AI has become a fixture of customer-facing interactions in and around hotels. Suggestions, bookings and even check-ins and check-outs are handled digitally, with some form of artificial intelligence (AI) involved. The role AI plays within the industry is not limited to the front of house; behind the scenes, this technology is helping hotels boost revenue and address security issues they have long struggled with.
Multiple entrances with 24/7 public access, large numbers of transient guests and facility visitors, all realities of hotel operations that appear frequently as areas of weakness in incident reports. These vulnerabilities are known to security staff and hotel managers, but staffing concerns and tight budgets limit the effectiveness of traditional solutions. The age of AI could offer a way to narrow these visibility gaps.
Growing security challenges require a new way of thinking
Unlike office buildings and retail stores, hotels must remain at least partially open to the public at all hours of the day. Keys and cards might restrict movement throughout the site, but between guests, visitors, suppliers and event attendees, there are still far too many moving parts for traditional security measures to keep up with.
Hotels thrive on openness and freedom of movement. The more restrictive and visible the security seems, the less comfortable guests are, whether they are temporary residents or attending a conference. Balancing these ideas, creating what luxury chains refer to as “invisible security,” is made more complicated by the expanding list of amenities they are expected to provide.
Hotels are not simply a lobby and a collection of rooms; they are gyms, spas, restaurants, bars, parking structures and more. Protecting any of these spaces would normally require a bespoke security strategy that addresses common issues and risks, but in hotels they fall within the remit of the same team.
The electronic devices that protect these spaces produce an enormous amount of valuable data, assuming hotel staff are equipped to discern the noise from the insight that can help them better protect guests and staff.
Cameras as a key foundation of hotel security
Safeguarding these spaces starts with awareness, knowing what is happening or what is about to happen, throughout the hotel. AI security cameras actively analyze live video feeds for:
- Suspicious behavior, such as loitering or unnatural movements
- Aggressive behavior, tackling the rise in violence towards hospitality staff
- Unauthorized access to restricted spaces
- Misuse of equipment, such as gym machines, electronics or computers
When AI cameras see an incident or anticipate one based on indicative behaviors, they alert nearby staff with specific details. Active threat detection helps narrow the response gap in a way that traditional systems, which are passive by nature, struggle to achieve.
The utility of AI in this context serves post-incident action, as saved footage is automatically tagged and time-stamped for easy retrieval. Staff training, investigations and compliance reports are all made quicker and more efficient, enabling security leaders to adapt policies and shift resources as required.
AI is helping hotels meet the high safety expectations of both guests and staff. The quality and reach of security expand without any visible change that might cause friction, and strategic decisions are made and coordinated swiftly, conveying the confidence establishments need to build trust with their stakeholders.
Cameras are only one example of how the age of AI has shaped hotel security. Management platforms, the centralized systems that encompass access controls, cameras and communications, use AI to process data.
These integrated solutions generate large amounts of information, playing to a strength that AI has been prized for since its inception: surfacing trends that humans are liable to miss. Integration provides more holistic coverage than any single device can, and bolsters AI by feeding it a more diverse range of data.
The AI hotel of today
Unlike the forward-facing applications of AI in the hotel experience that are made intuitive for general audiences, staff require training to utilize back-end AI systems fully. Hospitality relies on the human touch, and the most successful implementations of automation recognize that algorithms and software should enhance human instinct, not replace it.
Artificial intelligence has brought renewed attention to the fact that trust is a mutual process. The technology helps security teams establish richer situational awareness, but visitors must remain aware of its scope and how the data is stored and used. Respect, honesty and transparency enhance visitors’ time at the hotel, creating the “invisible security” they demand at no cost to the hotel’s efficiency.
John Kim
John brings over 15 years of experience in product development and design, specializing in physical security solutions. As Senior Director of Product and Design for Avigilon at Motorola Solutions, his expertise lies in driving innovative hardware development and implementing agile best practices to deliver cutting-edge products. John also possesses a keen understanding of cloud security, AI and emerging technology trends, leveraging them to shape the future of security solutions.
