Travel Advisory:
Hotel Terrorism

Are you and millions of travelers safe? How likely is it that a guest at one of the nation's hotels and motels might become a victim of a violent terrorist attack? We asked Kenneth Lane Prestia, innkeeping security expert and consultant, and author of Chocolates for the Pillows - Nightmares for the Guests, to write an article discussing the risk of a terrorist attack on the nation's hotels and motels and what can be done to protect yourself.

Amorphous and pervasive, they are purveyors of mass murder and destruction. Rather than targeting the armed forces of an invading army, they deliberately target the most defenseless—young and old—men, women, children, even babies. Some of their grievances might have merit, but the violent criminal behavior of terrorists is nevertheless abhorrent to the rational mind.

Some are trans-border terrorists affiliated with criminal enterprises such as al Qaeda, whereas others are unaffiliated criminals of a domestic vintage, such as Timothy McVeigh. Regardless, each is a clear and present menace to people everywhere who oppose their views.

While the motives of terrorists vary, their intentions do not. Terrorists who attack innocent victims share a common intent-the destruction of a way of life by calculatedly killing and maiming citizens and destroying significant segments of national infrastructures.

Terrorist targets are everywhere. They include commercial aircraft, office buildings, shopping malls, synagogues and churches, and, of course, hotels. On March 27, 2002, for example, a terrorist bombed a resort hotel in Natanya, Israel, killing 21 and injuring 130, many seriously.

The giant innkeeping industry is a vital segment of a nation's infrastructure, especially in America. Hotelkeepers provide an essential and fundamental human necessity—shelter. Moreover, like the commercial airlines, innkeeping is an important supplier to the travel industry, with hoteliers generating hundreds of billions in annual revenue for the US economy.

The deadly attack upon America on September 11, 2001 stirred up a whirlpool of emotions worldwide and sharply focused public attention upon acts of terrorism on US soil.

Generally unremembered, however, is that our nation's hotels have long been places of attack by domestic and foreign terrorists. As it happens, the Vista Hotel at the World Trade Center was severely damaged when Islamist terrorists detonated explosives in a large rental truck they parked inside the Center's garage. Renovated, the Vista was eventually acquired by Marriott. This Marriott hotel was completely destroyed in the infamous second attack of September 11.

Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in a hotel kitchen by a foreign national during his bid for his party's presidential nomination. President Ronald Reagan was shot outside the Washington Hilton Hotel.

A more overt example is the terrorist attacks that occurred at four Florida hotels when bombs exploded at the Dupont Plaza and Sheraton Four Ambassadors in Miami and the Fountainbleu and Eden Roc in Miami Beach. The terrorists responsible were reportedly members of the Pedro Luis Boitel Command—a radical Cuban terrorist group.

The 1973 sniper attack at the eighteen-story Howard Johnson hotel in historic New Orleans is still referred to as one of the best examples of the vulnerability of the nation's hotels and motels to terrorism. After driving a stolen automobile to the hotel, the assailant moved from floor to floor, armed with a 41-caliber magnum rifle, killing guests and setting fires throughout the hotel premises. The gunman then engaged police in a sniping spree from the hotel roof, terrorizing five blocks of downtown New Orleans. This hotel nightmare left nine dead, including three police officers, and nineteen wounded, and would spark the nation's big-city police departments to develop anti-terrorist and anti-hostage programs. The New Orleans assailant was finally killed in a rain of gunfire from a U.S. Marine helicopter.

The book Chocolates for the Pillows - Nightmares for the Guests is the only book of its kind written for members of the travelling public about the monumental failure of hotelkeepers to protect the traveler from foreseeable risk of criminal attack in the Nation's hotels and motels. Indeed, it is this monumental failure over the years by hotelkeepers which has rendered the nation's hotels unduly vulnerable to attack by terrorists and saboteurs. The threat is real, and is only exacerbated by lax security conditions throughout the innkeeping industry. The innkeeping industry has never developed guest security performance standards, nor has the federal government ever mandated in law any such standards.

For example, few hotelkeepers even have a written security protocol that addresses such rudimentary concerns as bomb and bomb threat procedures, evacuation plans, or electric cabinet and motor room security. Even more glaring, given today's international political climate, is the lack of thorough background and reference checks of all applicants. Hotelkeepers often abrogate their duty to screen applicants—an egregious disregard of security protocol that can turn up a maelstrom of danger to guests.

Attended by such a practice, a 20 year old undocumented alien working at the Marriott Tan-Tar A Resort Hotel in Missouri brutally raped a 19 year old developmentally disabled guest. The victim and her mother were guests of the Marriott Hotel while attending a conference on disabilities. As one might expect, Marriott became a defendant in a lawsuit seeking both compensatory and punitive damages.

According to the court documents:

"Even though Marriott had actual and constructive knowledge that these housekeeping employees were working illegally in the US, and even though Marriott did not know anything about their real identity, Marriott continued to employ them, did nothing to check their background, references, or identity, and continued to provide master keys to those workers for all the guest rooms so that Marriott could keep expenses low, make more money, and sell the hotel at a higher profit.

"The illegal aliens employed by Marriott through NSS were not required to fill out employment applications, were not interviewed, and were not subjected to background and reference checks. Marriott maintained no employment records on the illegal aliens and did not know their full names, addresses, telephone numbers, social security numbers, or any other identifying data. Nevertheless, Marriott handed out master keys to Tan-Tar-A's guest rooms so illegal aliens could clean Tan-Tar-A rooms.

