights.

You have to be careful about "getting in their face all the time". You said your random patrols worked for you. i have seen it backfire. The drunks get mad that security is on their case, constantly paaing by & telling them to clear the halls etc. They "get even" by doing vandalism.

Like I said I,ve delt with these problems for 30+ years now & could probably write a book. It's late & these thoughts are just coming out randomly so I'll stop now & will add or respond to others comments

[Cactus]

Just wanted to give an update on tonights shift.

I decided to go with more of a contained noise approach tonight. I took the folks up on the top floor down to the dinning area to hang out, drink and be as noisy as they want since there was nobody on the first floor. the second floor had its share of noisy people as well but it as the whole floor thank God, so no noise complaints out of them. Best of all, the 3rd floor were out of the hotel until 2am, which made my life REAL easy. The kids were no problem as the 2nd floor kids were with their parents the whole time, didnt see a single one out of the rooms from 20:00 on. The teens on the 4th floor decided I was cute and just wanted pictures with me then stayed in the rooms talking about me, which was strange to hear as I patrolled the floor. LOL, never thought I would hear teenage kids talking about how dreamy the security staff is.

The parents that were in the dinning area were very cool with me tonight (again) and in fact bought me a 6 pack to enjoy after work. I had 3 parents tell me that I was strict but "fair and understanding". They really liked the fact that I gave them a place to hang out and do their thing.

Its true tho, the parents are there for the social aspects. Tonight was MUCH easier thank God. I REALLY like Hotel work, I hope to do more in the future.

[bpdblue]

So, what did your supervisor meet with you about?

Ok, I'm probably rude for asking, but since YOU were the one who brought it up, I'm just wondering what your supervisor met with you about. (That's only if you want to go into it, of course.)

I only ask this because in the way you described your first, and second shifts at the hotel, it sounded like you did a GOOD job. I know from previous experience that sometimes these little get togethers are not about bad things at all, but can be about good things, things that have to with learning more about the hotel, or other things.

So, if you have the desire to say what happened, I'd be interested in knowing.

[HotelSecurity]

Cactus BE CAREFUL. You sound young, good looking & impressed by young girls talking about you. You also work alone. NEVER enter one of the girl's rooms alone. Get a witness. If the Night Auditor can not leave his post & there is no other staff to be a witness do not enter the room. And be friendly not firends. Do not accept any invitation to go out with guests when off duty.

My staff are not allowed to accept tips FOR SECURITY duties. (No 6 packs for after work). They can accept one if they have done one of our many non security duties such as delivering a towel but NOT for a scurity duty.

[bpdblue]

I second HotelSecurity's post on the cautionary topics he brought up. And regarding taking tips and gifts, that is a slippery slope situation that CAN lead to trouble. It is a good idea Not to take any gift, or even tip.

Your position, as it appears from your posts, is to keep the peace, make sure the hotel's rules are followed, and to show the hotel's seriousness in having someone specifically there to show they mean business in keeping their guests safe, and in keeping trouble makers at bay.

When you accept gifts and tips, it appears to some that you could possibly be bought (Like you could be given a large tip by someone and then asked to go check some other area of hotel, while that someone, without your knowledge no doubt, commits a crime elsewhere on the property), or you do not keep such a good eye on something like a teenagers birthday party, where they have snuck in alcohol without your knowledge. When it is learned that you did take gifts or tips from these types, the hotel, and your company will not be impressed. In fact, they may consider it a bribe.

One last thing. Check with your company about this issue, as it may be against policy to take gifts and tips. Just don't say you you have taken any.

[NRM_Oz]

I would terminate a person for accepting a bribe, gift or anything of value that is not declared from work. Things like Diaries, folders or caps are fine but it depends on the value - say $10.00. Alcohol is a no brainer - it looks like you can be bought off with a 6 pack next time an issue arises. I worked 1 post to fill in for a weekend at a corporate building where the regular S/O used to charge people a slab to park their cars in the vacant spaces over a weekend. I was handed 2 slabs in 3 hours and found this unusual until a customer dropped off $40.00 and said he had no slab but would this be enough ? The S/O had made up dummy passes (hence the manual exits).

