I. Introduction Loss Prevention Surveys

Use of Force

Security officers should not put their hands on anyone unless the officer is assisting an

individual with their expressed or implied consent.

Employees should not use any force unless there exists a reasonable fear of substantial

physical injury or death, either to the employee or another person. If excessive or

unreasonable force is used, the security officer may be criminally charged and the hotel

may be subject to civil litigation.
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VIII-17

Arrests

An arrest occurs when an individual is restrained or deprived of their freedom. This

deprivation or restraint can be either physical or verbal, and could be subject to

interpretation.

Local police should be responsible for arresting criminal offenders. It is company policy

that security officers NOT attempt a citizen’s arrest.

Voluntary detention or confinement is permissible, but the person being voluntarily

detained or confined should clearly understand that they are free to leave at any time.

Immediately upon the voluntary detention of an individual you should notify hotel

management and the local authorities.

Under normal circumstances, security personnel should not carry handcuffs or other

material designed for conducting an arrest. Care should be taken to document all

activities and events. Include statements from witnesses.

Security personnel may be required to appear in court. Failure to do so could result in the

charges being dropped and potential litigation being brought against them.

If the individual being voluntarily detained is a female or a minor, at least one female

member of the hotel staff should be present at all times.

Shoplifting statutes are typically very restrictive. Generally, security personnel should

not respond to requests for assistance in detaining persons suspected of shoplifting by

owners or managers of retail shops who are occupying leased space in the hotel.

Security personnel should not pursue any person attempting to leave the property.

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VIII-18

Weapons Policy

Under normal circumstances, firearms or other weapons (chemical, edged, or blunt)

should not be carried by hotel or security staff. The decision for security to carry a

weapon should not be taken lightly. Company managed hotels must submit a formal

request to their Regional Vice-President and Vice President of Risk Management

Operations. No officer should carry a weapon until written approval from both parties is

received.

Any request for authorization should include the following:

• 
  The name of the company or person providing security service.
  
• 
  The reasons for requesting the use of weapons.
  
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  The local requirements for carrying weapons and proof that this requirement has been
  
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  met.
  
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  The amount of supervised training received by the officers to be employed at the
  
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  hotel.
  
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  The name of the company or person providing this training.
  

Written authorization allowing weapons to be carried at a particular facility may contain

limiting provisions, for example, evening hours only.

Security officers who carry firearms should be tested for proficiency annually at a

supervised firearms range. The most current certification should be kept on file at the

hotel.

Weapons should only be used by the security officer to protect their life or the life of

another person.

Employees should be informed at the time of orientation that weapons are not allowed on

premises. Employees who have a legal permit to carry a weapon do not have the right to

carry that weapon to work. Violation of this policy should result in disciplinary action up

to and including termination.
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VIII-19

Interviews

There is no prohibition against security officers interviewing guests, employees or other

individuals. However, the person being interviewed is under no obligation to answer the

questions and may leave at any time. An individual should not be detained for the

purpose of interviewing. When appropriate, routine questioning should be conducted

quietly in public areas so there can be no subsequent allegation of false imprisonment or

slander.

During interviews, at least two employees should be present. If the person being

interviewed is a female or minor, a female member of the hotel staff should be present at

all times. The use of physical force or threats of force to coerce answers is prohibited.

Such actions could result in civil litigation and in criminal charges being filed against the

hotel security officer. Accusations should not be made unless charges are to be filed. A

security officer should also be aware that compelling a person to accompany them to a

location in the hotel for interviewing could be construed as false imprisonment. The

person should be informed that they are under no legal obligation to accompany the

security officer to an office or room for interrogation.

Persons should be encouraged to complete a Voluntary Statement. The statement should

be completed voluntarily and without threats or coercion. A sample Voluntary Statement

is included in the appendix.

Searches

A search may be conducted when a person voluntarily consents. Consent should be

obtained in writing. The consent and search should be witnessed by at least one other

member of the hotel staff. Searches of employees should be conducted as outlined in this

manual.

