SUPPLIER ROUNDTABLE: Hotel security

Security stands guard at The Ritz in London, looking presentable and adding to the guest experience.

Q: What are the trends we will see in the coming year in terms of hotel security in the Middle East?
Stefano Cini, general manager, Probe Technology LLC: The use of IP video surveillance equipment is forecast to account for 79% of video surveillance in the Middle East by 2016 in all sectors, especially in the hotel industry.

The luxury hotels are more likely to use IP surveillance for better image quality and object identification. Jennifer Ferris, vice president sales, Asia Pacific and Middle East, Safemark Systems: There will be a renewed focus on providing accountable security.

For example, with safes, hotels will implement safes that can be audited and provide 100% visibility of what has occurred on the safe. Knowing it has been opened by a staff member is not good enough – knowing which staff member has opened a safe is what is necessary to protect all stakeholders.

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Muhammad Qasim Bin Naseer: We will witness much advancement in the field of security. Human intelligence with appropriate tools, such as GPRS cameras, advance and rapid surveillance close circuit units, etc., are some of the major ways through which we can see a more secure and safe Middle East.

Robert Kunkler: One trend will be to blend the security associates into each department to enhance the guest experience. This is something we are already implementing. Christophe Landais: If the instability we see in other countries around us were to overflow in the UAE, we could see the implementation of metal detectors – they are already present with some of our competitors.

Another action we might encounter is a stricter control of identification monitoring upon guest check in, even though today it already is very well monitored. Alan Macmillan: It is always difficult to assess future security trends, but certainly technology will be the key driver.

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