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Furthermore, it is important to consider the proper dress for the security staff to be in line with the hospitality management philosophy.

Safety is a term which relates to protecting guests and staff within the hotel from the potential hazards, injury, and death by dealing with dangerous materials and different kinds of accidents. In contrast, security regards the protection of property from criminal accidents and terrorist activities.

Providing the highest levels of safety standards and security ensures good marketing for the hotels by preventing an accident before it becomes a major issue causing loss of life and property.

effective information system and being well prepared for emergencies could prevent or minimize loss for the hotels.

four-phase model to plan for the crisis and to deal with the emergencies; this model proposed reduction, readiness, response, and recovery phases to deal with the crisis.

Many practitioners imply that regarding the technology evolution in the last decade, Information Technology has become a fundamental part of the hospitality industry,

the importance of an updated emergency plan

The hospitality industry is one of the most vulnerable industries to crises.

is vulnerable to both internal and external emergencies.

updated regularly, and a direct communication system should be employed to respond to and overcome the crisis.

The importance of continuous emergency training for the employees is also emphasized.

ole of the media, information, and the social media should be reviewed and evaluated continuously

causing negative impacts not only for the hospitality players, but also for the tourists and the local community.

biometric technologies could ensure the hotel security and increase the effectiveness of hotel information systems. This will reduce the costs, improve management of the employee and guest activities, and improve the ability to recognize the criminal activities.

Preparedness and an updated emergency plan with managers' awareness will help the hospitality industry to provide the necessary resources, as well as effective training to avoid or minimize risks. Safety surveillance and security systems are very important to save guests' lives and hospitality properties. These factors can also be used as a marketing tool for guests and meeting planners. Finally, it's very important to understand the crisis emergency frameworks to mitigate effects and be well prepared before the crisis strike, and furthermore, to minimize losses during evacuation when the disaster happens.

susceptible to epidemics movements,

Hotels should issue a check-list concerning a hotel’s vulnerability to emergencies caused by natural disasters (hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis) or man-made crises (terrorist attacks, explosions, fires, spill, food poisoning).

This will transmit a positive image: hospitality may gain a lot by using its safety and security as a marketing tool to attract more tourists to the destination.

Aloft Hotels uses Botlr, a robot butler, to deliver items to guests around the clock.

Guests at New York’s Yotel can have their bags stored with Yobot, a robotic luggage concierge. Robots aren’t entirely replacing humans, however—a lesson learned by the Henn-na Hotel in Japan, which fired half of its all-robot staff to employ more humans.

More hotels are moving away from traditional room keys to leverage RFID technology through guest wristbands. The technology is popular at resorts like Disney World and Great Wolf Lodge.

The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas has Rose, an AI concierge who can help guests book spa services and restaurants and offers insider information like secret menu items at the hotel bar. Four Seasons Hotels uses Four Seasons Chat for 24/7 chat service that is powered by humans, not AI, for a more personal touch and responds to messages in 90 seconds or less.

. Hilton Hotels has introduced mobile check in for rewards guests to seamlessly check in, choose their room and unlock the door through an app. 

ach room at the CitizenM Hotel in Amsterdam comes equipped with a MoodPad tablet, which allows guests to change the temperature, TV, window blinds, alarm and lighting in one place. Some Marriott hotels have smart shower doors where guests can jot down their ideas while in the shower and then email the image to themselves for future use. 

A number of hotels and resorts, including Radisson and Omni, offer the service and have seen improved customer satisfaction and online booking rates. 

Hilton uses location-based services at some of its resorts to alert guests to events and activities that might interest them based on where they are on the property.

The wall of each room at Hub by Premier Inn in the U.K. includes an AR map of the local area. When guests point a smartphone at the map, they can learn about local attractions and get recommendations for the best things to do and see.

estimates suggest collection levels are still around 50 per cent below normal levels for the time of year

Concern is growing over the treatment and disposal of lithium ion batteries

Unless processed and recycled safely, lithium batteries pose a serious fire risk

lot of these batteries are being put into household waste bins or thrown into skips at recycling sites. And they are not then treated with the caution that is needed

Its change of direction can offer lessons for companies that are pursuing robotic solutions for customer-service roles, reports the Business Insider. 

complaints from both staff and customers.

robots were more adept at creating work for their human counterparts than they were at reducing it. 

robots annoyed the guests and would often break down.

