We can expect safety & security awareness training videos will become more popular in the hotel and tourism industry as time goes on. Digital technology is making video production much easier and less costly and bringing this training tool within reach of more and more businesses.
In this digital age when the attention span of the average person is compressed and people seem to prefer entertainment above all else, instructors and trainers in hotel security will have to choose the presentation type of video they will use for training their management and staff – from action-packed entertainment-filled videos to cutting edge digital interactive videos, and everything in between. They will likely borrow ideas and techniques used in training videos in other industries and adapt to their needs.
Two Bellmen
Recently, I watched an action-packed entertaining short movie titled Two Bellmen produced by Marriott and posted on YouTube. The screenplay in this short movie is brilliant and of high quality. Here is a brief summary of the action:
Two bellmen in a Marriott hotel start their shift in the morning. A woman drives into the hotel driveway, distracts one of the bellmen and steals his keycard. After a lot of action, he fails to retrieve it from her. She uses it to gain access to a restricted area – this is obviously Scene One in a sinister episode to come. A group of ice-cream men enter the lobby to set up an exhibition. The other bellman thinks this is suspicious. However, no action is taken. The organiser of the exhibition brings in an expensive painting to display and asks the bellmen to guard it. During the exhibition the ice-cream men suddenly pull out guns and start shooting at everyone. The action begins and the two bellmen use their martial arts skills to fight off the gang members and to keep the painting from falling into the gangs’ hands. It is a movie with lots of injured bodies on the floor. The scene reminds me of a Jackie Chan movie like Shanghai Noon. The police finally turn up and arrest the bad guys. The two bellmen have successfully protected the painting and hand it back to the exhibition organiser. Both bellmen came through the ordeal with only a few scratches. They are now the heroes.
After 17 minutes of Hollywood action in a Marriott hotel, the movie finishes by stating the point its producers meant to get across: “If you take care of your people, your people will take care of your customers, and your business will take care of itself, ” JW Marriott.
If you like to see the full version, please click here. I am sure you will enjoy it.
Tips
If your organisation is planning to produce an action-packed video that entertains, or you adopt another presentation style, here are a few tips you should consider to ensure it will effectively promote security awareness:
1. Don’t send mixed messages
Your purpose for the video must be clear and not left to interpretation. For instance, is it an official corporate security awareness/training video or a short movie for entertainment purposes, or is it for marketing? Ensure the viewers can easily recognize the main point or lesson you are endeavoring to convey.
2. Never cross the line in duty of care
If your video is action-packed and infers, either in action or word, that staff members can take hero-action that in reality would put them or others at serious risk, this can lead to harm and result in legal complications, if viewers were to try to follow suit.
3. Never make jokes about safety & security when going global
A joke may be funny in one culture, but when you go global, the same joke can be completely misunderstood in a different culture and people end up at risk.
4. Avoid fiction and emphasize reality
Seek consultation from legal and security experts to ensure your presentation meets regulations and safety & security standards.
5. Respect the risk
Don’t make light of the security risks. They are real and serious, and you want viewers to recognize this.
6. Don’t water down safety and security policies and procedures
Your video should highlight all applicable government requirements for hotel safety and security and be true to the hotel safety and security policies and procedures. While there can be an entertainment side to the video, the core content should reinforce the safety & security standards that have been set in place. The content of the video has to ensure all your management and staff is now more security aware.
What hotels can learn from Air New Zealand
We have all suffered through the safety message when boarding a plane before takeoff. A flight attendant or an animated instructor shows how to put on a life vest and how to get into the brace position, if needed. Most travelers are not paying much attention anymore. They have heard it all before. It now is boring and has become annoying. However, by law it is a necessary prequel to travelling on the plane. This negative attitude of passengers puts them at higher risk.
Air New Zealand has taken up the challenge to get passenger attention back on to safety. And they have done it very well. They have produced some very entertaining and informative safety videos to breathe renewed life into the safety message in their planes. One video is based on the Men in Black movie. It contains all safety elements that are required by law, but the way the story is told is entertaining and everyone loves watching it. Even frequent travelers are watching it and enjoying it, so it achieves its purpose.
Another video is based on the Hobbits. This is really funny too, but once again the focus on the safety message is not watered down. For instance, when it comes to how to buckle your seatbelt, this is shown clearly so it cannot be misunderstood. And they have another video using Surfing.
I like using the example of Air New Zealand to demonstrate what a modern and professional safety video must contain, and where lines should never be crossed. The same framework can be applied to security awareness videos. Professionalism is preserved and they are not throwing in hero-elements that would put crew and passengers at risk at any stage. Their videos remain true to safety regulations while having fun. I believe the hotel industry can glean good ideas on making videos from Air New Zealand.
About the author
His hotel experience includes rooms division management, pre-opening, fire, health & safety, risk management & cost control. He has worked for leading hotel brands in Munich, Frankfurt, Bremen, Berlin, Cork, Edinburgh and Doha in the Middle East.
He graduated in 2002 as a Hotel Management Consultant at the Steigenberger Hotel Management School. He gained valuable experience as a Cost Controller at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers at Frankfurt Airport. He worked three years in Ireland where he built on his experience as a former volunteer fire officer and became a qualified IOSH Health & Safety Officer. He effectively combined the field of Health & Safety with his Assistant Manager positions.
Stefan now consults to hotels to implement innovative and affordable strategies to raise their level of security to meet growing global demands