"The rape of plaintiff R.B. was caused, in part, by this elaborate conspiracy between Marriott and NSS to place unknown, anonymous, illegal aliens in frequent contact with unsuspecting guests at various Marriott hotels throughout Missouri and other states, including Tan-Tar-A.

"Even after Marriott knew at least one of these workers had committed a crime against hotel guests using a master key, Marriott failed to conduct background or reference checks on their workers."

In other words, if the accusations are as alleged, then the hotel hired undocumented aliens and gave them master keys that could potentially open every room in the building. In this case, an undocumented alien brutally raped a hotel guest. Next time, it could just as easily be a terrorist or saboteur placing an explosive device in the electrical room or releasing toxic substances into the ventilation system. Imagine the catastrophic consequences of a criminal terrorist attack upon New York's legendary Waldorf Astoria, Washington's Hay Adams (just a park across from the White House), or even the Hyatt Capitol Hill, a frequent gathering site for US congressmen and senators since its opening in 1976.

Sadly, the innkeeping industry has exhibited a shameful betrayal of the public trust in recent years, for the most part failing to structure the necessary improvements for guest security. The best paid minds within the industry continue to promote an agenda of "voluntary reform" which is strictly disingenuous. At the same time, the U.S. Commerce Department faithfully promotes tourism at home and abroad in cooperation with the industry's corporate titans, all the while ignoring the issue of guest security in the nation's hotels.

Recently, I lunched at a Marriott with a longtime friend who is well-respected industrywide. During the course of our leisurely lunch, our conversation turned to the crisis de jour, September 11, and its impact upon future guest security. At one point in our conversation, my friend remarked he is persuaded that no one can stop a terrorist from wreaking havoc upon any given American hotel. Perhaps this idea will soon become new fodder for industry excuse managers. Nonetheless, a contrasting point of view entertained by others, like myself, is that just because we may not be able to stop all terrorists does not mean we should not do all we can to stop any of them. Hotelkeepers have a duty and responsibility to do so.

The airline industry and the innkeeping industry share a common tale of indifference to security for passengers and guests. For example, there is the earlier mentioned matter of the Marriott in Missouri, and then there is the recent raid by federal agents on Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC, which turned up well over 100 illegal aliens working at the airport. Such conditions undermine public confidence and have a negative effect upon the economy in general, and the travel industry in particular.

And more importantly, such conditions threaten the lives and well-being of innocent travelers. The best kept secret within the innkeeping industry is the code of silence about violent crime committed against the guests in our nation's hotels and motels. It is the absence of preparation to protect the public against the immediate, salient threat of terrorism that demonstrates that the hotelkeepers lack determined purpose, sure swift tack, and collective resolve to act in the public interest.

The terrorists are not on the way—they are here. Indeed, our President just recently again reminded us of the threat when he stated, "We are in a titanic struggle with terrorism."

Travelers, whether for business or pleasure, need to protect themselves from terrorism in hotels in the same way they protect themselves from other violent crimes. You may wonder how to best protect yourself against the threat of terrorism. Hotels and motels need to provide certain security measures for their guests. Be sure to look for and demand:

• Functioning deadbolts on guest room doorlocks
• Deadbolt locks to adjoining rooms
• Well-lighted parking areas, interior hallways, and corridors
• Window locks and functioning patio door locks
• Adequate security personnel
• Security cameras
• Viewing ports (peepholes)

Additionally, given today's climate, you should exercise vigilance and caution against terrorism by following these guidelines:

• Whenever possible, stay away from baggage claim or holding areas which are usually located at or near the lobby bellstand;
• Limit your time spent in the "public" space of the hotel, such as the lobby or convention floor foyers;
• If you observe unattended baggage in an unusual place, such as a briefcase in an elevator or an out-of-way staircase, do not touch the baggage. Instead, report the situation to management or security personnel, then leave the area until it is safe to return.
• Be watchful for any unattended trucks parked in the driveway of a hotel. In most jurisdictions, hotel driveways are designated fire lanes and parking is prohibited.
• Use informed discretion and prudence in selecting a big city hotel that books meetings and conventions which may be deemed desireable targets for terrorists. Conventions of industrial security practitioners, clergy, politicians, law-enforcement officers, or members of the judiciary, for example, may be more prone to being targeted than other groups.

And finally, depending upon the level of alert issued by the Department of Homeland Security, it may be necessary for travelers to keep from:

• hotels with interior parking facilities
• hotels that are built as part of a multi-use complex containing shopping malls, office buildings, or sports arenas
• big city hotels (inasmuch as suburban hotels and motels are ostensibly less likely to be targeted by terrorists)

While hotel owners and managers have certain responsibilities they must undertake to protect their guests against the dangers posed by terrorist threats, the traveling public can also learn about and apply an intelligent modification of behavior based on reducing vulnerability. Guests must avoid feeling "at home" and be on the lookout for suspicious persons or behavior and report them immediately to law-enforcement authorities. A recent judicial decision concerning innkeeper-guest relationships stated in part: "We note that in the fight against crime, the police are not expected to do it all. Every segment of society has an obligation to aid law enforcement and to minimize the opportunities for crime."

It is the great misfortune of hotelkeepers that the traveling public trusts them. This trust has, over the years, been created by industry advertising, which does not sell a product; it sells a service. Inherent in this advertising is a promise—an assurance—of a secure environment. Nothing is more fundamental to guest service than security.

Best wishes for a safe journey,
Kenneth Lane Prestia