When you think of a hotel it’s a good bet you also think about getting pampered with a comfortable bed, a state-of-the-art entertainment system, a pulsating shower, and perhaps even a hot tub. Just a few floors down you can experience a four- or five-star restaurant and indulge in your favorite cocktails at one of several bars. In the morning, you will enjoy a hearty breakfast buffet with omelets made to order.

If you happen to be staying in a luxury hotel in Las Vegas or Monte Carlo, you can also gamble to your heart’s content 24/7, and catch a few musical acts in one of several theaters at the same time. Swimming, working out in a fully equipped gym, taking a sauna or a steam, and enjoying a deep-tissue body massage are all a big part of the modern hotel experience.

But did you know that hotels are not without their dangers? Aside from common incidents like slip and fall accidents that can leave you badly injured, there is always the chance that you can be physically assaulted at even the best of hotels.

Says the professionals at Stein Law, a hotel negligence lawyer, motels and hotels maintain a duty by law to keep you safe from harm while paying for the privilege of staying on their property. If you should be injured, assaulted, or even attacked with a firearm or knife at a hotel, you have the legal right to hold the proper owner fully responsible and to collect compensation for your injuries.

With this in mind, what are some of the crucial safety protocols you should be aware of in hotels? How can you abide by them to keep you and your family safe while having a good time? According to a recent report by Amenitiz, the complete costs of workplace accidents make up about 4 percent of the Global Domestic Product or GDP.

Due to ineffective Occupational Health and Safety protocols or OHS, it’s said that the global economy spends upwards of $3 trillion to covert the enormous cost of workplace hazard injuries. The hospitality industry is not immune to this. It maintains the potential for a large variety of hazards almost every minute of every day and night. This is why hoteliers are always searching for ways to mitigate risks using multiple sources. In fact, hoteliers are legally and ethically obligated to protect the safety and health of their staff and guests by investing in successful and effective protocols to protect everyone’s welfare and to avoid lawsuits.

The overall success of your hotel is said to be closely related to the health and safety protocols you have enacted to protect your staff and guests. Nothing will kill a hotel’s business quicker than earning a reputation of multiple accidents and even criminal activity.

At base, safety and health protocols are actional steps hoteliers can take to protect their guests and staff while occupying the hotel. Some of these protocols involve the following:

  • Communicating all potential hazards and crimes to existing stakeholders.
  • Making a proper accounting and documenting hazards in the hotel environment.
  • Implementing proper training procedures for safety protocols and abiding by them.
  • Implementing an actionable safety plan for emergency situations like fires or gas leaks.

Some of the Most Common Safety and Health Hazards that Hoteliers Face

The hotel industry can be highly lucrative for its owners and investors. But owning a hotel comes with a wide variety of challenges when it comes to protecting the safety and health of staff and guests. Standard safety and health hazards that can affect hotels include the following:

  • Crime such as assault and attacks.
  • Fire hazards.
  • Electrical shock hazards.
  • Food safety issues.
  • Slip and fall issues.

Some of the Most Important Safety Protocols and Procedures in Hotels

Says Amenitiz, most safety protocols in hotels are dependent on their specific environment. That in mind, here are some of the most important procedures that can be readily applied to any hotel establishment the world over that can significantly reduce safety and health risks:

Regular Fire Drills Including Safety Training for Staff

If a fire breaks out in your hotel, you do not want to see your staff panicking and struggling to recall the motions they went through during a similar fire emergency that occurred in the now distant past. As a hotel manager or owner, you need to conduct regular fire drills with your staff and make certain everyone understands their specific role in case of emergency. Their reactions to a fire should not be panic but instead, an instinctive ability to enact safety protocols engineered to mitigate injuries to guests and fellow staff.

By engaging in regular drills at least every other month, staff members develop muscle memory. In a similar manner in which you might have heard of airline pilots acting in a calm and cool manner when faced with a potentially deadly in-flight scare, hotel staff need to automatically employ the most efficient and fastest solution to the problem. The solution must be employed without emotion. This will save lives.

Crime Prevention Via Environmental Design or CPTED

Many of the dangers that can occur in any given hotel such as assaults and attacks can and will happen to anyone when they least expect it, even when a hotel has invested in optimum security. In short, those intent on committing crimes against innocent people can slip through security cracks and breaches. But there are some serious steps that you can take to make certain your hotel discourages dangerous and bad behavior.

If your hotel is located in a crime-infested city like New York, Chicago, or San Fransisco, you should know that a crime is more likely to be committed in an alley covered in graffiti than a clean one. The same premise can be applied to hotels. Good lighting and good housekeeping practices are basic but essential components to encourage a safe and crime-free hotel.

The presence of security guards during the night is a simple but effective means of making a criminal think twice about attacking a hotel guest. Keeping the hotel’s exterior well maintained and armed with CCTV cameras is also a good practice for preventing crime.

HACCP or Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point

Internationally recognized safety protocols for properties that serve food to their guests include HACCP practices. In essence, this protocol makes certain that guests aren’t placing themselves in potentially lethal danger when consuming hotel food. It also means that if an accident does occur involving bad food, the danger can be traced back to the original critical control point and safely eliminated.

If your hotel is only serving coffee in the mornings, then you don’t have to worry all that much about this protocol. But if you are serving a full breakfast and other meals and must deal with numerous cutting boards and the bacteria that build up on them especially in the hot months, following HACCP safety protocols/practices is an essential component to maintaining a healthy guest experience.