Hotels in India call up more armed guards

Thursday, 04 Dec, 2008 0

NEW DELHI: Hotels and restaurants in India are beefing up security following the Mumbai terror attacks.

The Times of India reports that “not only will all visitors be frisked, but managements are considering having armed personnel on different floors of hotels besides the entrance”.

“We have asked all our members to increase security and use the help of outside agencies to frisk everyone without exception. We need these security measures,” Rajindera Kumar, Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India (FHRAI) vice-president, said.

FHRAI – the largest association of hotels and restaurants – has more than 3,500 members.

Amongst the measures that hotel chains are putting in place include physical checking of all vehicles and a three-pronged strategy at the main porch (frisking and clearing by metal detector for all visitors and X-ray scanning of all baggage).

Barricades will be set up at the entrance of hotels and managements are likely to look at a higher presence of private security personnel.

“We need a back-up security system,” Kumar said, adding that 20-25 people deployed near the entrance were not enough deterrence. “We are advising our members to consider armed security on each floor,” he said.

The federation has also asked hotel staff to remain vigilant and alert at all times and asked members to limit the number of entry and exits to the property.

Those within the hospitality industry said that many of the changes were not desirable and would create problems.

“We are trying to sell a fantasy to the visitor. We want him or her to feel at home but we have no choice,” one hotelier told the Times of India.



 

profileimage

Ian Jarrett



Most Read

Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know

Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham

Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago

Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research

Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact

Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference

Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role

Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal

Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination

Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness

Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future

Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
TRAINING & COMPETITION
Skip to toolbar
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...