First day back from attending a work related conference. There were over 300 attendees at the which was held at a beautiful hotel in Dana Point, California, overlooking the ocean. The events at the conference were amazing and were located all over the hotel. We were outside on the lawn for yoga in the morning overlooking the ocean, and then in the ballroom for the keynote, and onto breakout rooms for workshops, and back outside at another lawn for meals and entertainment.

Company work conferences are the main revenue generator for many hotels and organizations, yet why is there no security present? Attendees are not only staying at the hotel overnight and there are people coming and going all the time, with attendees scattered throughout the facilities but more importantly there is a congregation of a large group of people. For any attacker who wishes to cause harm to the most number of people, this is an opportunity for disaster. Think of prior attacks like marathons, movie theatres, parades, entertainment venues, what do they all have in common?

As the leader of a security risk management firm, this is something that concerns me when I attend any large event. At best hotel security is made up of 1-2 onsite Security Directors who may or may not be available. They are called in when someone thinks someone entered their room and stole something. They are called when there are hotel disturbances. How would they be able to manage an attack at a conference with limited resources?

If you’re like me, I don’t depend on Security. I have learned you have to know how to protect yourself and others first, then rely upon others next. You need to take care of the situation yourself and know what your options are, how to think about situations, and what you may need to do.

With that said, here are 5 brief and basic tips that I recommend for every conference attendee that I tend to try to do or look for when I attend a conference.

1. At all times, you need to understand situational awareness and be mindful of sounds, people, and things going on around you. Do not be absorbed in your phone (we all do it, but especially when there are large groups of people, understand the group itself is already a target.)
2. Be aware of other attendees at the conference and who is observing or watching or intermixed with you at the conference where they are trying to blend in with people coming and going but are there watching to gather intelligence and enact a plan or take bad action. Also be aware of wait staff and servers, attendees who look out of place, anyone who is standing near an exit or entrance for long periods of time. Look for when you would expect others to be around and there aren’t. You’re probably wondering what does “out of place” look like, is there someone lurking and looking around or observing others but not doing anything? Is there someone who is trying to blend in and looks lost like an attendee but clearly doesn’t ask anyone for help or if they do their request is odd? Feel free and look at that person directly and feel free to observe them to gather more information or smile at them. Remember bad actors do not want you to identify or see them first which is why they try to blend in, and in today’s environment this is easy to do because we don’t notice others around us and we’re easily distracted by “to do” lists, calls, phones, etc.
3. Go up and try to have a casual conversation with someone, after all you’re at a conference as an attendee or speaker you would network and be open to conversation. If the person does not seem open and exhibits nervous tendencies and talks about something other than what you would expect for attendees based upon the conference topic, you would ask yourself why are they there. If the person doesn’t know how to respond or talks about something that you know doesn’t make sense based upon why you’re at the conference, or is quick to dismiss you, and is acting suspicious or nervous, you need to alert someone. Do not rationalize why you should not alert someone; you are in an environment alone that is a target of harm.
4. Always know where your closest exits and entrances are located close to your room. Do not rely upon elevators (know where they are) and know how you’d exit or what you’d get behind or how you would lock yourself in or escape if something bad happens. Know that exits and entrances are not only entry points for bad actors to enter but they are also how you need to exit to escape. You will likely not have your car so you will be on foot, you need to know what surrounds the hotel, too.
5. Position yourself where you have walls and objects at your back, and you are openly facing windows, doors, and able to observe other people easily across and throughout a room. Think about where cameras are placed, they are placed in places where you can “see” activity throughout an area. Many hotels may only have cameras in certain areas and not in others, some cameras may not work properly. You are a “live” active camera.

When you are attending a conference, you don’t need to live in fear that something bad is going to happen every time you attend one, but you need to be prepared when there are large groups of people at a hotel and know that it makes for a perfect target opportunity. You need to know that no matter what the disaster or circumstance that you know what to do. Fire? Flood? Hurricane? Tornado? Earthquake? Active Shooter incident? Heart attack? You need to anticipate how people will react and what will happen, where will you go? What will you do?
I encourage individuals to ask what they should do and for Security Directors to prepare hotel and conference attendees accordingly. I encourage conference organizers and event planners to do the same because you are responsible for guests and attendees.

Most of the time I stay at hotels the Security Director is inaccessible to me as a hotel guest and employees/staff do not know what to do or where the individual may be at that point in time. Most hotels do not spend the money to properly invest in training and development for both the Security Director and employees because it is a cost they can’t afford. How are hotel guests supposed to know what to do? How are we not prioritizing safety?

If you have questions or concerns related to this blog, please feel free and email us at info@aplombsecurity.com.

We’d love to help discuss how hotel management and conference organizers combined with hotel guests and conference attendees can all protect and save lives.