As the largest non-gaming, in-hotel exhibition space in the world, the Marriott Gaylord Opryland needed to upgrade its unstable security system to an open platform VMS, in order to protect against false claims and liability.
With nearly 3,000 rooms and 15 restaurants, the 700,000-square-foot Marriott Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center offers a wide range of attractions, including an outdoor golf course and nine acres of indoor gardens, all underneath climate-controlled glass atriums.
Risk management critical
Risk management is critical at this enormous property located in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee's country music scene, according to Greg Pezzo, the Director of Safety and Security for Marriot Gaylord Opryland Resort.
Greg Pezzo and his team work to ensure the safety and security of the 2,500-member staff and hundreds of thousands of guests each year, at the Marriot Gaylord Opryland and at the nearby 300-room Inn at Opryland.
New video surveillance system
After conducting a risk assessment, four years ago, management invested in additional security staff and new security vehicles
After conducting a risk assessment, four years ago, management invested in additional security staff and new security vehicles. They also committed to investing nearly US$ 2.5 million in a new video surveillance system, which included new cameras, system servers, and video analytics, all managed by the open platform XProtect Corporate video management software (VMS) from Milestone Systems.
Greg Pezzo, Director of Safety and Security for Gaylord Opryland Resort, said “Our main objective for a video system is to help mitigate false claims and protect against liability from other potential lawsuits. Having these events captured in high quality video is nearly priceless.”
Milestone XProtect Corporate VMS
With the COVID-19 pandemic, Greg Pezzo’s team has not only dealt with a reduction in visitors and guests, but also reduced staffing. The new video system allows the smaller security group to continue to cover the entire property.
Greg Pezzo has dispatchers around the clock, who monitor the video system in real-time, as well as an investigator, who reviews recorded video of anything out of the ordinary, such as a car parked in a restricted area or a trespasser in a back-of-house area. The motion detection tools built into the Milestone VMS help with this type of surveillance.
Milestone Systems’ Smart Wall system
Greg Pezzo adds, “We never had motion detection before and it has helped us greatly with our staffing levels. Our operators move through all 1,500 cameras every shift, multiple times a day and any time-saving capability like this really helps.”
Milestone Systems’ Smart Wall system also helps each shift of operators easily manage their camera views.