Hospitality Security: Managing Security in Today’s Hotel, Nightlife, Entertainment, and Tourism Environment

Hospitality Security: Managing Security in Today’s Hotel, Nightlife, Entertainment, and Tourism Environment, Second Edition provides experience-based, proven methods for preventing and resolving the challenges faced by today’s hospitality security staff and leadership.

The lodging component of a hospitality environment creates challenges to the security professional by its complex set of assets and amenities--especially when combined with gaming environments. Whether the reader is establishing, or improving, a professional, proactive proprietary security force, or the manager of a boutique hotel, the practical methods described herein are applicable to everyone. Author Darrell Clifton takes the reader through a logical and methodical process to first evaluate what risks are inherent to hospitality environments, how to assess those risks through threat and vulnerability assessments and methods to mitigate, eliminate, or transfer them.

The book stresses the importance of prevention and investigation into the root causes of incidents as a tool for avoiding future undesirable events. This is especially important in that each registered guest brings with them their own unique set of circumstances, family values, problems, and social issues. The security function must operate to protect their individual rights, their right to privacy, and their desire to enjoy the facilities they are patronizing while contributing to the revenue stream. This must be balanced with the obligation, or duty, to provide reasonable care from foreseeable harm by the hotel to avoid incidents and litigation. Clifton, an experienced industry veteran, clearly establishes and identifies practical, reasonable, and cost-effective ways to accomplish this balancing of guest enjoyment with guest protection.

This new edition includes expanded content on premises liability, security force behavioral recognition, workplace violence, active shooter scenarios, evacuation planning, social media and guest reviews, and hotel scams. Additional coverage on nightclubs and bars has been added including four entirely new chapters on specialized security for events and venues, crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), advances in technology, and industry trends for the gaming and hospitality sector.

Ideal for novices and veterans alike, Hospitality Security, Second Edition is an accessible, reader-friendly reference that enables security directors to evaluate what risks are inherent to hospitality environments, to analyze those risks through threat and vulnerability assessments, and to develop methods to mitigate or eliminate them--all the while keeping customers and personnel safe and improving the bottom line.

Darrell Clifton is a Board Certified Security Professional with 30 years of operational experience. Beginning his career as a security officer, he worked his way to director and beyond. He also cross-trained in all the departments of the hotel/casino, rounding out his expertise in all areas of the hospitality industry. After three decades managing security departments, he now provides comprehensive training for frontline and management on topics like active shooter, workplace violence, human trafficking, and much more. Having been awarded Security’s Most Influential Person, Darrell also consults as a subject matter expert, providing expert testimony in all matters involving security and/or hospitality.