Exploring failure modes of communication technology security in North Carolina franchised hotels

As more people travel and work away from home or office, communications security (CS) is becoming an increasingly significant issue in the lodging industry. Thus far, however, little attention has been paid to this area. The purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to explore the perceptions of hotel administrators toward CS implementation, (b) to compare CS measures in the franchised hotel environment with CS experts' generally accepted good CS practices, and (c) to determine whether current hotel training practices are suitable for the implementation of proper CS measures. Study participants surveyed were hotel administrators of franchised hotels in North Carolina. The research methodology consisted of quantitative analysis of descriptive data and comparative analysis of this data with CS expert opinions. Many interesting outcomes resulted from the comparison of survey participants' CS awareness with the opinions of industry experts. The study suggested the need to consistently evaluate baseline computer configurations on a regular basis in order to keep up with changing technology, as security is only as good as its weakest link.