SECTION A: SECURITY IN DEPARTMENT

1) WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND BY SECURITY?

The general understanding of the term security from all of the departments is keeping the
working environment free from harm and danger and protecting guest’s health and safety and
staff of the hotel.

2) WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF SECURITY IN YOUR DEPARTMENT?

HOUSEKEEPING FOOD & BEVERAGES

-To retain their customers -Keep the environment safe and staff

-For staff to do job freely perform better in the absence of

danger.

-To perform to their best or create a

conducive environment.

-To consummate the standard of the

hotel.

-To comply with the laws and

regulations regarding health and
safety requirements.

3) WHICH SECURITY ISSUES ARE A COMMON CONCERN IN YOUR DEPARTMENT?

HOUSEKEEPING FOOD AND BEVERAGES

-Guests belongings disappear -Fire threat
-Staff not using safe procedures when -Danger of electrocution
handling cleaning chemicals. –Pilferage
-Lack of proper understanding of the use
of machines and equipments.
SECTION B: SECURITY FOR STAFF

1) WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SECURITY ISSUES IS STAFF IN THIS DEPARTMENT SUSCEPTIBLE TO?

The table below shows the security issues which staffs in both departments are susceptible to

FOOD AND BEVERAGE HOUSEKEEPING

a) Accidents a) theft and crime
b)fire
c) theft and crime

ii) The examples of incidents from the above chosen security issues are;

FOOD AND BEVERAGE HOUSEKEEPING

-Chemical inhalation (accidents) -Stealing guest’s money
-Fire from deep fryer (fire) (theft and crime)
-Theft of laptops from conference rooms (theft and crime) -Clothes disappearing
(theft and crime)

2) HOW ARE THE ABOVE CHOOSEN ISSUES DEALT WITH?

HOUSEKEEPING
Theft; Registering of master keys for employees (ving cards)
-Every room maid has a master card which is registered in their names. If they open a
Room with it, their names appear in the system.
-Disciplinary action against culprits.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE

Accidents; evacuate injured persons, refer them to doctor and fill in accident report for
labour requirements.

Fire; put out fire and evacuate to fire assembly point and fill in risk report.

Theft and crime; dismissal with immediate effect.

 3) WHAT PREVENTATIVE MEASURES DO YOU HAVE IN PLACE TP GUARD AGAINST THESE IN YOUR
DEPARTMENTS?

FOOD AND BEVERAGES HOUSEKEEPING

Accidents *safety notice
*protective clothing
*training
Fire *training and notices for
example use of fire
extinguisher
Theft and crime *induction and training
*control of issues
*use of commodities
*strict rules of company for
example eating only at the
staff lounge.
*training on safe use of
chemicals
*provision of protective
clothing
*smoke detectors
*disciplinary measures
*strict policies (searching of
staff at the gate)
*lost and found

4) WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU ENCOUNTER IN PROVIDING SECURITY FOR YOUR STAFF?

The challenges that are encountered when providing security for staff in both departments are
a. Funds for training are limited
b. Some staff are careless in terms of taking care of the protective clothing issued to them
which is an extra cost to the hotel.
c.

SECTION D: SECURITY FOR HOTEL PROPERTY IN YOUR DEPARTMENT

a) What role does your department have in ensuring security for the hotel’s property?

There are policies that are put in place that if you vandalize hotel property strict measures will be
taken against you in both departments.
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 1
Name: Mrs. Maggie Mandiwana
Occupation: Human Resources Manager
Organisation: Cresta President Hotel
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1) What is your understanding of the term
security?
2) What is the significance of security to the
business?
3) What are the common security issues do
you experience in this hotel?
4) What security measures do you have in
place for your; staff, guests and property?
5) Does the level of security provided in this
hotel in a way is influenced by the star
rating of the hotel?
ANSWERS
A hotel which provides impeccable
security earns goodwill which increases
have the profit margin of the organisation.
Security as already outlined also includes
health and security therefore it is
important to see the continuity of the
organisation to avoid being shutdown by
the governing law.
Theft
Accidents in the work place; very common
STAFF
 Health and safety committee in
place
 Workers to keep their belongings
in their lockers.
 Insurance companies and fire
extinguishers.
GUESTS
 Fire extinguishers in every floor.
 Smoke detectors in every room.
 Procedure put in place for lost and
found items.
PROPERTY
 The property is insured and also is
the equipment.
 The right of admission to the hotel
is reserved.
Yes partly
 Contract with security
company(memorandum of
understanding agreement )
  Consider the reputation of said
security before engaging it.
 Insurance companies for health
and safety issues.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 2

Name: Mr Kobue Sechaba

Occupation: Security Leader

Organisation: Cresta President Hotel

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ANSWERS

1) What is your understanding of the term It is all about protection i.e property, premises,
security? people (staff and guests) and others.

2) Why do you think it is important for this To protect its assets from thefts and also to keep
hotel to be secured? guests and staff away from danger.

3) Which departments and areas in the All department i.e front office, housekeeping,
hotel do you provide security for? accounts and others. Also the hotel it’s self.

4) Which activities in the hotel do you Front office banking and on premises events e.g
provide security for? weddings and parties.

5) How does your department go about Criminal action

providing security for the hotel?
-G4S security officers arrest persons suspected to
have stolen and hand them to the police.

-We make an entry in the occurrence book.

Fire

-We sound the fire alarm and inform the G4S

control centre immediately.

-We remove personnel in immediate danger.

-All efforts must be made by the security officer
to extinguish the fire in the immediate vicinity.

-A guard should be stationed at the reception

area. This guard should tell guests to evacuate
the premises and converge at the fire assembly
point.

-Hold a head counter and enquire from the

occupants if anybody has been trapped inside the
building.