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VIII-20

Reports and Documentation

Records are potentially great assets in the event that a lawsuit results from an incident.

Reports and documentation should be legible, professional, and accurate. Opinions and

speculations should not be included in reports. Records should be as complete and

detailed as possible. All records, including watch clock data should be held for the length

of time specified by the hotel's record retention policy or state statute of limitation for the

filing of a civil action. The exact length of time can be obtained by contacting the legal

department.

Written reports pertaining to an employee's activities should be completed prior to the

completion of their shift. Departing security officers should brief relief staff on any

pertinent incidents. Copies of all reports should be furnished to the General Manager or

their designee and a copy should be retained for the security file. Copies of reports

should not be provided to third parties without the specific approval of the General

Manager or legal department. Guests requesting documentation should only be provided

with a notice of incident report.

Reports should be maintained on all criminal acts which take place or which directly

affect hotel property. This will include theft, robbery, crimes of violence, embezzlements,

frauds, unethical practices on the part of employees, losses or shortages of assets not

previously reported, and arrests of employees, guests, or third parties arising from any of

the above. Reports should also be maintained on guest illness; injury in the hotel; lost,

stolen, or missing property; fires; employee accidents; deaths; or any other actions for

which there should be a record.

Loss and Incident Report Forms can be used by hotels to maintain a record of an incident.

Where warranted, supplemental narrative reports should be maintained to provide a

complete record of an incident. Copies of applicable police reports and any associated

correspondence should be filed with the related incident report. All incidents and claims

occurring at company-managed hotels should be furnished to the Risk Management

Department by calling 1-800-747-5648 x5960.

Shift Activity Report

An activity report should be maintained for each shift. A sample report is located in the

appendix. The report should include the following:

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  Date
  
• 
  Beginning and ending time
  
• 
  Officers on duty
  
• 
  Name of MOD
  
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  Report of activities
  
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  Reports of incidents, unusual or criminal activity
  
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  Name and signature of officer completing the report
  

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VIII-21

Monthly Statistical Report

A monthly report of security related incidents should be developed and furnished to the

general manager. The report should present an accurate picture of activities and

incidents. The report should include the following information:

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  Assault investigations.
  
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  Bomb threats.
  
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  Guest accidents.
  
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  Guest losses other than in-room.
  
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  Guest room losses.
  
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  Employee accidents.
  
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  Employee property losses.
  
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  Fire investigations.
  
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  Hotel property losses.
  
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  Fraud investigations.
  
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  Found property.
  
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  Theft investigation.
  
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  Trespassing investigation.
  
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  Willful damage.
  
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  Open or blocked fire exits or stairways.
  
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  Unlocked offices, shops or guest rooms.
  
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  Lights, HVAC and other systems operating in unoccupied spaces.
  
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  Other security related activities and incidents.
  

Loss and Incident Report

A loss and incident report should be completed in response to any alleged incident

involving loss or injury to an employee, guest or third party. A loss and incident report

should be factual and professional. The report should document the facts of the incident.

This should include the following:

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  Date, time and place of the incident.
  
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  Name, address and phone number(s) of the person(s) involved.
  
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  Type of incident.
  
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  A detailed description of the incident (who, what, when, where, why, how).
  
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  Names, addresses, and phone number(s) of witnesses.
  
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  Statement of police involvement, including names of police personnel, case numbers
  
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  and badge numbers.
  
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  Name, date, title and signature of person completing report.
  

Records Maintenance

To help ensure the effectiveness and accuracy of security records, reasonable efforts

should be made to maintain and update security records and documentation as the

incident evolves. This may include correspondence, investigative reports, notes, hotel

records, and other information.
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VIII-22

Responding to Alarms

When an alarm (fire, burglar) activates, security should immediately respond with the

assumption that it is legitimate. An alarm should not be silenced or reset until the cause

of the alarm has been determined.