Human staff ended up working overtime to repair robots that stopped working.

robot at the front desk could not answer basic questions.

The robot problem extended to the luggage-carrying bots, whose only job turned out to be more than they could handle.

Doors should be self-closing and self-locking. Room doors should have a deadbolt lock with at least a one-inch throw bolt.

Do not open your door to someone who knocks unannounced.

Put the Do-Not-Disturb sign on the doorknob even when you are away, this deters room burglars (it may affect housekeeping service, however).

When you find a suitable hotel that meets your safety standards and will cater to your security needs try to stick with it or with the same hotel chain.

There was always the danger of fire or other means of damage that would result in permanent loss of those papers. There is no doubt that hotels need to work in paperless environment

presentation of guest folio on an iPad, or similar device

presentation of guest folio on an iPad, or similar device

presentation of guest folio on an iPad, or similar device

advance check in that can be done on the Internet or Smart-phones up to 24 hours before check in, saving the need to print registration cards and speeds up the checkin process at the hotel.

advance check in that can be done on the Internet or Smart-phones up to 24 hours before check in, saving the need to print registration cards and speeds up the checkin process at the hotel.

advance check in that can be done on the Internet or Smart-phones up to 24 hours before check in, saving the need to print registration cards and speeds up the

advance check in that can be done on the Internet or Smart-phones up to 24 hours before check in, saving the need to print registration cards and speeds up the checkin process at the hotel.

Optima Go Green allows the hotels using Optima Hotel Management Solution to go the extra mile and reduce the total amount of paper used by implementing Optima green solutions

, evacuation, fire extinguishing and danger management processes

Security cameras in the hotel lobby, coded access cards - that's it

hard" security systems, which can help avert or manage serious threats such as terrorist attacks.

investors or owners of a hotel property often ignore these chain-specific security standards for cost reasons and provide budgets that cover only the minimum required by law.

between different types of "passive" security

hotels is very simplistic: security cameras in the lobby or other public areas and coded access control cards for elevators and rooms

We have highly sophisticated danger management systems today, particularly at airports, elements of which could be implemented in large hotels or connected to professional expert systems via remote security service centres

Outside of "classic trouble spots" such as the Middle East, people have a false sense of security.

However, the vast majority of hotel operators are reluctant to make additional voluntary investments. Even insurance companies have not really taken up the opportunities presented

The effective interlink between security equipment and security processes to protect persons and assets in real time is the main issue.

Hotels may be concerned about the costs of higher-level security systems but criminal activity could cost a hotel its reputation and not to mention, a person his or her life

For information technology, the usefulness of insisting on the primacy of the individual, as an approach to making key decisions on systems-in-the-large, actually runs counter to my practical experience of what works.  An individual operating in a vacuum, even if extremely brilliant, informed, and motivated, tends to have occasional or frequent biases, tunnel vision, and pride of ownership. He misses errors and issues that the scrutiny of multiple eyeballs, not to mention the careful discussion of pros and cons, can easily catch.

The people who toss off this old chestnut also often smile triumphantly as if it were both unanswerable and as if they themselves had just invented the clever saying. The aphorism embodies a belief that only a single individual, making all the decisions, can do an effective design.  Note that aside from its humor, the saying doesn’t even make logical sense: a thoroughbred wouldn’t last long in the desert, while a camel is of course a highly optimized creature for its environment.  In addition, people generally apply the aphorism widely, refusing to acknowledge the usefulness of group involvement altogether, in anything. They trot out extreme examples where consensus-gathering has paralyzed action.

