Panic buttons for hotels are becoming increasingly more common as union and government mandates spread and as hotel management considers how technology can help keep their employees, guests, and properties safe and secure. For many hotels in urban areas, ordinances, laws and union contracts are requiring panic button implementation as a part of a larger push for employee safety and often the implementation deadlines are tight. This puts those of you in hotel and property management in a tough position – you want to abide by the law and run a property where employees and guests feel safe, but you have limited time and budget to make a decision on a panic button solution. When you start exploring hardware-software combined panic button solutions, you’ll find that there are a variety of options, features, technologies and price ranges. So, how do you sift through the options on the market and make the right selection for your property?
Most panic button solutions for hotels fall into one of three categories – all with their own advantages and disadvantages.
Hardware-Only Panic Button Solutions
Hardware-only Panic Button solutions are typically a wearable or mounted alarm-style device where the user deploys the alarm and it emits a loud sound to alert security and deter any offender. It may or may not come with an accompanying software layer that sends a basic alert directly to security.
Hardware-Only Pros VS. Cons
Hardware-only solutions are often the most affordable technology, but they provide the least effective protection. At first glance, the small price tag, ease of use and no need for back-end technology integration may make hardware panic buttons seem like a good option. However, these hardware-only devices aren’t able to effectively summon assistance in a variety of circumstances. Devices like this rely on sound deterrents and don’t alert or communicate directly with hotel security or management, don’t offer location information, and because the employee who deployed it may be in a remote or private location (such as a room or stairwell), it is possible the alarm could go unnoticed for an unfortunate amount of time. In addition, because many cities, unions, and some states are implementing or considering the implementation of panic button mandates, basic hardware-only solutions don’t usually meet the requirements of new regulations and contract agreements.
Should I Choose A Hardware-Only Solution?
Only if you are looking for the most basic, affordable solution. If you are under an obligation to meet a service union contract or comply with a regional ordinance, this most likely won’t fulfill your obligation and you should consult with an expert who can help you determine and outline your specific panic button technology solution requirements.
Software-Only Panic Button Solutions
Software-only panic button solutions are app-based and are linked with a personal device such as an tablet or smartphone. Hotel employees can download the app and begin using it immediately. When deployed, software-only panic buttons will usually interact and communicate with a third-party call center.
Software-Only Pros VS. Cons
Today’s software-only panic button apps offer advantages over their hardware-only competitors for some users, yet they have some significant limitations and security risks when it comes to commercial use. These solutions are usually very affordable (sometimes even free) and require little if any integration with back-office systems at a hotel property. Many of the apps, once opened and deployed, link with a call-center, might issue a sound deterrent, and offer some GPS and location capabilities if enabled on the phone or device. Some of these apps may even alert police.
Another challenge that arises with software-only panic button apps is that they rely almost exclusively on their cellular service. This becomes problematic when you consider that locations such as guest rooms, basements, bathrooms, elevators, etc. might not have reliable service. And when employees are occupied working and executing their jobs, it would be unusual that the employee would have their phone on, the app deployed and the panic button prepared to be activated at the exact moment of an emergency. And in an incident of sexual harassment, you can imagine a scenario where a phone could even be forcibly taken away before the app is opened and deployed.
Should I Choose A Software-Only Solution?
While software-only panic button solutions appear to be a viable panic button option for personal and consumer use, these solutions often miss the mark when it comes to protecting workers or other large groups of people at businesses like hotels. Without direct contact with hotel security and other back-office tools, valuable time can be lost when locating and responding to an emergency. In addition, unless the employee has a device open with the app deployed, there is no quick way to deploy an alert. A typical hotel employee scenario would place the hotel employee in a secluded area working with his or hands (cleaning, holding items, pushing a cart), perhaps unaware of potential danger, or out of range of service for his or her device, rendering the software-only panic button solution useless.
Hardware-Software Combined Panic Button Solutions
Hardware/software combined solutions are more robust than their hardware-only and software-only counterparts, leverage a number of different technologies to support employee and guest safety needs for your property and are customizable (in some cases) to meet regulations with which you may need to comply. Most panic button solutions in this category offer a stand-alone panic button that can be easily deployed and will communicate directly with designated hotel staff and security. Most options alert to exact locations where the button was deployed.
Hardware-Software Combined Pros VS. Cons
Hardware-software combined panic button solutions are most commonly based on one of these technologies: RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), Ultrasonic, BLE Beacon and BLE paired with a device.