Non Security Related Functions

Security personnel may be asked to perform activities which may not appear to be

security related. Activities which can coincide with the patrol function are permissible,

however should be closely monitored to ensure that they do not impede the security

function. These may include delivering express checkout folios and newspapers or

picking up breakfast menus. Activities which directly interfere with the security function

should be avoided.

Watch Clocks

The modern electronic watch clock system is a critical component of the hotel's security

program. The watch clock system is a management tool designed to provide the hotel

with detailed information regarding the job performance of individual staff, overall

effectiveness of its security program and reports on safety and security trends.

An effective watch clock system should include the following features:

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  Staff performance and statistical reports
  
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  Incident tracking
  
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  Cost effectiveness
  
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  Durability
  
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  Warranty
  
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  Support
  
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  User friendliness
  
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  Random patrols
  

IX. Fire Safety

Introduction .......................................................................................................................2

Fire Training & Dr ills.......................................................................................................2

Fire Prevention ..................................................................................................................7

Fire Alarm Systems ...........................................................................................................9

Smoke Control .................................................................................................................10

Means of Egress ...............................................................................................................10

Banquets, Meetings & Functions ...................................................................................11

Self Inspection..................................................................................................................12

Maintenance....................................................................................................................13

Sprinkler s .........................................................................................................................14

Fire Fighting Equipment ................................................................................................15

Impairments....................................................................................................................16

Hot Work..........................................................................................................................17

Guest Emergency Instructions .......................................................................................19

Fire Safety

IX-2

Introduction

Fire prevention is the single most important aspect of fire safety. The General Manager

should ensure that employees are well trained in both prevention and response.

Employees should be introduced to fire safety during their new employee and

departmental orientations. The Safety Committee should be involved with conducting

monthly inspections of the hotel and addressing any safety hazards.

Fire Training & Drills

The General Manager is responsible to provide for the training of employees in fire safety

and for regular drills so that such training will be kept current.

MOD's, security officers and other designated staff should be trained in the operation and

use of the fire alarm panel and emergency procedures.

All employees should be trained in the proper method for activating the alarm, in the use

of fire extinguishers and proper exiting procedures.

Each new employee should participate in basic fire safety training as part of their

orientation. All employees should be encouraged to participate in fire extinguisher

training. The local fire authority should be contacted to provide extinguisher training if

the hotel desires to have employees practice extinguishing live fires.

Fire safety training of some type should be conducted on a monthly basis. The training

may be at the department level and consist of departmental procedures. All training

should be documented.

Telephone operators should be thoroughly familiar with their duties. They should

practice their emergency duties in conjunction with regular fire drills.

Fire Drills

Fire drills are important for instilling a course of action in employees. When done

regularly the right way, fire drills will empower employees to take quick action in the

event of a fire. This will ensure prompt notification of the fire department and an

effective evacuation of the hotel. However, if fire drills are not a part of the hotel’s

routine, or if they are done improperly, then employees will not be prepared for a fire

emergency. There are three main components of every fire drill: Planning, Procedures,

and Performance.

Planning:

Fire drills need to be performed a minimum of twice a year. This includes every shift. If

the first shift employees are very aware of what to do in the event of a fire but the third

shift employees don’t have any idea, if a fire occurs during the third shift, a disaster

could ensue. Participation in fire drills is only necessary for hotel employees. However,

guests should be encouraged to participate.

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IX-3

Fire drills need to be planned so that they minimize the inconvenience to both guests and

employees. Ideally, it is best to plan fire drills when the hotel is at a lower occupancy.

Often, there are seasonal occupancy fluctuations. With a bit of forecasting, you can

reveal expected times during the year when the hotel is not full. If the occupancy rate

remains high year-round, it is a good idea to try and schedule the fire drill on a day when

there are a lot of sleepovers to minimize the inconvenience to employees.

