By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com)
Contactless technologies became mission critical as a way to
solve many of the issues created by the coronavirus crisis. As we transition
from the pandemic into the next normal of semi-permanent viral safety upgrades
and the dominance of regional travel, it’s important to consider the long-term
ramifications of so many people furloughed or unemployed by the pandemic.
Within the hospitality industry, we are all quite aware that
Covid continues to spook people all over the world, which will lead to
depressed overall travel numbers for quite some time to come. Add to that the
various automated systems that together mean hotels may never need to hire back
a large portion of their former employees – this in an industry that
historically accounts for one in ten jobs globally. Thinking broader,
eventually the government stimulus cheques will run out and loans will have to
be repaid, which has already led many others to predict some form of upcoming
economic recession. All told, this can mean a huge amount of lower income
individuals without a source of wages for quite some time as we head into 2021.
While I am a firm believer in the better angles of nature,
the largest number of unemployed people since the Great Depression might lead
to desperate actions by a select few. One potential result may be a sharp
uptick in misdemeanors and theft, with hotels being a target for such
activities.
While I am not worried about the integrity of your
employees, the same cannot be said for any unauthorized persons gaining access
to the guestroom floors or unknowns loitering about the lobby and other
semi-public spaces. Problems may come about in the form of snatched purses from
restaurant tables, missing bags left at the bell desk or minor vandalism of
cars left by the front entrance.
As we’ve all now promised heightened guest safety in the
wake of this rampant virus, so too must we protect our visitors and their
belongings during any subsequent increases in criminality. Anything stolen will
not only leave guests heartbroken, but this will also reflect quite poorly on
the property. Beyond retaining a strong security department, much of the
contactless technology that hotels have set up in the past months can luckily
pull double duty to help prevent theft or other transgressions. More must still
be done, though, because the palpable lack of hotel staff on the floors going
forward will embolden others to probe for vulnerabilities.
Nevertheless, an absence of human eyeballs should be another
reason to emphasize touchless technologies including mobile keycards, online
payment platforms and elevator floor access systems. There are still numerous
ways, though, for bad actors to harm your guests, where many of these scenarios
can be prevented through the further use of automated technologies.
These touchpoints and their solutions may include:
- Security
theater as a concept should be readily understood; in a very basic form
entailing highly visible cameras with red flashing lights to inform
passersby that they are being watched
- Concurrent
with temperature checks at visitor entranceways, hotels or resorts may
check identifications which, through proper integrations, can be
referenced against a room booking, restaurant registry or list of event
attendees
- Electronic
safety devices can be used by housekeepers and other frontline staff to
more rapidly notify security of intruders who are onsite
- Enforcing
a stricter policy for reservations in advance at a dining outlet and
pushing that information in real-time to a reception kiosk or security
sign-in can help to prevent offenders from using a walk-in as cover for
more nefarious deeds
- Deferring
all transactions to purely online pathways can nudge guests to leave their
wallets in their room safes or, at the very least, out of direct line of
sight
- If you
opt against smartphone-based guestroom access systems, then consider
coding your room keys by some other visual marker so that expired sets can
be easily spotted
- Elevator
floor access restrictions are often only deployed at night, but these
should now be set up for all times of day while also considering elevator
cameras
- More
transparent linkages between the PMS and operations management platform
can help optimize front-of-house staffing levels to prevent work order
backlogs such as bags waiting in the lobby or a delay in having a valet
move a car from street level to a more secure garage
- Guest
messaging apps can be used to communicate with guests in advance of their
arrivals to coordinate staffing and ensure that there is never a moment
from car to bell desk to the guestroom where any piece of luggage is left
unattended
- The
technology underpinning self check-in and mobile key cards can also be
used to grant or deny access to other areas on property
- Biometric
scanning technology embedded in modern cameras can be utilized to identify
body temperature, suspicious body language or even when bags are left
behind
- Even
niche operations like poolside or oceanside lounge chairs can be put
through an online booking portal to better inhibit unauthorized visitors
- With
the rise of online ordering apps, investigate how to connect these
platforms to guest messaging apps or other internal notification systems
so that no delivery person ever has any reason to go beyond the reception
area
My sincere hope is that my prediction about dire straits for
the winter months ahead does not come to pass and that job creation surges to
help out those in already marginalized positions. While cyber threats may still
have a much bigger financial impact on hotel companies than any misconduct on a
more personal level, it still doesn’t hurt to look at how all the new hardware
and software your property has set up to combat Covid might also be redeployed
for other safety purposes.
About Larry Mogelsonsky
Larry Mogelonsky
One of the world’s most published writers in hospitality, Larry Mogelonsky
is the principal of Hotel
Mogel Consulting Limited, a Toronto-based consulting practice. His
experience encompasses hotel properties around the world, both branded and
independent, and ranging from luxury and boutique to select-service. Larry is
also on several boards for companies focused on hotel technology. His work
includes five books “Are You an Ostrich or a Llama?” (2012), “Llamas Rule”
(2013), “Hotel Llama” (2015), “The Llama is Inn” (2017) and “The Hotel Mogel”
(2018). You can reach Larry at larry@hotelmogel.com to discuss hotel business
challenges or to book speaking engagements.
Media Contact:
Larry
Mogelonsky
Email: larry@hotelmogel.com
Website: http://hotelmogel.com/
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