Five-star hotels increase their security system

Five-star hotels increase their security system

Rizky KD Ntoma and Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Following the bombing at JW Marriott Hotel in the Mega Kuningan
business district in South Jakarta on Tuesday, which claimed at
least 10 lives according to police reports, five-star hotels in
the capital started to beef up security.

The action also fulfilled a call from Coordinating Minister of
Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono moments
after the explosion for restaurants, hotel chains, malls and
other public places to tighten security.

A similar call was conveyed by Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso after
a meeting on Wednesday evening with the top management of hotels,
restaurants and malls across the city.

The meeting at City Hall was also attended by Susilo and
Minister of Tourism and Culture I Gede Ardika.

The Shangri-La hotel, located on Kota BNI, Jl. Jend. Sudirman,
Central Jakarta, started to deploy more security guards in
cooperation with police personnel. The hotel management also have
more security devices installed including bomb detectors, metal
detectors, handheld metal detectors for searching individuals and
monitoring cameras.

"We definitely must increase our security internally and also
externally," said hotel public relations manager Ratna Sjamsiar
Idris on Wednesday.

The consequence of tightening security meant more time was
needed to check every person going in and out of the hotel.

"Previously, it only took only a minute to screen each guest
but now our security personnel need up to three minutes," she
said.

The deployment of more security guards and police backup was
also done by the Jakarta Hilton International Hotel in Central
Jakarta, located near the Semanggi cloverleaf.

"We have around 200 security guards at the hotel with back up
from police officers and also the K9 squad. There is always a
security guard and several policemen at each entrance," said
Hilton marketing communication officer Dita.

"We conduct a body search and have metal detectors for
employees and guests before and after entering the lobby. We also
carefully check their bags and luggage," she added.

Like the Shangri-La and the Hilton, Hotel Borobudur on Jl.
Lapangan Banteng Selatan, Central Jakarta, also deployed more
security guards at the entrance gate and maximized the use of
detectors.

"We are doubling our security guards from 30 to 60 people
divided into two shifts," Grace Alviar, the hotel's director of
communications, said.

"We also have plainclothes police officers. In total, the
hotel has around 100 security officers at present," she said.

To limit the possibility of unmonitored guests, the hotel
management has reduced the entry points from three to only one.

The management also decided to move the taxi pool from the
side of the hotel to the rear, close to the parking lot.
Temporarily, the hotel has also stopped their valet parking
service.

Several foreigners were still spotted inside and at the
hotel's foyer on Wednesday.

Grace added that Borobudur Hotel received several guests from
the JW Marriott Hotel checking in on Tuesday but so far there has
been no confirmation on booking cancellations from overseas
guests.

Meanwhile, police were still guarding the Marriott and have
closed the area to the public for a radius of 150 meters. Debris
and broken glasses have started to be cleared.

Most guests at the hotel were evacuated and transferred to
Gran Melia Hotel on Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said, South Jakarta.