Some of the ways security may be changing at your favorite hotels Getting your key or identification checked before boarding an elevator. First-time guests required to send in proof of ID when making reservations or showing up with positive ID when checking in. More uniformed and undercover security officers and closed-circuit surveillance cameras on site. Hotels providing information on guests to police. More "profiling" of guests. Evacuation plans given to guests. Hotel employees being required to enter through separate entrances using encoded cards to verify their identities. Blind check-ins and curbside and PDA check-ins may be banned Use of biometric solutions such as matches of irises, thumbprints or voice

Changes in hotel security are underway that business travelers should be aware of. The changes may alter a traveler's experiences immediately and most certainly will in the future. Perhaps more importantly, the changes may inspire people to think differently about where they stay.

In one significant way, hotels find themselves in a more difficult position than the airlines. After all, hotels are in the hospitality business. Their front doors are open to anyone who wants to come in and hang out in the lobby. Guests, visitors and employees come and go 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Some recent innovations may include: a staffed elevator bank where a hotel employee checks keys or identification; the need for first-time guests to send in proof of ID when making reservations or showing up with positive ID when checking in; and more visible security in the form of uniformed and plain-clothed officers. Less visible steps include increased cooperation with authorities in the form of providing information on guests and closed-circuit surveillance cameras.

Old-fashioned security methods have also been stepped up with more security guards in the building, more frequent patrols wandering the stairways and corridors upstairs. There is also heightened surveillance of parking lots and, in urban settings, there is surveillance of cars parked outside the hotel.

And, while the hotel industry is careful about how they decide who can and can't come in, security experts do not hesitate to use "profiling" to ensure the wrong person doesn't make it inside. Says William McShane, director of corporate security for Manhattan East Suite Hotels in New York, "There are profiles of evildoers associated with the hotel business. Most are well-coordinated groups like bag boosters – criminals who wait to see a neglected bag in a hotel lobby and quickly grab it."

Some observers are skeptical about how measures adapted for crime might apply to terrorism. Ray Ellis, Jr., who has been active in hotel security for decades and is now a professor at the Conrad N. Hilton School of Hotel and Restaurant Management in Houston, says, "We have to start to think differently but I don't have the answer yet. A terrorist will register just like any other guest, and a suicidal terrorist doesn't care a lot about measures being taken by hotels."

As safe as at home
Richard Hudak, director of corporate safety and security at Loews Hotels, points out that, "There is a high level of expectation regarding safety and security in hotels, and there is also a higher legal duty for hotels because guests stay overnight."

Saying that, the after-affect of terrorism is, "fear and uncertainty on the part of the public," says Hudak adding, "We need visibility and awareness to counteract the fear as much as anything else. You can provide more visible security in the lobby, in parking lots and garages. That could mean uniformed guards."

Since September 11, Loews has moved from a "condition green" to a "condition yellow" level of alert. That means, explains Hudak, there is tightened access to the hotel (through the front entrance only) and to rooms. ("Condition red," by the way, doesn't necessarily involve terrorism. The Loews in Miami Beach recently went to "condition red" because the pop group 'N Sync was visiting.)

"The way we look at it," says Hudak, "is that guest floors should be private and public spaces public."

Dan Wilson, president of Asset Protection Assets in Charlotte, NC says, "In the past there was an attempt to keep security low profile and out of sight. Now there is not only a reluctance to keep it out front, but a deliberate intent to make it more visible."

As Wilson points out, hotel security has been tightening up in recent years because of concern about crime. Hotels have long been subject to expensive lawsuits as a result of crimes committed on their properties.

Among the hotels that have instituted guest checks at elevators is the Peninsula New York, a luxury hotel where, says Jimmy Chin, director of risk management, guests are checked against the hotel registry after 11 pm.

The corporate traveler, says Chin, "Wants to know how safe your hotel is. I have to reassure them it is a safe hotel by having evacuation plans and drills, by being in good standing with fire codes, etc."

In fact, solid evacuation plans are high on the hotel industry's priority list. According to Thom Davis, president of Hospitality Risk Controls in Dublin, Ohio, which audits 1,000 hotels a year for safety and security, "Acting properly in a crisis is very important – whether it be anthrax or another kind of threat. In the last two months, I've been asked very frequently, 'How do we evacuate?'"

Who else is in the house?
While hotels might not seem like natural targets for terrorists, individuals or groups in the hotel might fit that category. Comments Wilson, "I have yet to hear about a hotel that turned down an opportunity to have a distinguished VIP stay or speak there – no matter how controversial. Guests should be aware that a controversial person might be in the hotel."

"If they start screening for documentation and other factors," says Dan Wilson, president of Asset Protection Assets in Charlotte, NC, "they would lose half their staffs."

