Guest Room Safety Management System and Fire Prevention Measures

(II) Guest Room Safety Management System

To ensure that safety measures are effectively implemented and to guarantee guest room safety and the hotel's normal operation, a feasible guest room safety system must be established. This system will serve two purposes: firstly, to regulate the behavior of hotel staff and guests and prevent safety incidents; and secondly, to ensure effective handling of any safety incidents that do occur.

1. Housekeeping Department Safety Management and Prevention System

(1) Strict check-in registration system. Guests must present their valid identification documents to check in. Valid identification documents include: People's Republic of China Resident Identity Card, People's Liberation Army Military ID Card, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Compatriot Travel Permit, passport, etc. Of course, it is now also possible to check in without identification documents using only an ID number. Long-term guests must complete the long-term stay registration procedures. Changing guests requires the hotel's consent, and unauthorized overnight stays are not allowed.

(2) Comprehensive guest room safety precautions. ① "No Smoking in Bed" signs and "Guest Safety Instructions" are placed in guest rooms, and "Emergency Evacuation Diagrams" are posted on doors. ② Guests are prohibited from using their own electric heating appliances. Long-stay guests must obtain permission from the hotel before using their own electrical appliances, and the hotel will install the electrical wiring. ③ Anti-slip mats should be provided in guest room bathrooms, and "Caution: Slippery" signs should be posted. ④ For checked-out rooms, housekeeping staff must carefully check the room for any potential fire hazards. ⑤ Staff have clearly defined areas of responsibility and are not allowed to leave their posts arbitrarily. ⑥ Housekeeping staff must not disclose the privacy of hotel guests. ⑦ Guest room floors are equipped with a 24-hour surveillance system, supplemented by security patrols every 1-2 hours.

2. Guest room key control system

To ensure guest room security, strict key control measures are essential. Lost, improperly distributed, copied, or stolen guest room keys can all lead to various security problems.

(1) Establish a strict key issuance system. ① Guest room keys are managed by designated personnel and stored in a dedicated cabinet. Strict issuance registration procedures are implemented, and keys must not be taken out of the hotel. Every day at work, the housekeeping supervisor, team leader, and service staff collect guest room keys from the housekeeping service center. Housekeeping service center staff should strictly record key issuance details, such as the recipient and issuance time, and the recipient must sign the record. When keys are returned, the returner and time should be recorded. ② When hotel guests collect room keys, front desk staff must strictly adhere to the corresponding standards and carefully verify the guest's name and ID information before issuing the keys. ③ Master keys must be kept and used by designated personnel, and each use should be registered and recorded. In some hotels, master keys are managed by designated personnel in the security department. If someone applies for a master key, strict registration and record-keeping must be carried out.

(2) Strict regulations must be followed regarding the use of keys. ① If a guest forgets their key and requests assistance to open the door, the room attendant must verify their identity and must not open the door for them without authorization. If their identity cannot be verified, the guest should be asked to complete the necessary procedures at the front desk. ② When cleaning rooms, attendants must not open several rooms at the same time. Room cleaning should be done in a "open one room, clean one room; finish one room, lock one room" manner, and a registration form should be filled out carefully, recording the entry and exit times. ③ Attendants should carry the room keys with them at all times and must not leave them carelessly on the work cart or in the lock of a room being cleaned.

3. Guest Room Security Patrol System

Patrolling the guest room area by housekeeping staff, service personnel, and security personnel is an effective measure to ensure guest room security. During patrols, attention should be paid to any suspicious individuals or hotel staff who should not be entering the guest room area. Check that room doors are closed and locked. If a room door is found ajar, knock and inquire. If the guest is in the room, remind them to close the door properly. If the guest is not in the room, enter the room directly to check for any unusual activity. If nothing is found, close the door immediately. For cases where a door is left open due to guest negligence, the security department should issue a notification reminding the guest to lock the door when leaving.

4. Safety training system

(1) Organize publicity and education on fire prevention, theft prevention, sabotage prevention, and natural disaster prevention, as well as security business training and drills.

(2) Emphasize safety training for facilities and equipment to ensure that housekeeping staff are familiar with the performance of various safety equipment and tools, and operate them correctly in strict accordance with operating procedures or instructions. At the same time, perform daily maintenance and upkeep of safety equipment to ensure the safety of staff and equipment.

(3) Conduct training and education on professional ethics and regulations to prevent employees from committing crimes among themselves.

(4) Improve employees’ safety management awareness and communication skills, carefully inspect the areas under their responsibility and eliminate safety hazards, and be able to urge guests or other employees to do a good job in various safety work to ensure the safety of the hotel and guests’ lives and property.

Task 2: Major Safety Hazards and Accident Handling in Guest Rooms

I. Fire Prevention and Emergency Response

(I) Types and causes of hotel room fires

1. Types of Hotel Room Fires

According to national standards, fires are broadly classified into the following five main types based on the different substances that cause them.

Class A fires: Fires involving solid materials, including wood, fabric, paper, rubber, and plastics. These materials produce glowing embers when burned. Because guest room bedding, carpets, and wall decorations often contain flammable materials, Class A fires are a common type of fire in guest rooms.

