Mr. Robinson

Security & Safety

Tis’ the Season to Be... Safe and Secure

By Bernard Robinson, Director of Security Services, St. Regis Atlanta

When planning for your travel during this holiday season, thoughts are often about family gatherings, the hotel or just getting through the busy airport. Warm greetings inundated with holiday music complimented with cheerful exchanges, can sometimes feel like work. Because we desire not to conjure up negative images, or introduce trepidation, less attention is directed toward safety associated with traveling and environmental awareness of criminal activity. Just as we anticipate the joys of the holidays, it behooves us to possess a more heightened sense for safety and security when traveling and being aware of your surroundings.

The need for travel safety consciousness is applicable for everyone. There are several basic factors to assuring safety and security is a part of every phase of traveling throughout the holiday season. Travel options during the holiday season are mostly air travels, car rentals, and hotel accommodations.

Secure Your Home Before You Leave

Travel arrangements begin with precautionary measures at home before departing. In planning your travels, you must first secure your home and take proper measures to prevent any accidents or burglaries. Suggestions to implement safety measures are:

• Never announce your intentions to leave. You never know who is listening. Only let trusted family and friends know of your travel plans and have them conduct a periodic check of your residence.
• Leave contact information and travel itineraries with only trusted family and friends. Even if you choose to drive to your destination, inform them of your intended route just in case of an emergency.
• Place a “hold” on all postal deliveries for the duration of intended stay away from residence. If you forget, have a family member or neighbor collect any/all mail during time away.
• Place timer for home lights to give the perception the residence is occupied. Perception is a workable deterrent for potential burglaries.
• Do you have pets? If you can’t bring your pets with you on your travels, make prior arrangements for pet hotels or sitter. If you are bringing your pets, you’ll want to check with rental Car Company and the hotel that it is ok to have pets in the car or stay in the hotel room with you. You don’t have to any surprises or have to scramble for other lodging. Also check with the concierge of your hotel. They usually will know if there is a pet hotel close to the property.

Air Travel Safety

The inconvenience and anxiety associated with flying can act as a deterrent, e.g. weather, security, and delays, but, these annoyances do not inhibit the holiday traveler from selecting the fastest method to your destination. Consider the following safety and security measures for air travel:

• Always confirm airline reservations. Arrive at least two hours before your actual departure time to give yourself (and your family) enough time to get through the security check points and get to the gate. Beware of flight changes/delays as well because this could mean a longer stay at the gate/airport. Make sure you have your boarding passes and double check you have proper and required identification to pass through security gates.
• If traveling abroad, make photocopies of Passports, passport photos and driver licenses; leave one (1) copy with relatives and one (1) copy separate from originals. If you do lose your passport abroad, they will need a copy of passport photos to create a new passport.
• For added safety/accountability, affix a card with name/contact information to your luggage. Use your office address on the luggage tags (NEVER place residential address). This is a great deterrent to those criminals that want to use personal information later.
• Do not leave personal luggage unattended at any time. Someone may report the lone luggage and you will have to go through TSA to reclaim it. Additionally, never take possession of any luggage of an unknown passenger. You don’t know what they are carrying and do not want to be responsible if in fact TSA does a spot check.
• Test your children to ensure they know home address and cell/home numbers (Airports will be overcrowded during holiday travel season). In the event that your kids are separated from you, tell them to use a family code word and they should see someone in authority (e.g. police officer, TSA agent, airline ticket agent, etc.).

Rental Car/Driving Safety

Fuel cost and length of driving can be high and long, but many holiday travelers choose to drive anyway. If driving is the choice, there are great ways that can help reduce safety hazards:

• Double check rental reservation. Often times, reservations can have wrong dates and there are no cars available. You can avoid any interruption by confirming your reservation a week before your trip.
• Ensure you have personal proper auto insurance coverage whether it is your own or rental Car Company.
• If you are driving your own car, make sure you performance thorough maintenance check (e.g. oil, tire pressure, brake fluids, etc.) and that it’s ready for road travel.
• Have a vehicle emergency travel kit in the car. Travel kits should contain the following supplies, however, these supplies can vary depending upon personal need or requirement:
1. Carry a folding shovel. If in fact you are driving in the winter and possibly of snow, this will come in handy when you need to clear your windshield or dig snow around the tires to keep moving. Always anticipate the worse.
2. Toilet paper and/or baby wipes. Yes, you never know if you have to stop in an area where it is not so pleasant. Always be prepared for anything.
3. A few bottled water for the long trip. Avoid caffeine during driving. It can have an adverse effect on the driver, not to mention increases urges to go to the bathroom. It doesn’t necessarily increase alertness.
4. A couple of cans of fix a Flat, signal flare, and first-aid kit. In case of a flat on the road, especially late at night, emergency response teams/state troopers can easily be located.
5. Acquire a map of city intended for travel to better navigate the route or utilize your GPS.
• Always keep car gas full. Avoid the tank going below half (The notion to seek out less expensive gas can lead to unsafe areas and/or scenarios).

During road travels, you should always ensure all passengers wear their seat belts. The survival rate is very high for accident victims if in fact they are wearing their seat belt during a crash. When electing to stop at rest areas, only use well lighted areas (Avoid straying away from exits off the beaten path; stay close to the highway for safety). You should avoid over eating (this increases probability of being physically uncomfortable, increased fatigue and encountering dangerous driving attentiveness). Remember, when you are driving long distances, fatigue can sneak in rapidly. Allow yourself ample travel time and maintain speed limit. Remember, the highways during the holidays will be heavily occupied by a high volume of travelers, therefore driving can be dangerous. Take your time because there will be a lot of state troopers on the road during holiday travel. Be well rested. Being NOT stressed during driving assures safe arrival to both your destination and return home. Finally, remember to limit cell phone use when driving. In fact, turn it off if you are not using it. Many cities, states have local/state ordinances banning cell use when driving. This also saves on the battery so in the event there is an emergency, the phone is fully charged and ready for usage.

