Hotel Theft and Prevention
The hotel and lodging industry is equally vulnerable to theft just like any other industry. The main perpetrators of theft within this industry are employees since they are the people with the day-to-day operations in various departments. Guests may also avoid involve in theft by avoiding payment. Some of the high risk theft areas in this industry include: skimming, resale of food orders and credit card theft (Goldmann, 2015). To begin with, credit card theft is a high risk area that really concerns the management because it involves identity theft of crucial financial information. Employee thieves use individuals’ private information such as card numbers to fraudulently obtain cash. On the other hand, skimming involves the theft by voiding sales or making unnecessary claims to guests. For example, an employee would charge a customer, neglect informing the sales department, and pocket the cash. In addition, reselling food orders is concerned with filling an order twice or more but the hotel gets pays for a single order.
Considering such, the hotel uses various security controls to identify theft by employees or guests. Record keeping is one way that the management will know the number, time or services provided to guests. As such, they can determine the guests who paid or did not pay for services. Similarly, security cameras installed in various rooms or departments helps in identification of employees involved in the theft of guests’ items like theft cards (AlBattat & Som, 2014). Some of the measures that must be taken include monitoring employee activity through hidden cameras to ensure the safety of guest rooms, limiting access to areas such as the financial department, and arresting culprits. Reporting incidents such as weak locks by employees or guests ensures that they can promptly be dealt with. Furthermore, training would ensure that employees perform duties with integrity based on the guidelines.
References
AlBattat, A.R,. & Som, A.P. (2014). Safety Security and Loss Prevention During Hospitality Emergencies. Retrieved from http://www.drj.com/articles/online-exclusive/safety-security-and-loss-prevention-during-hospitality-emergencies.html
Goldmann, P. (2015). Common Hotel and Restaurant Scams. Retrieved from http://hotelexecutive.com/business_review/68/hotel-security-common-hotel-and-restaurant-scams-to-beware-of