The Russian government is preparing a motion that would obligate hotels to introduce tighter security measures, including conducting luggage checks and installing CCTV cameras in rooms, a popular daily reported, quoting an unnamed source in the Russian Cabinet.
Quoting local news outlets, RT reports that President Vladimir Putin’s government started to work on the motion because of the increasing terror threat that has become more evident in the wake of the growing number of attacks around the world.
“Alarm buttons will be installed on every floor, maybe even in every room. This is still being discussed. Surveillance cameras will be installed in the rooms’ entrance areas. In general, the guests’ behavior will be put under scrupulous monitoring,” Russian daily Izvestia said in a report.
If the motion becomes law, hotels will be obligated to screen their guests’ luggage and install metal detectors at every entrance, as will other establishments offering accommodation services. The government has also proposed that a code of behavior be developed for customers to make the work of security personnel easier.
According to Izvestia, industry experts have not welcomed the idea in its current form.
Gennadiy Lamshin, president of the Russian Hotel Association, said his colleagues had seen the proposal and thought that it lacked concrete paragraphs establishing a chain of command and responsibilities.
Moreover, implementing the government’s plan would require significant investment from hotel owners, who would need to buy new equipment and hire additional staff, without offering any compensation or benefits in return.
Sergey Kolesnikov, director of one of Russia’s hotel management companies, believes that many hotels simply would not be able to afford to implement the proposed security measures. He added that, in his view, it would be better if anti-terrorist operations were conducted by specially trained security officers and not hotel staff.
