For hotels and hospitality businesses there is a lot of customer information and sensitive data that is collected every day. A confidential shredding service is the best way to be proactive and thorough in how you comply with data protection regulations, disposing of any information you hold on your guests and customers in the safest, most secure fashion.
Risks of Improper Data Handling in Hotels
Many documents and confidential information are collected, processed, and stored in hotels every single day. Understanding the risks and learning how to prepare your documents for shredding correctly helps to limit the risks of improper data handling and information falling into the wrong hands. The following are just some of the areas where your staff must learn to recognise the risks, including:
- Photocopies of guest’s drivers’ licence
- Booking confirmation details
- Loyalty reward programme information
- Guest itineraries
- Financial reports
- Customer receipts
- Personal records of guests
- Documents relating to HR
- Personal and financial information relating to staff members
- Supplier information
- Credit card slips
- Presentation and personal documents left behind in hotel conference rooms
Benefits of secure shredding in the hospitality industry
There are a few good reasons why you should consider a confidential shredding service to help manage a hotel or hospitality business. The protection of the data is the primary reason, helping a business to safely dispose of confidential data and information. It reduces the risk of identity theft, saves money on waste disposal costs, and provides a sustainable way to recycle paper documents and reduce the carbon footprint of the business.
How Secure Shredding and Data Destruction Works
Document destruction takes on several forms, and the exact way that your hotel or hospitality business chooses to dispose of confidential waste will depend on a few factors. The options include:
- On-site shredding – where the shredding equipment is brought to your business premises, offering a convenient and secure option.
- Off-site shredding – where documents are collected and taken to secure premises where the shredding process takes place.
- Staff and guest ID destruction – any sensitive registration documents or ID specific to a person can be destroyed securely.
- Uniform disposal – old uniforms, linens, and other materials that may lead to sensitive information being obtained illegally, can be safely destroyed.
- Hard drive and digital destruction – all hard drives, USB drives and any other physical IT and digital media that contains sensitive information, can be destroyed securely.
Choosing the Right Service Provider for Your Hotel
Choosing the right confidential shredding and data destruction service for your hotel is vital. It is best to look at a company that has experience and certification, secure shredding facilities and capabilities for secure on-site and off-site shredding, competitive prices, fully compliant with GDPR, and is a sustainable choice through recycling of destroyed waste and other environmentally-friendly working practices.
Safeguarding Your Hotel with Secure Shredding and Data Destruction
The hospitality and hotel industries are often a target for cyber-criminals due to the fact such large quantities of personal and financial information are held about customers and suppliers. The potential threat of a data breach hits home to big hotel chains down to the smallest, boutique operations. To ensure that GDPR compliance is met and that there is a robust process for disposing of sensitive documents and personal information, a secure shredding and data destruction service is the perfect way to give peace of mind and ensure that customer information never falls into the wrong hands.