An example of the usefulness of committees is the Project Portfolio Management (PPM) process I’ve described frequently here on this blog.  Having a sole individual, even the CEO, decide on project inclusion simply isn’t viable over the long run in many corporate cultures–it creates classic problems of lack of buy-in and participation, for example. On the other hand, instituting a suitably chartered and well-facilitated steering committee, composed of senior individuals from the major business areas of the company, forces everyone to put on their “big company hat” as they consider priorities, rather than doggedly insisting on their own department’s parochial perspective. When that’s done well, everyone moves forward with a common understanding and solid commitment, one that’s much less likely when there’s an on-high fiat from a single person.

Network computing has enormous implications for marketing to customers on a global basis, as well as hotel operations. Consider the potential for the industry to connect with vendors worldwide for electronic purchasing, potentially achieving economies of scale and leveraging not yet possible. World purchasing functions will allow companies to customize their own catalogs. Virtual channels of distribution using computer networking capabilities will also allow hotel companies to market products and services - some traditional to our industry, others not - to customers whether they are in the hotel, at work, or at home. This will require a migration from today's central reservation systems to tomorrow's customer information systems using network-centric solutions. Development of customer profiles and guest recognition will make it possible for hotel organizations to interact in entirely new ways with customers, regardless of their physical location. Clearly, the large hotel companies will need to be the first to address questions raised by global networking capabilities and what this will mean in terms of technology investment. But for many hospitality companies presently struggling with the high cost of technology and the confusing state of our industry's technology affairs, this will not be an easy task. And the decisions will ultimately become further complicated by the opportunity to outsource certain functions into subscription-based networks. It is unlikely that the hospitality industry will be forced to bear the entire burden for networking infrastructure. Strategic alliances with major technology companies will be the catalysts in building this capability as they become strategic providers of networking capabilities to hospitality and other industries. And as network-centric computing comes of age and a company's proprietary information is stored in cyberspace, security will become an ever-more important issue requiring solutions. Whether it is an e-mail gateway through an internal network or customer access via the Internet, network fire walls and encryption systems will be required to mitigate the concern many will have with system security.

Network computing has enormous implications for marketing to customers on a global basis, as well as hotel operations. Consider the potential for the industry to connect with vendors worldwide for electronic purchasing, potentially achieving economies of scale and leveraging not yet possible. World purchasing functions will allow companies to customize their own catalogs. Virtual channels of distribution using computer networking capabilities will also allow hotel companies to market products and services - some traditional to our industry, others not - to customers whether they are in the hotel, at work, or at home. This will require a migration from today's central reservation systems to tomorrow's customer information systems using network-centric solutions. Development of customer profiles and guest recognition will make it possible for hotel organizations to interact in entirely new ways with customers, regardless of their physical location. Clearly, the large hotel companies will need to be the first to address questions raised by global networking capabilities and what this will mean in terms of technology investment. But for many hospitality companies presently struggling with the high cost of technology and the confusing state of our industry's technology affairs, this will not be an easy task. And the decisions will ultimately become further complicated by the opportunity to outsource certain functions into subscription-based networks. It is unlikely that the hospitality industry will be forced to bear the entire burden for networking infrastructure. Strategic alliances with major technology companies will be the catalysts in building this capability as they become strategic providers of networking capabilities to hospitality and other industries. And as network-centric computing comes of age and a company's proprietary information is stored in cyberspace, security will become an ever-more important issue requiring solutions. Whether it is an e-mail gateway through an internal network or customer access via the Internet, network fire walls and encryption systems will be required to mitigate the concern many will have with system security. In the final analysis, networking solutions will drive down the cost of technology investment "on-property" where hotel real estate and business interests merge. The solutions that hotel organizations will be able to choose from in terms of networking should also be less expensive than the current profile of technology spending. And we can expect that change to occur sooner rather than later, given the present rate of investment in Internet-based technologies.

Although these enhancements are beneficial to hotels worldwide, some wonder whether hotels are buying the technology and ultimately, implementing them.

the future of hotel technology is unclear, but moving forward requires a certain factor.

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better management and utilisation of stock, reduction of food waste, as well as improved hygiene and safety practices.

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computer vision

increasingly relevant for maritime transport

real difference in seafarers’ lives

Safetytech mission is to make the world safer and more sustainable through the wider adoption of technolog