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NEWS > U.S.A. > ERIN ANDREWS CASE REVEALS HOLES IN HOTEL SECURITY, WALLS
ERIN ANDREWS CASE REVEALS HOLES IN HOTEL SECURITY, WALLS
October 7 2009
New York, NY – The case of Erin Andrews – the ESPN reported secretly videotaped in her hotel room – has sent shockwaves across the broadcasting and hotel industries. Though the incident has made Andrews a household name the embarrassment caused 
to both her and her network has done perhaps irreparable harm to their collective credibility. The hotel industry is also coming under fire in the wake of the incident with criticism mounting over lax security and inconsistent standards regarding the renting of rooms.
The arrest of the Peeping Tom last has finally brought that criticism to the foreground and raised questions as to the security, and enforcement of such incidents, when it comes to people who are not famous. The incident has also brought to light the very serious issue of the depth and density of walls and peepholes in hotel rooms. The question as to whether or not they are durable enough to prevent such incidents in the future will likely become a major issue going forward with Andrews’ stalker now behind bars and the really hard questions come to the forefront.
"There is no consistent policy within individual brands or across the industry, It is in the hotel industry's cultural DNA to attempt to satisfy guests' 'adjacent room' or connecting rooms requests. Given the recent focus on this issue, I expect that policies related to handling this request are under consideration both at the property and brand level,” said John Burns, President of Hospitality Technology Consulting. “The issue of wall size is a much bigger issue than simple protocol and will require a great deal of attention and effort from the industry. Upgrades to thicker walls and more durable peepholes will be a huge expense that many smaller chains simply will not be able to afford and would represent a major burden to the bottom line of virtually every hotel chain in the country and will not be a simple fight.”
Stories of thin walls are common to travellers who frequently have to endure loud arguments, parties, and romantic trysts whilst trying to sleep. 
“The truth is in this economy it’s very unlikely that any hotel or hotel chain will want to undertake a whole scale renovation of their wall system. Some of these buildings are massive, housing hundreds of rooms and the cost that would have to incurred in order to shore up the structure would be severely damaging to their bottom line,” said Scrape TV Business analyst Ken Green. “I’m sure these types of incidents have occurred many times over the years but of course it takes on a different significance because of the notoriety of this case. That may prompt at least some major chains to put forth an effort towards at least appearing to make walls a little more difficult to drill through.”
Marriott International has long had a reputation for the thickest walls in the industry. At least one of the taping incidents occurred at a Marriott hotel in Nashville, a hotel regarded for the depth of its walls and the integrity of its peepholes, making the challenge all the greater for other chains.
“When a company like Marriott is unable to prevent these kinds of incidents you know
you are in trouble. The real issue is whether or not criminals are able to stay ahead of the good guys in incidents like these. Like in most criminal cases the crooks up their game when security does the same,” continued Green. “That unfortunately may mean a massive overhaul in the way companies build walls, adding massive costs to the restructuring and potentially putting it out of reach for many smaller chains, putting the large companies in an advantageous position to capture the lucrative hot reporter market that so many rely on. Like many things in this economy, we may see a whole new world once things come back around.”
At least one company, SteelShax, Inc. of Boston is offering a secure ‘safe-room’ tyoe of structure for high end and attractive hotel visitors.
Mike Michaels, American Correspondent
NEWS > U.S.A. > ERIN ANDREWS CASE REVEALS HOLES IN HOTEL SECURITY, WALLS
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