In the wake of Mumbai attacks, hotels focus on anti-terrorist strategies

The Nov. 26 terrorist attacks on hotels and other sites in Mumbai, India, which killed more than 170 people, prompted cautions in the last few days from the U.S. government and a lodging trade group.

In a travel alert on India, the U.S. State Department said the Mumbai assaults “tragically demonstrate that even in five-star luxury hotels, security is not equipped to deter such attacks.”

And in a memo to its members, the American Hotel & Lodging Assn. said the Nov. 26 attacks, and a hotel bombing two months earlier in Islamabad, Pakistan, “may be the beginning of a resurging and alarming trend of luxury hotels becoming magnets for terrorist activities.” It urged hoteliers to review security procedures.

Several major hotel chains said they have stepped up alert levels.

Joseph McInerney, president and chief executive of the lodging association, said in telephone interview Friday that his organization is looking to its more than 12,000 members and its loss-prevention group for suggestions on what to do.

He said hotel security in recent years has gotten more sophisticated. But in an industry where hospitality is key, innkeepers confront a dilemma.

“You want to keep out the bad guys and let the good guys in, and make it easier,” McInerney said. “That’s the tough thing.”

Like Bruce McIndoe, a security expert I interviewed after the Mumbai attacks, McInerney said four-and five-star hotels, which maintain advanced security and safety systems, are usually the safest types. That’s because fires and crime, not the rare and random terrorist act, are more common threats to guests, McIndoe said.

—Jane Engle, assistant Los Angeles Times Travel editor

[Photo: Uriel Sinai / Getty Images]

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 7, 2008 at 6:00 am by Jane Engle and is filed under Asia, Business Travel, Global, Hotels, Luxury Travel, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.