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) - RFID panic button solutions offer accurate location of workers in emergencies, but can be cost-prohibitive as they require on-site infrastructure like cabling and server installation. RFID uses electromagnetic fields and two-way radio transmitter-receivers to track location. A panic button solution based on RFID technology equips an employee with an RFID tag that communicates with an RFID responder. RFID-enabled panic buttons allow for exact location identification of the panic button at the moment it is deployed and, with the purchase of additional hardware and installation, it will provide real-time location data by reporting on the location of the deployed panic button if the employee moves. Most hotels are choosing to implement a solution where the technology is able to follow the employee-deployed panic button, but when we start exploring options for that feature with RFID, costs increase exponentially over the other technology options in this category.
Ultrasonic – An ultrasonic panic button solution is another option that provides accurate location of workers in case of emergency, but likely has higher costs due to infrastructure requirements like cabling and and an on-site server. The system includes a controller, a radio, a receiver and a transmitter that communicates with the panic button when it comes within a certain distance. Ultrasonic does allow for exact employee location during a panic button emergency.
With the right amount and location of equipment, ultrasonic panic button solutions provide exact employee location when a panic button is deployed and will follow the employee from location to location during an incident. The challenge for hotels is that to achieve full coverage of all rooms and properties, it requires an extensive investment in equipment and installation. Additionally, the rechargeable batteries for these solutions require charging every one to four weeks which may be more maintenance than some hotels and employees prefer.
BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) Paired with a Device – While devices like tablets and smartphones are becoming more standard for hotel workers to carry, reliability and security vulnerabilities of BLE panic button solutions that pair with a device make it a better fit for consumers than in work environments. BLE beacon panic buttons use a combination of Bluetooth and WiFi technologies to track exact employee locations when a panic button is deployed, including the ability to follow an employee with a deployed panic button, even if she is forcibly moved or flees to another area of the property.
These are about the most affordable option in this category, mostly because they require little equipment outside of the actual stand-alone panic button. However, each user needs to be equipped with a device like a tablet or smartphone. Additionally, the small price tag comes with less robust product features including an inability to follow an employee-deployed panic button on-the-move.
The largest challenges in this category are reliability and security. Reliability is crucial for panic buttons to be effective and panic button solutions using Bluetooth paired with a device can have occasional dropped service. Because these solutions employ Bluetooth pairing between a device (tablet or smartphone) and the panic button, there are serious security vulnerabilities including eavesdropping, hijacking, pair blocking attacks (“man-in-the-middle”), and other slowing, crashing and battery draining attacks (denial of service and fuzzing).
BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) Beacon — BLE Beacon panic button solutions offer the most robust features to hotels, while still offering significantly less expensive than active RFID and Ultrasonic. BLE panic button solutions use Bluetooth technology to communicate with the employee panic button. When a panic button is deployed, it communicates the employee location and can follow the employee if she moves or flees in an emergency.
By using WiFi and Bluetooth, hotels avoid the costs of adding wire or rewiring. And some of the better solutions in this category integrate with back office systems such as HotSOS. In addition, by leveraging existing operations technologies, the cost of implementation goes down, and you reap the benefits of having incident reports automatically initiate and have panic button data integrate seamlessly with your back office software. Some solution providers, such as TraknProtect, even use the BLE Beacon technology to offer other features and options that take advantage of your panic button technology investment, such as inventory tracking, room tray tracking, and monitoring vendors who are accessing the property.
Should I Choose A Software-Hardware Combined Solution?
For most businesses (including hospitality), the answer is yes. The options are more robust and offer a wide variety of price ranges to fit the needs of most hotels. Because of increasing regulations and scrutiny on employee safety in the hotel and hospitality industry, it is incredibly important to select a panic button solution that fulfills your legal and contractual obligations and allows for expanding the system easily and affordably to meet the needs of a growing workforce or new laws or other requirements. BLE Beacon is the obvious choice for cost, flexibility, and scaling considering most hotels and properties already have a basic Bluetooth and WiFi system in place on which to operate. And because Bluetooth and WiFi are emerging as the most accepted technology on which to run most hotel back office applications, it would make sense to invest in a panic button solution that can more easily integrate with that technology. Additionally, a few of the solutions in this category integrate with popular back office platforms, such as HotSOS, which offer an entire host of benefits for gaining insights into your hotel operations.
The Bottom Line?
The panic buttons for hotel employees movement is being led to protect vulnerable hotel employees from dangerous harassment, but by arming employees with the right solution, it empowers them to respond faster to numerous property issues such as an active crime, suspicious activity, sexual harassment, assault, or medical emergencies. And because many of these technologies can be customized to fit specific needs, there will be a panic button technology solution that will fulfill any service union contract or city ordinance obligations you may have.
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What companies employ what solutions?
For more information contact Parminder Batra parminder@tracknprotect.com
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