Hotels face certain challenges unique to the hospitality industry. Seasoned hoteliers know that providing a pleasant guest experience is foremost. The hotel should be a warm and welcoming place offering a luxurious experience but should also be able to ensure security and safety for its guests.
And security and safety needs to be done in a way that does not encroach on guests’ privacy and comfort. More importantly, there should be no blatant signs of strict security measures. Maintaining an open-door policy is important for making feel guests comfortable.
However, ensuring security is not only a concern for front of the house operations such as the front desk or the food and beverage outlets. It is likewise important for the back of the house operations. Sensitive information needs to be stored in a secure place, access to pantries and storerooms need to be regulated and certain areas of the hotel property need to be kept off limits for guests and most of the employees.
An important aspect of this security program is access control. In the past, access control was made possible through traditional locks and keys. However, this system took a lot of work and involved substantial expenses. Hotel locks needed to rekeyed each time a guest lost a key or failed to surrender it when he checked out. Accounting of keys to different areas and tracking of employee access to sensitive areas such guest rooms, pantries and storerooms is elaborate and at times, not foolproof.
Electronic access control has made it possible for hoteliers to simplify the system and at the same time, make the hotel more secure for both guests and employees.
There are many advantages of utilizing electronic access control in a hotel setting:
Easy Access Control Setup. With an electronic access control system, it becomes possible to easily configure access control to different rooms and facilities in the hotel. This is particularly true if an RFID system is used. In this case, permissions are granted by the system and are not physically incorporated into the card. It becomes possible to configure card permissions even without the card being physically present.
For guests, cards become invalid once they check out. In addition, transactions performed with the card are easily recorded and an audit trail is created for each one issued.
Electronic access control systems also allow for deactivation of keycards remotely should they be misplaced. This minimizes security risks should the card get into the wrong hands.
Flexible – Different Kinds of Cards Can Be Issued. With an electronic access system, it becomes possible to issue a card with permissions specific to how it is going to be used. Listed below are the types of cards and their practical applications:
Maximum Control. All doors are controlled by a master system that closely monitors all doors. The system creates an audit trail for each and every card issued. Reports can be generated at any time to indicate Who entered Where and When.
Action 1st Offers the Best Hotel Access Control Solutions
Action 1st Loss Prevention specializes in working with hoteliers. We offer commercial access control security systems that work well within the requirements of hospitality industry.
Call us today for a free onsite review and estimate.
Tags; hotel access control, electronic access control, hotel guest access, guest room access, hotel staff access control, card key systems, keyless entry, RFID, hotel security, hotel safety