Frequent travellers are aware of risks when travelling and take precautions which mean that hotel safety is, actually, an important feature when selecting where to stay. The travelling experience is made much more pleasurable when the safekeeping of travel documents and other personal items is taken care of.
Guests want to know that their belongings are going to be safe and secure when they are out and about. This alone is one very good reason why accommodation owners around the world install in-room safes as they know it is an important factor for guest’s peace of mind.
Investing in good quality digital safes provides the guest with confidence. An easy to operate safe is essential if guests are to be encouraged to use them. It is also worth remembering that the installation of a safe goes a long way towards that extra rating.
The manufacture of safes for hotel rooms has evolved over many years, from the key lock version where the guest locked the safe and retained the key and clumsy fob (with the hotel holding a duplicate over-ride key in a key cabinet, with keys for every room safe!) to the more sophisticated designs of today which open by keypad and that retain, electronically, an audit trail of all openings and closings – it also individually identifies each authorised opening. It must be born in mind that an audit print out can only be valid if every individual that has authorisation to open the safe can be identified.
Some useful pointers worth bearing in mind when selecting safes are – never go for the cheapest option as so many suppliers have gone out of business leaving hotels high and dry over many years; always choose a safe that has been tried and tested by the large international chains as any gremlins in the system will have been removed at their expense; the simpler the operating system is for the guest the better as the more that the safes are used the higher the security within the building and last, but not least, the over-ride system must be easy to remember by the hotel staff who are responsible for security.
Bear in mind that complex and difficult to remember systems can cause panic with staff – should minor emergencies occur, so there needs to be a failsafe procedure available at all times should a guest become locked out of their safe. Do not fall for assistance with emergency openings as part of an onerous service contract because systems are available that make this form of charging redundant.
I would recommend that you choose a safe with a valid supporting system that has been tried and tested by hotel brands the world over and that will not let you down. After all, adding an in-room safe to your list of guest amenities is as highly regarded by many as offering a top end line of toiletries, and/or a 50” flat screen TV – in other words, it is those gestures and touches that go a long way to making your guest feel that they are, in fact, home from home. So make their travel experience a pleasant one without the risk of losing personal items, allowing them to enjoy their stay with you and that will leave a lasting impression.