Class B fires: fires involving liquids or fusible solids, including fires caused by oils or alcohols.

Class C fires: gas fires, namely fires caused by flammable gases such as coal gas and natural gas.

Class D fires: Fires involving combustible metals, including fires caused by magnesium, sodium, potassium, and their alloys.

Class E fires: Electrical fires, i.e., fires involving objects that are electrically charged. Currently, electrical fires account for an increasing proportion of fire types in hotels.

2. Cause of the fire in the guest room

Through case studies of hotel fires worldwide over the past 15 years, a significant pattern of "three 70%s" has been discovered: 70% of fires are caused by electrical faults, 70% are caused by careless use of fire, and 70% occur in the early morning, late evening, or among scattered individuals.

(1) Electrical fires. Improper management and use of electrical wiring and equipment can easily lead to short circuits and fires. For example, guests may use high-power electrical appliances (such as rice cookers and electric stoves) in their rooms without authorization, or the electrical equipment may be poorly installed or used for too long at a time, resulting in short circuits or overheating of components. The fire that occurred on August 25, 2018, at the Beilong Hot Spring Hotel in Harbin was caused by a short circuit in the electrical wiring of a fan coil unit, which created a high-temperature electric arc, ignited the surrounding plastic green plant decoration materials, and caused the fire to spread. In 2021, electrical fires ranked first in the number of fire accidents reported by my country's emergency management department from January to October, accounting for as high as 50.4%.

(2) Fires caused by careless use of fire. Careful use of fire is essential for safety. Flammable and explosive materials must not be brought into guest rooms. In 2018, a fire broke out in a hotel in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, because a guest placed candles on the carpet in his room for a marriage proposal. Furthermore, hotel personnel using fire must strictly follow procedures and must not be careless. Ensure that fire-related facilities are in good working order at all times. In one case, a hotel required welding work during guest room renovations without obtaining a permit beforehand and without having fire extinguishers or other safety precautions on site. The flying sparks ignited interior decoration materials, causing a fire.

(3) Fires occur in the early morning, late evening, and among scattered personnel. Early morning, late evening, and holidays are often prone to fire hazards due to lax management. Temporary maintenance personnel and other scattered staff are blind spots in management, making them highly susceptible to oversight. Therefore, only by implementing strict management at all times, involving all personnel, and throughout the entire process can hotel fires be effectively prevented.

(4) Fires caused by smoking. Fires caused by smoking are a common type of fire in guest rooms. For example, a guest may accidentally start a fire by smoking in bed or after drinking alcohol; a guest may carelessly discard an unextinguished match or cigarette butt, igniting items in the room; or a staff member may fail to check carefully and dump an unextinguished match or cigarette butt into a garbage bag or vacuum cleaner, causing a fire. Research data shows that the surface temperature of a cigarette butt in its spontaneous combustion state is 550℃~600℃, and the core temperature reaches about 830℃. If a cigarette butt is discarded while still lit, it can generally continue to burn for 1~4 minutes, easily causing a fire if it comes into contact with flammable materials.

(II) Fire Prevention

1. Equipped with fire-fighting equipment and materials

Hotels should install a complete intelligent fire protection system in guest rooms, which mainly includes alarms, fire extinguishers and fire prevention equipment, fire evacuation facilities, etc.

(1) Alarm

Smoke detectors should be installed in guest rooms, and manual alarms and fire display screens should be installed in guest room corridors to ensure timely detection and alarm of fires.

(2) Fire extinguishing equipment

In guest room areas, sprinkler systems, fire hydrants, and fire extinguishers are required to prevent fire accidents. Besides ensuring a full range of fire-fighting equipment, regular inspections are necessary to guarantee their proper functioning. Commonly used fire extinguishers are mainly divided into dry powder fire extinguishers, carbon dioxide fire extinguishers, and water-based fire extinguishers. Water-based fire extinguishers, as a new type of environmentally friendly fire extinguisher, can extinguish initial fires involving electrical components, flammable liquids, and solids, and have less environmental pollution, leading to their increasingly widespread use.

(3) Fire prevention facilities

In the event of a fire, fire prevention facilities can effectively prevent the fire from spreading and contain it to a minimum. These facilities mainly consist of firewalls, fire-resistant floors, fire-resistant roller shutters, and fire doors. Guest room doors must meet sufficient fire resistance standards; normally closed fire doors must not be unable to be opened due to obstruction by work vehicles, nor should they be left open. Simultaneously, fire-resistant smoke extraction systems are crucial as they reduce the harm of toxic gases to human health.

(4) Fire evacuation facilities

Emergency evacuation instructions in both Chinese and English must be posted on the doors of guest rooms. Additionally, dedicated escape flashlights, gas masks, and escape ropes should be provided in case of emergency.

The guest room corridor area is equipped with a complete fire evacuation system, including an emergency broadcast system, safety exit signs, emergency lighting, and safety evacuation staircases.

2. Develop fire prevention measures

(1) Strengthen fire prevention education for guests and raise their safety awareness.

(2) No items shall be piled up in evacuation routes and entrances/exits to ensure that guests can be evacuated quickly in an emergency.

(3) Flammable, explosive and other dangerous materials used and stored in hotels shall be stored separately and managed by designated personnel.