CHR Report Executive Summary

Changes in U.S Hotel Safety and Security Staffing and Procedures during 2001 and 2002

by Cathy Enz, Ph.D.

Surveys of hotel general managers conducted in 2001 and in 2002 found some but not many hotels making changes in their safety and security arrangements. When asked to respond on a five-point scale whether they were doing nothing (1) or much (5) managers generally answered in the middle, indicating that they were making some changes, either by adding security staff or updating security policies. On balance, the hotels made more changes in 2002 than in 2001.

When the sample was broken down into segments, the study found that extended-stay hotels reported the greatest change in safety and security procedures, while luxury hotels were most likely to add security staff, followed by extended-stay properties.

Examining the hotels by their geographic location revealed little differences in the plans to add security employees, but certain areas stood out with regard to making changes in safety and security procedures. Hotels in the west-south-central region (including Oklahoma and Texas) were most likely to make procedural changes, followed by those in the populous middle-Atlantic region (New Jersey and New York) and the east-north-central region (Illinois and Michigan).

One factor that is undoubtedly influencing the findings is the probability that many hotels already had effective safety and security systems in place before the September 11 attacks.