Ethics and integrity is something that is slowly dying from our industry - let's not lose it for the sake of a 6 pack of beer ........... once bought - always bought.

[flashlightcop509]

the regular S/O used to charge people a slab to park their cars in the vacant spaces over a weekend. I was handed 2 slabs in 3 hours and found this unusual until a customer dropped off $40.00 and said he had no slab but would this be enough ?

Err, for us non oz blokes, what's a slab?

[Cactus]

Ok, I'm probably rude for asking, but since YOU were the one who brought it up, I'm just wondering what your supervisor met with you about. (That's only if you want to go into it, of course.)

I only ask this because in the way you described your first, and second shifts at the hotel, it sounded like you did a GOOD job. I know from previous experience that sometimes these little get togethers are not about bad things at all, but can be about good things, things that have to with learning more about the hotel, or other things.

So, if you have the desire to say what happened, I'd be interested in knowing.

Sadly, he never ended up coming by. Still waiting to hear from him as to what it was about. I will let ya know once I know though.

[Cactus]

I just wanted to clear up somethings here guys. The 6 pack was given to me as I was on my wait out of the building. I was saying goodbye to the hotel staff when the kids parents came out and just non stop praised me. It for sure wasn't a bribe as I was done, they knew I was done and that I was not returning as they were leaving as soon as they woke up.

I agree though that accepting something while on duty is a BIG no no. As much as I would love a big bribe, its not worth my job, reputation as an honest worker or anything else it would damage.

I am very happy that they bought me a gift, but if they had offered it to me while I was still securing the site I would not have taken it. Its just not worth it to get fired for 6 beer.

The girls were pretty young and I'm on my way to getting engaged as is so there is no worries there. Luckily I didn't have to enter a single room during my 2 nights there. Had to knock on a couple of doors and had to put people in rooms but I never had to go in. It was a great time though, I am really looking forward to this weekend as I have some more hotel shifts. Much better then doing construction sites, oh God, so much better.

[HotelSecurity]

I just wanted to clear up somethings here guys. The 6 pack was given to me as I was on my wait out of the building. I was saying goodbye to the hotel staff when the kids parents came out and just non stop praised me. It for sure wasn't a bribe as I was done, they knew I was done and that I was not returning as they were leaving as soon as they woke up.

I agree though that accepting something while on duty is a BIG no no. As much as I would love a big bribe, its not worth my job, reputation as an honest worker or anything else it would damage.

I am very happy that they bought me a gift, but if they had offered it to me while I was still securing the site I would not have taken it. Its just not worth it to get fired for 6 beer.

The girls were pretty young and I'm on my way to getting engaged as is so there is no worries there. Luckily I didn't have to enter a single room during my 2 nights there. Had to knock on a couple of doors and had to put people in rooms but I never had to go in. It was a great time though, I am really looking forward to this weekend as I have some more hotel shifts. Much better then doing construction sites, oh God, so much better.

You are in Ottawa. That is not far from Montreal. You should come & work at my hotel on New Years Eve - non stop action

[NRM_Oz]

Err, for us non oz blokes, what's a slab?

OOps ......... sorry Flashlight ............... cases of beer .............. actually a slab used to be known as a 30 can pack or in the olden days of steel cans - 36 cans but commonly referred to now for any size box.

[Lawson]

OOps ......... sorry Flashlight ............... cases of beer .............. actually a slab used to be known as a 30 can pack or in the olden days of steel cans - 36 cans but commonly referred to now for any size box.

Ah, I thought it was some sort of meat lol.

[NRM_Oz]

Ha Ha Ha ............ well you can make Beer soup but I have never tried it outside of Australia.

Op whilst you have had every good intention of being a loyal worker, all you need is someone nosey to make some stupid comment and or assumptions about what they believed they saw and you will pay for it with your job. When I was working the college building contract, I was accused by the College Principal of being inside a female student's dorm room on a w/end though I had been gone some 38 hours, was 4 hours away at my cousin's wedding and CCTV and access logs prove I was not there. An apology did not cut it for me - as their legal department had to come good and I wanted this woman to be fired - she was fired the next day for such a stupid allegation based on "what a tutor thought they saw". We ended the contrac that next week with a final payout.