The biggest issue in hotel IT security today is data theft by hotel employees, Rotana’s corporate vice president of IT has revealed.
Samir Abi Frem told Hotelier Middle East that while hotels are trying to implement the best security systems possible, they are hindered by budgets and the cost of top-of-the-range systems.
“Today, the big risk on guest data is your staff. If you have someone going from X hotel to hotel Y, then he can just export all the data if he likes, all the accounts. So to limit this you need to invest a lot and implement a lot of restrictions, but it can never be 100%," said Frem.
He explained that one of the biggest challenges in ensuring high-class security was the cost.
"You just can’t afford it as a hotel business. If someone says they can, then they are definitely missing something. If you want to provide it at a hotel level outside and inside, it will cost a fortune.
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“If I want to deploy a data-loss prevention solution for a hotel the size of Al Murooj Rotana [247 rooms and suites], I will pay AED 150,000 (US $40,836) a year. Sorry but this is very high for what we do,” Frem said.
Rotana has rolled out a centralised system from Entiretec, which means that its security system can be installed across the chain’s entire portfolio, reducing costs and strengthening the system.
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