Crime in London Hotels

Abstract

There is a considerable literature on tourism and crime, with an emphasis on the tourist as victim. This study attempts to identify aspects of criminal behaviour in which the tourist may be the perpetrator of crime and hotels may be the victim. This paper presents findings on the key issues of hotel crime as described by the security managers of eight large, five-star London hotels. Respondents were asked to discuss the types of crime they have experienced during their careers as hotel security managers, along with their modus operandi and their frequency. The security managers also indicated if there were any seasonal trends that they could identify and how the hotel environment influences the nature of crime in hotels. This exploratory study suggests that hotel crime is different from tourist crime, and identifies factors that may influence level and type of crime in hotels.