Working as security in a hotel
Hotel security protects guests, staff and premises without looking like a guard post. The job takes courtesy, total discretion about who is staying and where, night shifts (paid at a 25% premium for hours between 22:00 and 06:00) and close teamwork with reception. In Greece the tourist season changes the workload, and foreign languages count. You need the personal security work licence, as for any guarding post, and you apply to OVIT through the Careers page.
Updated: 5 min readSources: 2
What does a hotel security officer do?
Watches entrances and public areas, controls access to guest floors and staff areas, patrols, handles incidents and records them.
- Presence: at the entrance, in the lobby and public areas, visible but never pushy.
- Access: who goes up to the guest floors, who comes in through the staff entrance and the delivery bay.
- Patrols: corridors, fire exits, car parks, the pool after closing.
- Incidents: a guest who cannot find their child, a lost wallet, noise in the small hours, a fire alarm.
- Records: every incident with time and actions taken; see the incident report.
How a hotel organises its security (cameras, floors, night cover) is explained from the client side in the hotel security guide. This guide is about your job.
How should security behave towards hotel guests?
Like part of the hospitality team: greet, help, speak calmly, and when the answer is no, say it politely with a reason and an alternative.
- Service first: guests see you as hotel staff. Directions to the lift count as much as a check.
- Calm tone: a drunk or angry guest settles more easily with a low voice and space than with a confrontation in front of others.
- Appearance: clean uniform, upright stance, phone in your pocket.
- Limits: when something goes beyond your post orders, you inform your supervisor and hotel management; you do not improvise.
Why does discretion matter so much in hotel security?
Because you see who is staying, with whom, and when they come and go. None of that leaves the job: not to friends, not on social media.
- Never give a room number to someone asking in the lobby; send them to reception.
- Never confirm that someone is staying at the hotel, even to someone who knows them.
- Never photograph guests or premises on your own devices.
- Only in the report: what happened goes in the shift report, not into conversation.
One leak is enough for a hotel to lose a guest’s trust, and for you to lose the post.
What is a night shift like in hotel security?
Quiet for most of the hours, with few staff in the building and late arrivals. Work between 22:00 and 06:00 is paid at a 25% premium.
At night a hotel usually has fewer people on duty, so security and the night receptionist rely on each other. Patrols, fire exits and doors that must stay shut become the backbone of the shift.
The Greek Labour Code sets a 25% premium for work between 22:00 and 06:00 (Presidential Decree 62/2025, art. 150 §1). For hour limits and rotation see security guard shifts and working hours, and for sleep and energy night shift health.
How does the tourist season affect hotel security work?
In hotels that open for the season, the work follows the months they operate; in city hotels open all year, the workload rises and falls but the post stays.
- Ask at the start how long the engagement runs: the season only or all year, and what happens when the hotel closes.
- In season expect more people, more events and tighter rosters.
- Off season, work in cities, offices or other sites can keep you going; see security career path.
Do you need languages, and how does security work with reception?
English is very useful and every extra language helps. With reception you work as one team: they know who is staying, you know what is happening on the premises.
- Languages: most foreign guests will speak to you in English; a second language strengthens your application.
- Shared instructions: what you both do with a guest without a key card, a guest asking for a key to another room, a noise complaint.
- Fast contact: radio or phone, so reception never has to leave the desk.
- Handover: open items go both to reception and to the next security officer; see the shift report.
To work in security you need a personal work licence, category A or B (Law 2518/1997, art. 3); see how to become a security guard in Greece. OVIT hires through its Careers page: include your licence, your languages and the shifts that suit you.
At a glance
- Hotel security is part of hospitality: courtesy first, control without show.
- Discretion: never a room number, never confirm a guest is staying, never take photos.
- Night hours (22:00–06:00) carry a 25% premium (Presidential Decree 62/2025, art. 150 §1).
- Ask early whether the post is seasonal or year-round; English and good teamwork with reception count.
- You need the personal category A or B work licence; at OVIT you apply through the Careers page.
Frequently asked questions
What qualifications does a hotel security officer need?
A personal security work licence, category A or B (Law 2518/1997, art. 3), courtesy, discretion and, very usefully, English.
Is the night shift in a hotel paid more?
Yes. Work between 22:00 and 06:00 is paid at a 25% premium (Presidential Decree 62/2025, art. 150 §1).
Is hotel security work seasonal?
It depends on the hotel: where a hotel opens for the season, the work follows its operating months; in city hotels open all year it is continuous. Ask at interview.
Sources
Every legal or pay point in this guide was checked against the official sources below.
Want to work in security?
See the open roles and how OVIT teams work.