1. Define and discuss the role of the director of security in maintaining hotel security.
The director of security reports to the general manager and is responsible for maintaining the hotel’s security policies and procedures. The director of security also works in coordination with the general manager as well as heads of other departments in the hotel. Sometime the director of security has an assistant director and security officers at his/her disposable to help support his/her goal of keeping the hotel secure. (Stutts & Wortman, 2006)
The responsibilities of the director of security according to page 198 of Hotel and Lodging Management, 2nd Edition (Stutts & Wortman, 2006) are to: * Instruct the general manager of the loss control procedures for every department. * Review, revise, and update security procedures as required. * Plan and organize the security department’s staff and activities. * Assist the personnel department with preemployment checks on employees who have been hired in critical areas when consulted. * Hires and terminates security employees. * Make sure that the timekeeper and contract security personnel are in the right uniforms and are performing their duties in a professional manner. * Supervise semiannual key inventories in all departments. * Be familiar with the provisions of the relevant labor contracts, state and federal laws, and union regulations. * Develop job descriptions for supervisors, security officers, and timekeepers, with the assistance of the general manager. * Train all employees in security responsibilities. * Give specific training to supervisors and security officers. * Supervise continuous training through seminars and training sessions. * Continue own professional training through seminars and training sessions. * Participate in orientation program for new employees. * Keep the general manager informed of all security matters. * Supervise the daily processing and distribution of security reports to management. * Maintain a chronological log of all incidents. * Prepare monthly and quarterly major incident reports. * Maintain complete and accurate records of all safety and security incidents. * Keep confidential all records and reports concerning security matters and hotel business. * Be a liaison between management personnel and all employees, and assist with security problems and loss control; hire outside law enforcement and fire and safety officials. * Call 911 in case of emergency. * Attend and participate in safety loss prevention and security committee meetings and other staff meetings as determined by the general manager. * Be fully trained and prepared for all emergency procedures.
2. A guest has just slipped on wet tile in the lobby, and fallen and hit her head, surrounded by other patrons. She appears to be just shaken up, but she is bleeding slightly from a cut on her forehead. Describe in detail the steps you would take to handle this situation.
If a guest is injured, it is important to first check the severity of the guest’s wounds and decide whether an ambulance needs to be called. This guest most likely is not in need of an ambulance so I would help her get up, bring her to a sitting area where I would ask her how she feels, and offer her some first aid products for her cut. I would then allow the guest to explain to me what happened and to show me exactly where the accident took place. Once I have established that the guest is not in any more danger and have heard her account of the accident, I would ask her to wait while I located a member of the housekeeping staff to dry the wet tiles, put up a “wet floor” sign, and retrieved the accident report paperwork. I would then document her accident on the report, have her read, and sign the document if she agrees that I have accurately described the accident and resulting injury. This protects the hotel