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FACING THE TERRORIST THREAT AGAINST HOTELS A PUBLIC - PRIVATE

PARTNERSHIP APPROACH

Research · February 2016

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.2934.1206

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Nelson Marin
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FACING THE TERRORIST THREAT AGAINST HOTELS
A PUBLIC - PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP APPROACH
“They opened fire from the entrance of the hotel, in the lobby, the restaurant, various corridors. They fired on
people indiscriminately”, the Malian Security Minister Salif Traore said, sharing initial information on the
assault at the Radisson Blu hotel in the capital Bamako. There, two attackers, armed with AK-47 assault
rifles, held 170 guests and staff hostage during the nine-hour siege, killing 22 and wounding 14 before police
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stormed the building (BBC News, 26/11/15) .

Hotels under fire

Attacking hotels is not a new phenomenon, unfortunately. History is dotted with similar episodes. On
February 1894, a bomb exploded in Paris at the Hotel Terminus, resulting in 1 death and 20 injured; and on
July 1946 a huge explosion occurred in Jerusalem at the King David Hotel, with 91 deaths and 46 injuries.
Since the year 2000, however, there has been a steep increase in these violent events. Cold statistics tell
that attacks happened mainly in conflict/tension zones (the deadliest in Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Egypt,
Jordan and Tunisia) and several hit targets belonged to multinational chain hotels.

A new security strategy

According to Professor Rohan Gunaratna, commenting the terrorist attack affecting the Marriott Hotel in Is-
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lamabad (Pakistan) : “With international hotels becoming second embassies, hotels alone cannot protect
their facilities. No longer can a hotel be protected only by securing its perimeter. To manage their security,
hotels must build liaison with law enforcement authorities to protect, intelligence agencies to prevent, and
emergency services to manage the crisis after an event”. As a consequence, to integrate and synergize
capabilities, government-private sector partnerships become crucial.

Government-private sector partnerships

Establishing PPPs (Public Private Partnerships) to face this risk is critical indeed, as stressed by the
G8/2006 Russia Global Forum for Partnerships between States and Businesses to Counter Terrorism: “Just
as governments and businesses cooperate to build prosperity, so they should also combine their effort to
counter terrorism. Such partnerships should be voluntary, made in a spirit of cooperation and will be based
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on the respective roles, responsibilities and interests of the partners”.

The U.N. counter-terrorism strategy

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The PPPs idea, however, is an integral part of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy ; and
the concept has been fully developed by the U.N. Counter Terrorism Implementation Task Force (by leading
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entities such as UNICRI ), identifying a number of basic principles:
- “PPPs should be established early and be proactive in terms of preventing and/or deterring terrorist
attacks.
- At the implementation level, public authorities should be informed of the roles and the responsibilities
of those who will receive information and how the information will be used or managed.
- In terms of information exchange to prevent possible attacks, building trust between the two sectors
is essential. The nature and type of information that can be shared should be defined and minimum
standards set for the safe and secure retention of such information.
- Risk assessments carried out internally by the private sector should be shared with relevant public
sector security providers.
- In terms of physical protection, detection and crisis management plans, the public sector should
provide guidance to the private sector, as well as validation of the security measures adopted or
planned.
- The private sector should provide public authorities with information on suspicious behavior and in
return public authorities should provide feedback to the private sector, thereby enhancing channels
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of communication and improved security” .

1
“Mali hotel attack in Bamako: Two held”, BBC News, 26 November 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34936420
2
Rohan Gunaratna, “Marriott in Flames: The Attack on the World’s “Most Protected” Hotel”, Insite vol. 1, 7 (2008): 9 -15
3
“Russia Proposes Signing A Strategy On Public-Private Partnership For Counter-Terrorism In G8 Format”, G8 Documents (St.
Petersburg, 2006), accessed on 7 January 2016 at http://en.civilg8.ru/allnews/2336.php
4
“United Nations Action to Counter Terrorism”, UN, accessed on 7 January 2016 at http://www.un.org/en/terrorism/strategy-counter-
terrorism.shtml
5
“Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) for the Protection of Vulnerable Targets”, UNICRI, accessed on 7 January 2016 at
http://www.unicri.it/
PPPs programs by Regional Organizations
Apart from the U.N. System, another prominent actor in the field is the Organization of American States,
which is also promoting and developing cooperation among regional member states to prevent, combat, and
eliminate terrorism. Its program essentially aims to strengthen the capabilities of public and private tourism
sectors to prevent and respond to potential security attacks on tourist and recreational facilities (whether
perpetrated by terrorists, criminal organizations, or common criminals) and help establish or strengthen
public-private partnerships on tourism security. Pilot tests and training / awareness sessions also involving
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hotels have already been performed in Mexico and in the Caribbean .

