Experts blame lax hotel security

Date:28/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/28/stories/2008112857501200.htm Experts blame lax hotel security Special Correspondent — Photos: PTI/ Courtesy India TV    A TV grab of two suspected terrorists involved in Mumbai terror attacks on Wednesday night. MUMBAI: With a little over a dozen gunmen holding the financial capital of the country to ransom, the hotel industry has come in for criticism for security lapses. Two of the iconic landmark hotels in Mumbai, the Taj and Trident (formerly Oberoi) have become a battleground between the army and navy commandos and unidentified terrorists, who have managed to take control of the five-star hotels. What irks security experts is how the heavily armed terrorists had hoodwinked the hotel security and walked into the hotels loaded with ammunition in bags and backpacks. Many like Ajay Gupta, Managing Director, SRG Techno, a solutions firm that offers consultancy to various police forces said, “Companies are paying a heavy price for not paying enough attention to security. Particularly for the hotels and customer-interfacing industry, there is a need for stepping up budgets for security as also a crying need for improved training of security staff.” The security staff are typically ex-service men who are not adequately trained in identifying behavioural patterns of customers / clients and identifying unnatural behaviour. Speaking to The Hindu as the gun battle continued raging between commandos and the gunmen almost 24-hours after the calm in the city was shattered, Mr. Gupta said the costs for employing trainers even from the U.S. would not be prohibitive at around $2,000 a day “but that is barely anything for large corporate houses and they should in fact, keep aside 2-3 per cent of revenues for security and its upgradation. There could also be legislation that ensures that companies adhere to security requirements to ensure security of public buildings.” There are lessons for other hotels and institutions to follow and according to Anil Madhok, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, “we will all learn from it and once it is over, we will know what steps to initiate. At the end of the day, no security is foolproof, how much can hotels do, particularly because we are not permitted to arm the security staff. Hoteliers will spare no cost to ensure safety going forward.” Mr. Madhok said that the Indian hotel industry, already weighed under the global meltdown, is now facing “a double whammy with the terrorist attack. However, business travel, particularly in India, tends to recover quickly as was seen after the Mumbai train blasts took place but leisure travel will take a big hit.” © Copyright 2000 - 2008 The Hindu