Dangerous/ Suspicious Circumstances
Accommodation establishment may sometimes be the place where guests conduct their illegal activities. The housekeeping staff must be vigilant in spotting illegal activities.
Always keep in mind that it is not the staff’s duty to intervene in these illegal activities. What you are only required to do is to report illegal activities when you spot one. As confronting the people behind these illegal activities might put you and your fellow staff in danger.
Some people will try to break into guests’ rooms to steal stuff. They will observe when the guests are out of their rooms and take advantage of their absence.
Is the activity illegal or immoral?
How this topic is handled varies from establishment to establishment.
Establishments are generally not equipped to handle illegal activities and just report these to the police.
Whether the activity is immoral or not is a different matter as this is not governed by local laws and is bound to personal interpretation.
It is advised that Housekeeping will only monitor or watch out for illegal activities as meddling with “immoral” acts of guests can be considered as an intrusion of the guest’s privacy.
Consult with your supervisor to determine which activities should be reported or not.
Taking Action
If you happen to see a suspicious looking item or a suspicious occurrence in the vicinity of the hotel, appropriate action must be done right away.
Appropriate action may be detailed in the standard Emergency Procedures of your hotel which could be:
Advise the supervisor, Head housekeeper or Executive housekeeper
Inform security
Always follow your organization’s policies and procedures in dealing with such incidents, as they can be dangerous
Examples of unusual item or situation:
Unattended package left at a common area
Bloodstained item
A package left at a checkout room
Weapon found in the room
Drugs – or even packages that could have been used to carry drugs
Explosives
Evidence of drug use in the room
Suspicious occurrences or people:
A nervous or anxious person in common areas
Unauthorized person in restricted area
Violent person
Loud voices and swearing
Sounds that indicate damage is being done