Hotel Front Office Management, 3rd Edition

ROOM KEY SECURITY 387Figure 14-2. The security department in a hotel works closely with the front office manager.(Photo courtesy of Pinkerton Security and Investigation Services.)The verdict against Hilton Hotels Corp. in the Tailhook case could have farreachingimplications concerning hotel liabilities in providing security for guests,according to hospitality legal experts. In this case, former Navy Lt. Paula Coughlinsued Hilton for failing to provide adequate security during the Tailhook Associationconvention at the Las Vegas Hilton in 1991. Jurors awarded Coughlin $1.7 millionin compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Hilton claimed thatthree security guards were adequate for the 5,000 people at the event. 5Room Key SecurityOne of the responsibilities of the director of security is to establish and maintain a roomkey control system, an administrative procedure that authorizes certain personnel andregistered guests to have access to keys. One court found that “as a general proposition,a guest has an expectation of privacy in his or her room and a hotel has an affirmativeTLFeBOOK