Hotel Safety

When traveling, your hotel should be your home away from home and security applies the same. One of the key points of vulnerability during holiday travel is hotel accommodations. When conducting proper research, the selection of a reputable hotel chain can significantly alleviate problematic scenarios. You want your hotel stay to be filled with joyful moments to last a lifetime rather than regret for choosing something because of lower budget. Hotel rates are based on, yes, luxury amenities, but also the security the property provides its guests. The following security and safety measures are help eliminate/reduce incidents during your hotel stay:

• Photograph and inventory all valuables prior to arrival. In the event there is something missing before departing the hotel, at least you have some inventory of what you packed.
• Select a hotel:
1. With internal access to guestrooms (built within the interior of the building structure). This form of access increases privacy and security.
2. With updated technological advanced tools for guest safety and security, e.g. electronically generated master keys, (electronically generated keys can be reprogrammed, retraced or interrogated for tracking key entries, biometrically programmed tools, e.g. iris scanned keys/lock access).
3. With guestrooms employing deadbolts and peepholes. Guests typically feel more secure when they tangibly lock the door and feel empowered when someone knocks on their door and they can look through the peephole to identify the person. When you feel empowered and safe, you are more relaxed and can enjoy your stay.
4. That adheres to standardized fire regulations for a sprinkler system (be advised, foreign destination may not have ordinances/regulations for sprinkler systems, in those instances select lower floors for occupancy).
5. With 24/7 security operations. Hotels with security officers can respond in a timely fashion and address any issues immediately. If in fact, local law enforcement is necessary, they can be the liaison and normally have a relationship with the local precinct and will be the main point of contact for insurance or criminal reports.
6. With strict guidelines regarding guest privacy and confidentiality. Most laws in various states implement extended resident laws. What this means is that your stay at a hotel is considered an extended stay of your residence, thus, privacy and confidentiality applies.
7. No direct dialing to guestrooms from house phones without hotel operator intervention or assistance to assure proper guest name is provided, not guestroom number.

During your stay, avoid dimly lit corridors or parking lots/decks (bring to the hotel management attention or request security escorts). It’s always good to check the crime statistics for the hotel location (foreign locations-communicate with appropriate Embassy). Additionally, check guestroom for appropriate safety information regarding room location and evacuation routes for fire emergencies. Know your emergency route in case of a fire or fire drill. Hotels must comply with local fire regulations and must periodically perform fire drills. This could be executed during your stay.

Safety During Travel

Those engaged in criminal activity rely on your lack of awareness and attentiveness. Travelers are often distracted through other activities that they fail to pay close attention of the small things. Safety and security considerations are not just during the hectic travel processes, but basic strategies can help deter criminals who scope out their victims. Consider the following during your travels:

• Do not make yourself a target by wearing expensive clothing jewelry. Criminals are paying attention to potential targets. Jewelry is very enticing to thieves. Be careful!
• Double check travel insurance to ensure proper coverage throughout your travels. You’ll want to make sure you have coverage for trip interruption, baggage loss, medical, dental, evacuations, accidental death and access to 24/7 customer service assistance. There are many travel insurances available so choose that fits your trip. Additionally, assure life threatening/medical alert bracelets are worn as well as all medication packed. Medication MUST be in properly labeled on containers with your name printed on it. Familiarize yourself with the names of medications and their generics replacement in case you need to replace them.
• Make sure all forms of state/governmental identification are signed and valid. If traveling domestically, state driver’s license or state identification must be valid (check expiration date). For international travel, passports must be valid. You’ll want to check visa requirements into the country weeks before your trip and apply early. If traveling abroad, familiarize yourself with laws/customs of the country. Register with your country’s embassy. Stay current with travel public announcements and safety warnings continuously posted for any country you intend travel.
• Please do not exhibit or possess large quantities of currency. Opt for traveler’s checks or a couple of major credit cards. You may need a small amount of currency for parking or layover amenities.
• And most importantly, watch your alcohol intake during your travel. It is the holiday and everyone wants to have a good time, but it is not worth your life. DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE. Avoid any/all scenarios involving alcohol consumption while driving or traveling by air. Airlines can and will NOT let a passenger board the plane if they are intoxicated.

Reviewing and employing proactive safety and security measures during the holiday season presents challenges within itself. This is magnified during holiday travels. Moreover, the security measures mentioned above are merely suggestions and are not intended to be official list of measures to take. Being aware of your surroundings, communicating with your family or travel companions and careful planning drives travel safety and security. Remember that the holiday is a joyous occasion, but security and safety must come first. You have precious cargo to protect... your loved ones.

Bernard Robinson is currently the Director of Security Services at the St. Regis Atlanta-Buckhead. He has extensive industry knowledge encompassing Safety, Security, Asset Protection, and Risk Management. He has spearheaded operations on property-level oversight of security and loss prevention operations, regional program responsibility for multiple accounts and/or locations, as well, instrumental regarding corporate level program conceptualization, planning, training and implementation. Mr. Robinson is a dynamic, results-oriented executive possessing 25 years of security and safety industry knowledge. Mr. Robinson has 15 years in hospitality in luxury brands including The Ritz Carlton and The St. Regis. His expertise also includes 10 years in law enforcement including investigation and emergency response team (SWAT) specialty. Mr. Robinson can be contacted at 404-563-7901 or bernard.robinson@stregis.com Extended Bio...

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