Another thing to remember is that you don’t always want to have an announced drill

because fires are never announced. There are many creative ways to hold fire drills

within specified time guidelines without performing general announcements to the

employees. One popular method is to have a sign which says “FIRE” on it, and to

instruct all hotel employees to treat this sign as a real fire if they ever encounter it in the

course of their daily operations. By placing this sign either in a vacated guestroom,

banquet room, or other area, you can gauge the response of employees to a found fire, as

well as gauge the overall hotel’s response to a fire emergency. Another popular method

is for the General Manager or their designee to proceed to an unannounced area of the

hotel at a prearranged time and give a random employee a practice problem, e.g., "This is

a drill, do whatever you would in the event there was a fire in Room 115". At that point,

begin the fire drill. It is a good idea to have one announced and one unannounced fire

drill for every shift each year.

In order to minimize any inconvenience to guests, all guests should be alerted 24 hours in

advance before any drills are held. Notices should be posted in the lobby, elevators and

stairways and indicate the reason for the drill and the beginning and ending times of the

drill. Additionally, the hotel may provide the guest with a copy of a letter at check-in or

under their door. The notice should inform guests that the drill is being conducted to help

ensure their safety and that they may either choose to participate by evacuating or

continue on their way. Also, third shift drills can be performed without annunciating the

general fire alarm. However, it is imperative that all employees participate in these drills.

Every effort should be made to accommodate specific needs of guests. Have the

PBX/front desk operator prepared with a statement alerting guests who call that the hotel

is participating in a fire drill for the safety of the guests. Have a list of all

ADA/handicapped accessible rooms available at the fire panel for a quick cross-reference

at the desk to see if there are any guests who might require additional assistance to

evacuate the hotel.

Before beginning a fire drill, the following items should be completed:

The fire alarm monitoring company should be notified that you will be testing the system

and given specific times, if applicable.

The fire department should be notified and asked to participate if they so choose. Usually,

when invited, the Fire Department will send a representative to observe the drill. The

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IX-4

presence of the fire department representative adds importance to the exercise, and

his/her comments may be useful. Care should be taken to ensure that all guests have

been alerted that a fire drill will be taking place during their stay. An observer to time the

drill and subsequent evacuation should be positioned to know when the drill begins and

the evacuation is complete.

Procedures:

Fire drill procedures are really quite simple in their most generic form. A fire alarm is

triggered and people evacuate the facility. However in hotel occupancies, more than just

a simple evacuation is needed. Employees must perform a set of tasks before, during,

and after the evacuate the facility in an organized and timely manner. Specific and

separate tasks are required for each member of every department. For examples of what

duties can be assigned to each departmental employee, please refer to the Hotel

Emergencies chapter of this manual.

Before a fire drill, each employee should be aware of the first 4 things to do if they

discover a fire within the hotel:

• 
  Activate the fire alarm by using a manual pull station.
  
• 
  Call the front desk/PBX from the nearest, safest house phone and report the exact
  
• 
  location of the fire.
  
• 
  Attempt to extinguish any small fires with portable fire extinguishers. If in doubt,
  
• 
  evacuate!
  
• 
  Seal off the area and help evacuate the hotel.
  

During a fire drill, employees should first be able to recognize that the fire alarm has

been activated. Next, every employee should be aware of any specific information that

needs to be obtained or secured before evacuating the building. For example, the front

desk personnel, among other things, should obtain a complete occupancy list in order to

confirm that all guests have been safely evacuated. Upon evacuation, employees should

gather at a predetermined place or rally point where they are to report to their supervisor

who, in turn, reports to the General Manager or their designee that all employees have

been accounted for. After reporting to their supervisor, employees should be ready to

perform any tasks assigned to them by their supervisor such as aiding guest evacuation

and relocation. Once the General Manager or their designee is notified that all employees

have been safely evacuated, the fire alarm can be cancelled and the employees can return

to work.