Security for Hotels, Resorts and Hospitality Venues

Security That Fits a Hospitality Operation

A hotel is a public building, a temporary residence and a workplace at the same time. Guests expect privacy and service, staff need to feel safe, and the property has to control access to guest floors, back-of-house corridors and loading docks while the front door stays open around the clock.

McCray’s operating standards were developed in luxury retail, where officers work as part of the client’s service culture. Hotel officers are selected for presentation and judgment, trained on the property’s service standards, and briefed on how management wants guests, visitors and incidents handled.

Where McCray Officers Work in a Hotel

Coverage is designed post by post around the property’s layout, occupancy and risk profile. Typical posts include:

• Front entrance, porte-cochère and lobby, including visitor screening and elevator lobby control
• Guest floor patrols, welfare checks and response to noise or disturbance complaints
• Back-of-house, receiving dock and employee entrance control, including package and delivery logging
• Restaurants, rooftop bars and lounges, including occupancy monitoring and removal of disorderly patrons at management’s direction
• Ballrooms, meeting space and private events, including credential checks and VIP movement
• Retail arcades and residential components in mixed-use towers

Guest Safety, Key Control and Incident Handling

Many hotel incidents trace back to access: a key issued to the wrong person, a non-guest reaching guest floors, or a door propped open at the dock. McCray officers enforce the property’s key issuance and access procedures, support lock audits when management requests them, and document every guest room entry made with security present.

Officers are briefed on recognizing indicators of human trafficking, domestic violence and medical distress, and on the property’s escalation path to management and emergency services. Some states and cities regulate hotel employee panic devices, trafficking awareness training or security staffing through licensing rules, and McCray aligns post orders and training to the obligations the property’s counsel identifies.

Life Safety and Fire Watch

When a fire alarm or sprinkler system is impaired, or during renovation and hot work, the fire code official may require a fire watch. McCray provides fire watch officers who conduct and log patrols under the property’s impairment plan, consistent with the applicable fire code, the impairment provisions of NFPA 25 and NFPA 72, and NFPA 51B for hot work, as enforced locally.

Officers also support evacuation and shelter in place procedures, keep egress routes and stairwells clear, and meet responding fire and EMS units at the designated entry point.

Staffing Options by Officer Tier

Few hotels need a single type of officer on every post. Under McCray’s Officer Tier Structure, Tier I and Tier II officers typically cover lobby, patrol and access control posts, while Tier III retired law enforcement officers are often assigned to overnight supervisor posts, nightlife venues and properties with recurring incidents. Tier IV off-duty law enforcement officers can be added for large events, demonstrations near the property or periods of heightened concern, subject to local department rules.

For guests who require close protection, McCray provides executive protection support coordinated with the guest’s own security team and hotel management.

Reporting Hotel Management Can Use

PostControl, McCray’s reporting and post management technology, holds the property’s digital post orders so officers work from the current version of each procedure. Incident and shift reports give the general manager, director of security and risk management a time-stamped account of what happened and how it was handled.

That record supports insurance claims, guest complaints, liquor liability reviews and litigation holds. If the property or its ownership group runs a GSOC or uses a monitoring partner, McCray connects officer activity and escalation to that operations center.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can McCray officers wear business attire instead of a security uniform?

Yes. Many hotels prefer blazers or the property’s own uniform in guest-facing areas and a traditional uniform at the dock and employee entrance. Attire is set by post in the post orders.

Does McCray provide security for hotel events and weddings?

Yes. McCray staffs ballrooms, private dining and rooftop events with officers for credential checks, crowd management, VIP movement and coordination with outside event security when a host brings a separate team.

Can McCray provide off-duty police officers at a hotel?

Yes, where local department rules permit. Tier IV off-duty law enforcement officers are usually placed at entrances, nightlife venues or large events.

How does McCray handle a guest room entry for a welfare check?

Officers follow the property’s welfare check procedure, which typically calls for a manager to be present, a knock and announce sequence, and documentation of the entry. Each entry is recorded in PostControl.

Does McCray cover hotels outside New York?

Yes. McCray supports properties in the United States, Canada and the UK through its Hybrid Operating Model, and in other markets through the McCray Global Partner Program.

Related Services

• Concierge Security
• Special Event Security
• Executive Protection
• Off-Duty Police Officers
• Fire Watch Security
• Luxury Retail Asset Protection