A CRITICAL INVESTIGATION OF SAFETY AND SECURITY THREATS IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRIES IN CROSS RIVERS STATE (A CASE STUDY OF SOME SELECTED HOTELS IN CALABAR)

ABSTRACT: This study was carried out to the safety and security threats in hospitality industries in Cross Rivers State using some selected some selected hotels in calabar as a case study. The survey design was adopted and the simple random sampling techniques were employed in this study. The population size comprise of staff of the 3 selected hotels in Calabar metropolis, Cross Rivers State. In determining the sample size, the researcher conveniently selected 63 respondents and 50 were validated. Self-constructed and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected and validated questionnaires were analyzed using mean score tables.  The result of the findings reveals that the causes of the security threats faced by the hospitality industry are activities of dubious staff and guests in the hotel, porous and insufficient security network in the hotel, poor monitoring of hotel activities by the relevant public agencies, poor and irregular staff training on guest management, and insufficient security checks for guests and other visitors on their arrival. The study also revealed that the safety and security measures put in place by providers of hospitality services comprises of police patrol in the hotel, bomb detector in the hotel, use of efficient CCTV cameras in the hotel, engagement of security personnel for hotel security, checks for people and cars at the entrance, food materials are checked and verified before use, the security personnel are periodically trained and updated, and there is periodic and efficient security patrol along the room corridors.  Therefore, it is of the researcher’s opinion that hotels should thrive to ensure a balance between guest privacy and security while providing lighting and various security arrangements, bearing in mind the aggravation customers may feel in the event of privacy invasion. Therefore, night lighting outside the hotel building should be adequate to discourage suspicious movements during late hours. However, caution should be applied, so that night lighting is not reflected into guest rooms unnecessarily by providing quality curtain materials.