Hotel theft is real and it happens all over the world. However, this is a very complex concept as it occurs in diverse ways. First, when people lodge in a hotel, not all of them do that with an unquestionable intent. Some of them have only come to cart away the valuables in the room. Also, there have been instances where hotel workers prove to be a disappointment to the industry. Weird to note too, some even gain access into the hotel without the knowledge of anyone just to steal and then walk away. Let’s begin by sharing a case study on the last category mentioned:
“It’s jarring to return to a five-star hotel room late at night and find the door propped open. But interrupting a pair of teenagers inside, as they rifle through your suitcase, is even more disconcerting. I should know—it happened to me. My reaction was instinctive: I barked at the boys to come to the lobby with me, only to watch them scramble out of a side door as soon as the elevator opened, and before hotel security could collar them. Fortunately, I was unharmed, and nothing was taken” (Ellwood, 2017). That was a first-hand experience shared by the writer. It is least imaginable that teenagers will strive to gain entry into a hotel room to steal. More so, they were smart enough to escape. This is an indication that they had become experts in the ill act.
One expert estimated that every day in a big-city hotel, there’s at least one crime committed—and it’s almost always theft (Ellwood, 2017). So, this shows that acts of criminality are not rare in a hotel setting.
A 2009 joint study by professors at Ball State and Florida International universities showed that 38 percent of guest-related hotel thefts took place in hotel rooms rather than common areas. So, the question is: how does such theft happen? After all, hotels are typically CCTV-monitored and well-staffed, whatever the time of day. And while it’s easy to pin petty crime on low-paid hospitality workers with property-wide access, in most cases, this is also extremely unfair. Paul Frederick, the former vice president of global security for Starwood, who now runs his own firmsuggests that no more than two percent of on-property theft might be staff-related (Ellwood, 2017).
The greatest threat of theft doesn’t come from insiders but from opportunists, especially those who understand how hotels operate, says Arno. He’s nicknamed one common category of scammers the “door pushers,” who stroll down the long corridors of hotels, arms outstretched, to see if the door will click open. All too often, they will. It’s because buildings change over time, and so require regular maintenance to adjust door-closing mechanisms for security; via budget cuts, sick days, or just mismanagement, that maintenance schedule might be missed, which means the door might not close as firmly as it should. Other would-be thieves even attempt a two-stage process: first tripping a fire alarm, which can neutralize door locks so firemen are able to access every room, and then entering whichever might have been improperly reset once the responders have left (Ellwood, 2017).
In their own part, Levin and Hudak (2009) say that most hotel criminals are identity thieves. When identity thieves walk into a hotel lobby they see opportunity: distracted business travelers and relaxed vacationers who are paying little attention to their wallets, private documents or their personal security; a workforce with high turnover and minimal background checks if any; and easy access to hotel guest areas, guest rooms, and hotel computers. They also know that the wireless systems are likely outdated and vulnerable to even a novice hacker (Levin &Hudak, 2009).
Identity theft is a growing concern for hospitality providers because every hotel, resort, casino or restaurant offers the elements necessary for a successful attack. The three major elements that ensure that hotel criminals have a field day are:
- Motive. Many hospitality workers are high-turnover and working in close proximity to guests of higher economic means.
- Access.Travelers often carry important financial documents. They often fail to protect their property, leaving credit cards and sensitive business information on the desk or in the room safe. They access hotel business centers that may be compromised by keystroke loggers that steal passwords and credit card numbers, and they use Ethernets that may have inadequate security controls. Guests regularly give their credit card information over the Internet, by phone and in person. This data often is stored in databases easily accessed by employees whose criminal backgrounds may not have been checked prior to hiring. In addition to these internal threats, hospitality companies are vulnerable to external attacks, in which a hacker breaks into billing and reservation systems to steal customer information.
- Low risk.Since many hospitality chains rarely track computer system users, they usually cannot discover, investigate and prosecute identity thieves (Levin &Hudak, 2009).
The risk of identity theft attacks in this industry is growing, for many reasons. Many hotels, resorts and casinos provide guests with convenient amenities, including Ethernet and business centers, without securing them against malicious users. More than ninety percent of hotels offer wireless network connections to guests, according to a recent study by Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research. But many of those networks are simply unsafe.
Ellwood also makes reference to how identity theft has been a major trick by criminals in the hospitality industry. He wrote: “Some brazen thieves also pose as guests, a tactic Arno dubs the “loot n’ scoot”: a woman might appear during the mid-morning changeover, wearing a bikini and carrying a beach bag. She’ll hunt down a housekeeping cart and duck into the room open next to it. “I think I’ve forgotten my key,” she’ll say, while rooting around, pretending to look for it. The maid will exit, allowing the swimsuit-clad thief to fill her bag with pilfered electronics and other small valuables.”
By the far the most worrisome scenario, though, is the one which Arno himself experienced at a major corporate hotel. Fast asleep with his wife in a room, the door was opened by a stranger at 3 a.m—despite the deadbolt. “They hope you’re sleeping and drunk, so they can go in and lift something from you,” Armo says. If you wake, they can simply claim to have made a mistake in accessing the room, blaming mis-programmed key cards (Ellwood, 2009).
So the ways in which they operate are numerous and very cunning. Hotel workers need to do more than their mere responsibilities to put a stop to this.
References
Ellwood, M (2017). The Secret World Of Hotel Theft. Retrieved from https://www.cntraveler.com/story/the-secret-world-of-hotel-theft
Legge, F (2017). What Can You Get Away With Stealing From Hotels? Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travel-truths/What-can-you-get-away-with-stealing-from-hotels/
Levin, A &Hudak, R (2009). Identity Theft Targets Hospitality: Protect Guests. Retrieved from https://hospitalitytech.com/identity-theft-targets-hospitality-protect-guests