-Ensure that the entrance clear for emergency

personnel e.g ambulance.

-G4S attempts monthly fire drills with President

Hotel Management.

Civil commotion

-G4S is not allowed to be directly involved in the

handle of civil commotion unless property or
guest lives are endangered.

-the police should be contacted as soon as

possible.

Other roles of the security guards

-Detect and deter any unauthorized parking at

the hotel main entrance.

- Maintains the delivery gate and keeps it locked

at all times to control access into the hotel.

-Registers all hotel staff upon arrival, and they

should be searched and registered when leaving
the hotel.

-The premises are patrolled, fire extinguishers

and other equipments are inspected. Faulty
equipment is reported to the client and
registered in the occurrence book.
-Ensures that a checklist is available of all
equipment leaving the hotel. Dates of equipment
brought back should be recorded.

-Restaurant entrance from the main mall should

be manned and a close watch keep at conference
rooms.

-only hotels guests to use ablution facilities, the

public is referred to public toilets near police.

-Checks that all security lights are in working

order.

Alarms

-All alarms are treated as an emergency

condition.

Bomb threats

-DO NOT TAMPER WITH ANY SUSPICIOUS

OBJECTS.

-All persons must be evacuated from the area.

Incidents

-All incidents are reported to the G4S control

room and the Customer Service Management.

-Occurrence book is brought to the General

Manager twice a week.

-Staff attempting to steal from the hotel are

reported to the duty manager and noted in the
occurrence book.
ANALYSIS SECTION A

Security as defined by both departments of the hotel encompasses elements such as protecting the
hotel staff and guests and keeping the environment safe. From our observation both the departments
have adopted a modern approach for providing security by integrating health and safety into it. The
importance as outlined in these departments basically boarder around creating a conducive working
environment which in turn creates productivity for staff. It is also important as it instils a sense of trust
about their services and also increases longevity of the hotel property. All of these boil down to one
thing which is profit maximization as highlighted in interview one. There are security issues which are
specific to departments such as disappearance of staff belongings in housekeeping and danger of
electrocution in the food and beverage department specifically the kitchen. However, there is a slight
difference depicted in our questionnaire results. Security in Housekeeping department is more guest
oriented while that in Food and Beverage Department especially in the kitchen is staff oriented.

section b

From the results that we obtained from the questionnaires it clearly showed that the security issues in
the different departments being housekeeping and food and beverage that the staff is susceptible to is
related to the nature of work in each. For example, it showed that the F&B staff is most vulnerable to
accidents and fire. This is not surprising considering the working environment in both kitchen and the
restaurant. In other words cooking with both fire and electricity, use of sharp objects, strong cleaning
chemicals etc which usually occurs at a high pace are bound to cause accidents and fire. Although both
departments both experience theft as a common concern of security items stolen in these departments
are different. For example items that are stolen in housekeeping are mostly guest belongings and room
amenities as they have directly with them and have easy access to them and by the same token, in F&B
items that are stolen are mostly food. Basically the most prominent security issues that the hotel
experiences are fire, theft and accidents. This is substantiated the outline of role of the security officers
at the hotel of which most of their duties revolve around these aspects.

However there are preventative measures and procedures for dealing with these security issues that the
hotel has adopted. These two are basically implemented through physical means such as safety notices,
provision of protective clothing and the other way is through administration of hotel policy such as
induction, training and disciplinary measures. Some of the above mentioned examples act as both a
preventative and a procedure for dealing with issues for example a disciplinary action can be away of
punishing a culprit and also deter potential criminal actions as well.

In this hotel, according to the human resource manager security for staff is provided though insurance
and workman compensation that the hotel is contracted to, through the use of name badges for
identification………………these whatever only go so far as they are met by challenges which mainly icicle
around money. For instance the hotel at times experiences budget constraints which limits funds
allocated for training and replacement of worn out protective clothing.

Section c

For this part of the research it was discovered that guest have many expectations of security for this
hotel. Most of these expectations are more in line with the modern trends of technological
advancements such as the presence of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and website of the hotel having a
link which gives an insight of the level of security that the hotel is offering. Moreover, guests also expect
to see the physical presence of security measures such as security guards. Lastly guest expect for their
health to be taken into consideration and well taken care of by offering good healthy food. This is a clear
indication that security in hotels is what where. However, from the results that transpired in the
interview with the human resource, it clearly shows that the hotel is lacking behind in terms of providing
security with the modern technology e.g. CCTV. The only mode of technology used is the use of ving
cards which again is lacking behind in the sophistication that has emerged in this line of technology.
Security in this hotel is more focused in the traditional presence of security measures such as security
guards.

Security for guests in this hotel is provided for through…. Just as with the staff, the hotel also
experiences challenges in providing security for the guests of which are seemingly caused by two major
aspects. The first one being guests who take their expectation too far. Its common behavior for guests to
let their guard down when they are in hotels and tend to take less care of themselves and their
belongings as they would in other places. In other words they expect security to come from the hotel
side only which gave rise to incidents of guests holding the hotel liable for their misherps. Another
aspect is the location of the hotel. President hotel is located in the heart of the thriving business activity
in the city centre. And it being a hospitality service provider encourages for people to come in for their
services. However with this hotel which has no enclosed grounds of its own it proves to be difficult to
monitor the movement of guests coming in and out of the hotel which encourages skippers and
pilferage. The common complaint that bears testimony to this is lack of secure parking, guests have to
share the parking space with the rest of community at the mall which leaves them feeling apprehensive
about the security of their cars.

SECTION D

From the results that transpired for this part of the questionnaire it clearly showed the policy of the
hotel is the sole means of providing security for the hotel. This is consolidated by the information given
to us by the