Developments in the United States

The Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 7 establishes a national policy to identify and prioritize
U.S. critical infrastructure and key resources and to protect them from terrorist attack. HSPD-7 in particular
identifies 17 sectors (the “Commercial Facilities Sector” includes hotels) that require protective actions to
prepare for, protect, or mitigate against a terrorist attack or other hazards. A Sector-Specific Plan
(SSP), developed by a Sector-Specific Agency involving public and private sector partners, details the
application of the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) risk management framework to the unique
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characteristics and risk landscape of the relevant sector. Moreover, the “Private Sector Office” of the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provide America’s private sector with a direct line of communication
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to DHS, promote public-private partnerships, and advise the Department’s Secretary on key issues.

And in Europe...
Relevant examples of PPPs launched in Europe, in contrast, are the “Counterterrorism Alert System” in The
Netherlands and the “Project Griffin” in the United Kingdom. The Dutch program, in particular, enables the
authorities to take measures to protect 14 economic sectors of society (including hotels) by warning the
operational services and economic sectors in the event of a heightened threat. This enables prior measures
to be taken quickly in order to minimize the risk of terrorist attacks and to limit the potential impact of terrorist
acts. These measures are not compulsory: the participating economic sectors take part voluntarily, on the
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basis of a series of agreements with the Government . The British project, on the other hand, is a Police
initiative to protect cities and communities from the threat of terrorism. It brings together and coordinates the
resources of the police, emergency services, local authorities, business and the private sector security
industry; and it provides an official and direct channel through which the police can share and update vital
information relating to security and crime prevention. The operational framework of Project Griffin, actually
consists of four main strands, that is: Awareness Days, Online refresher module, Bridge Calls, and
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Emergency deployments .

Hospitality businesses have been improving their security standards, as a consequence of the increasing
and ubiquitous terrorist threat. The general manager of the New Delhi Shangri-La hotel claimed, for instance,
that they screen vehicles and luggage and use metal detectors to check visitors; and after the Mumbai
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attacks they have also added extra armed security to watch inside and outside of the hotel Although these
beefed up classic hotel security programs are great, they nevertheless could not suffice. Consequently, a
suggestion would be to check whether any counter terrorism PPPs project is available locally and possibly
joining them. Besides, according to the 9/11 Commission Report - Private Sector Preparedness: “Unless a

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UNICRI, “Strengthening Public/Private Partnerships for the Protection of Vulnerable Targets against Terrorist Attacks”. Report on the
First Brainstorming Meeting: Turin, 6 - 7 November 2007, 8-9.
7
“Tourism Security”, Organization of American States, accessed on 7 January 2016 at
http://www.oas.org/en/sms/cicte/programs_tourism.asp
8
“Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7: Critical Infrastructure Identification, Prioritization, and Protection”, Homeland Security,
accessed on 7 January 2016 at http://www.dhs.gov/homeland-security-presidential-directive-7
9
“Private Sector Office”, Homeland Security, accessed on 7 January 2016 at https://www.dhs.gov/private-sector-office
10
“Counterterrorism Alert System”, National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism - Ministry of Security and Justice, accessed
on 7 January 2016 at https://english.nctv.nl/themes_en/Counterterrorism/Counterterrorism_Alert_System/
11
“Project Griffin”, City of London Police, accessed on 7 January 2016 at http://projectgriffin.org.uk/
12
“Terrorism Affecting Tourism”, Tourism Review.com, accessed on 7 January 2016 at https://www.tourism-review.com/terrorism-
affecting-tourism-news1337.
 terrorist’s target is a military or other secure government facility, the “first” first responders will almost
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certainly be civilians” .

Nelson Marin

Senior Security Expert & Lawyer

13
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. 9/11 Commission Report (Washington, D.C.: National Commission
on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, 2004).

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