At a security panel at the recent hotel show in New York, John Paul Nichols, an executive with Cendant Hotels, a major franchiser, said, "We need to know who our guests are. We know now if a guest checks in, but we don't know who they are if they are walk-ins."

"We want to be more aware," says McShane, "(about) who is on (the) property. We also want to know more about some of our guests." Because of that, Manhattan East is among the growing number of hotels that require positive identification of first-time guests.

At the Peninsula, first-time guests must fax their ID to the hotel. If they work for a company, the ID must be faxed on company letterhead. That information is attached to the registration card and is made available to authorities if requested.

The employee risk
As at the airports, one glaring security issue involves employees themselves – and hotels, in fact, have been dealing with this question for years.

Wilson says that employees, "are a risk and concern to the professional security practitioner." But until the recent industry downturn reversed what had been an incredibly tight labor market, hotels were happy to have any warm body come to work for them.

"If they start screening for documentation and other factors," says Wilson, "they would lose half their staffs."

Still, unpleasant incidents have resulted in employees having their own access to hotels restricted. They must come in through their own entrance; often using encoded cards to verify their identities.

Security experts, in fact, see employees as crucial to their mission. Says Hudak, "Employees need to do their share. We have a program called: Be Aware! Be Alert! Report! We make staff aware of the risks and who the enemy is and we encourage and motivate them to be alert to what's going on around them."

According to McShane, "We have ongoing training programs for employees on security. We want them to be aware of who's on the floor and to be on the lookout for suspicious activities. We don't want anyone to be let into a room without a key – regardless of their excuse."

Ellis believes that employees comprise the ultimate security cadre. "Every housekeeper, every bell staff, every engineer – everyone who goes into the guest room is in a better position than a security guard to see what's going on."

The technology conundrum
A clear conflict seems to exist between the stampede toward technology that makes checking in more convenient and the desire by security personnel to look over guests and visitors.

That issue arose recently at the New York hotel show. While high tech companies exhibited nearby on the trade-show floor, panelists on a security seminar discussed the issue of technology versus security.

Danny Hudson, a consultant to the industry, said that, "Blind check-in, curbside check-in (and) checking in from PDAs may go away as we go back to the basics."

Hudak agrees, "Bypassing the front desk is contrary to good security principles. You want to lay a pair of eyes on everybody who comes in."

Wilson believes technology alone can overcome this conflict, noting that, "For members of frequent guest programs, there is screening when consumers join. After that, they may fall into the acceptable risk category."

McShane hopes that some kind of biometric solution will solve these conflicts -whether it be checks of irises or thumbprints. Ellis likes the possibility of using voice as a positive identifier. He says the technology is here that would allow a guest to orally identify him or herself and be cleared to check in and even to open their room door.

Your responsibilities
All experts give great importance to the guest's responsibility. According to Hudak, "When you get to the hotel after a long trip you want to relax and let your hair down. What we have to convey to travelers is (that) we want them to relax, but be aware. Also, they should not really relax until they get to their rooms; that should be their haven."

And even in the room – experts agree – guests should use all available tools such as locks and latches, room safes, peepholes, etc.

Travelers also have a responsibility to ask questions. Explains Hudak, "You have a right to know if somebody controversial or a controversial group will be in the hotel. Is there a meeting that might draw attention?"

There are many airport-hotel parallels in maintaining security. For instance, as Chin notes, "If you walked into a hotel pre 9-11 and asked them to check baggage, they would never ask if you were a guest. Now they check and verify that you are and match bags to people. And you can't just put your bag down or else you will be reminded by staff not to leave it unattended."

Hotel security experts are happy to share their knowledge with travelers. Says McShane, "The key thing that security does is education – education both of our employees and our guests. We want to get everyone involved in security. We want them to verify who's at their door, to remind them to use the deadbolt and night latch. People need to take responsibility for their own safety – even the road warrior."

How long will heightened awareness last?
Assuming no more major terrorist attacks happen again, the question hoteliers face is how long guests will put up with the inconveniences caused by security. "It's not wise," says Hudak, "to stay too long in a heightened security mode. Security by its nature means inconvenience. But how much inconvenience will people take?"

Some experts think there is a high level of tolerance for security measures. Says McShane, "Guests are pushing for access controls. At Manhattan East, we subscribe to the 'defense in depth' philosophy. For years the guest room door was the first and only line of defense, but that has been expanded to the front entrance, the lobby and the exterior of the hotel."

"Security has always meant a level of inconvenience," says Chin, "but today seasoned travelers not only expect a level of inconvenience, they demand it. If they're not stopped and checked, they're annoyed and feel they're unsafe."

Even if there are no more incidents, travelers may have to accept permanent inconveniences. According to Ellis, "We now have to consider metal detectors, checking incoming luggage, even scanning the bottoms of automobiles parked outside hotels. But we have to be careful to avoid overkill because guests don't appreciate measures they don't perceive as useful."