Anyone in hospitality knows that protecting the guest experience is paramount. This is especially true in the digital age when a negative review can quickly go viral and ruin long-established reputations.

Adding unexpected luxuries and personal touches is often the first impulse when trying to improve a restaurant or hotel patron’s visit, but security is just as important, if not more so. From cyber security threats on shared Wi-Fi networks to petty theft or the more serious risk of assault, safety issues are a crucial part of the guest experience.

In this article, we’ll break down common risk factors that guests face, the technology that can be used to address them, the future of these advancements, and ultimately, how they can be used to transform the guest experience.

Before they can better protect guests, restaurants and hotels need to identify where the major threats to guest safety are coming from. Here are some of the main security risks hospitality environments face:

  • Unauthorized Visitors: Be they friends of guests or simply people who have come off the street, unauthorized visitors are one of the most common points of concern when looking at guest safety. The very nature of a hospitality environment is to be a welcoming space, but this can quickly become a point of vulnerability without proper support structures in place.
  • Other Guests: Drunk, unruly, and aggressive guests are the nightmare of any hospitality business. Conflict between guests can get violent, but even the quieter ones can be the source of sexual harassment or assault issues.
  • Cybersecurity Issues on Shared Networks: Data privacy is often seen as something only big corporations or tech companies face, but an unprotected Wi-Fi network in a restaurant can cause havoc all on its own and lead to guests’ information being stolen, etc.
  • Theft and Fraud: Be it from other guests, unauthorized visitors, or employees themselves, theft and fraud issues are one of the biggest threats to guest safety and the guest experience as a whole. Someone could have a great stay in a hotel but if their wallet was stolen, that’s all they’re likely to remember.

Technological Innovations Enhancing Safety

Thankfully, for every risk to guest safety, there is a technological innovation made to solve it. Here are some of the main advancements that hotels and restaurants can use to protect their guests:

  • Panic Buttons: Panic buttons can be placed on walls, under desks, or even worn by hospitality staff. They allow guests to call for help as soon as they feel threatened, even if they don’t have their phone or the establishment’s number on hand. Panic buttons also make it far easier for hospitality workers to flag when something is amiss.
  • Running Cashless and Contactless Services: One of the best ways to mitigate theft issues is to stick to cashless, digital transactions with things like Apple Pay, etc. This means less cash on premises, which keeps everyone in a restaurant or hotel a little safer. Contactless payment also allows guests to use their phones for payments and not have to fuss with getting cards or wallets out.
  • CCTV Monitoring: Surveillance systems with well-placed cameras and 24/7 monitoring can act as a preventative measure as they tend to make people think twice about their actions, but they’re also brilliant for getting eyes on quieter, more vulnerable areas. Modern CCTV has also been enhanced with technology such as motion sensors, facial recognition, and real-time alerts to further boost the security they provide.
  • Keyless Entry: Hotels are forever plagued with how easy room keys are to steal and be used by unauthorized visitors. Asking guests to use apps on their phones or biometrics such as fingerprint scans to access their rooms instead makes both the rooms and the guests that much safer.

Enhancing Guest Experience Through Safety Innovations

Implementing one or two of the above safety enhancements can improve the guest experience significantly. Not only does it give guests the immediate sense that the restaurant or hotel they’re stepping into takes their safety seriously and thus builds trust, but it also helps to lower the risk of guests being endangered or being stuck without assistance.

Instead of guests walking away from an incident talking about how no one came to help or that the hotel they were in was lax with security, let them marvel at how prepared the establishment was and how well cared for they felt as a result.

Future Trends and Predictions in Hospitality Safety

As the hospitality industry takes guest security more seriously, here’s what you’ll likely see more of at restaurants and hotels:

  • AI-Powered Surveillance: The problem with CCTV has always been the cost of having someone watch footage all day without missing anything. It’s why you’ll likely see AI being used in most surveillance systems soon. AI technology allows “rules” to be set so that if personnel pass through a certain space after hours when no one is meant to be there, an alert is immediately sent out.
  • Wearable Panic Buttons Becoming the Standard Safety Measure: Many states and cities already have legislation that requires hotel or motel workers to wear a panic button and others are expected to follow. These are predicted to become a standard safety measure for hospitality staff around the country within the next few years.

Not only do they keep staff safer, but they allow them to respond to guest threats far quicker. For example, if a hotel cleaner walks into a room in the middle of a guest being endangered, they can just press a button and help will be there.

Safety First

Small touches like panic buttons and keyless entry systems not only lower the chance of your visitors being the victim of a violent crime, but they ensure that everyone who steps into your establishment does so feeling safer. It may not be embroidered pillowcases or a free drink at the bar, but enhancing guest safety allows people to feel more at ease in an establishment and leave with only positive memories.