Stayntouch has published an adapted version of an article by its Chief Technology Officer, Prabol Bhandari, originally run by Hotel Business. It argues that guest data protection is now central to guest trust.
Why hotels are targets
Hotels hold names, payment details, passport numbers, loyalty profiles and stay histories across many connected systems. The article cites figures that 31% of hospitality businesses have experienced a data breach and that 32% of cyberattacks in 2025 stemmed from outdated software. AI is also lowering the skill barrier for attackers, meaning more of them. Guests care: 75% say they would stop doing business with a brand after a cybersecurity incident, and 42% of hoteliers say security concerns are a top reason they have dropped a tech partner.
Five habits
- Lock down infrastructure: segment systems, encrypt data in transit and at rest, and never expose internal systems directly to the internet.
- Limit access: grant only what people and systems need, review permissions and use geographic restrictions where sensible.
- Centralize monitoring: collect logs from cloud, applications and endpoints in one place to spot unusual activity early.
- Hunt for weaknesses: patch continuously, scan code as it is committed and test live systems.
- Prepare a response plan: have a team ready to investigate and act, and run regular role-specific phishing training.
Questions for PMS vendors
Because the PMS touches almost all guest data, Bhandari suggests asking how it is hosted and secured (encryption, segmentation, access controls), whether the vendor can demonstrate PCI DSS v4.0 compliance, how threats are monitored and handled, and how quickly vulnerabilities are patched.
Security as hospitality
None of this is new, the article says, but the expectation now is that it happens continuously. That is difficult for hotels with lean IT teams, which makes the choice of technology partners important. "A secure stay is part of a good stay."
Originally published by Stayntouch: Stayntouch CTO Outlines Five Cybersecurity Habits for Hotels
