“Across the United States, losses due to POS thefts by internal staff are approximated at nearly $8.5 billion, annually”
The biggest hospitality technology forum in the world is underway, i.e. the HITEC 2012 and already, interesting reports are emerging. One such, attention-grabbing discussion has been about a type of hospitality sector hustle that most property owners are struggling to mitigate.
What are we talking about?
Most hospitality businesses have different POS streams to ensure that retail is organized and billing/accounting remains streamlined. However, it has emerged that many of the digital POS systems are not as immune to theft as it is commonly perceived. Hotels with manual POS systems are even more vulnerable to incurring losses due to fraudulent employees.
Understanding the POS Hustle
The culprits in most cases are employees trusted by their employers to manage different POS. Employees usually found guilty of stealing from POS include bartenders and retail cashiers. Sometimes, facility managers and supervisors too are involved. Cashiers in particular can indulge in the most smartly-conducted form of POS theft. Here, the best of goodies/services are given to a family member or friend of the cashier at highly-discounted rates or for free.
Most business-owners are either not aware of the magnitude of this problem or they have meekly accepted that some types of fraud cannot be prevented.
This problem assumes a bigger proportion considering that hotel operators are struggling to sustain their profitability in many parts of the world. The EU-fueled global recessionary trends are increasing their expanse and it would be foolish to say that the hotel industry will remain untouched by it.
What does this suggest?
Not paying attention to this menace of employee theft is turning a blind eye to a very palpable problem. The only solution is investing in a smart hotel PMS solution that provides more control, surveillance and reporting tools.