An environment designed to welcome everyone can also open the door to the wrong kind of guest. From hoteliers and resort managers to campground operators and marina owners, businesses across the hospitality sector are prime targets. With access to high-value customer data, legacy infrastructure, smart-room technology, and loosely monitored vendor networks, the industry has become a five-star destination for threat actors. From seasonal staff turnover to inconsistent patching and under-resourced security teams, hospitality properties make a dream environment for cybercriminals.
And once attackers check in, getting them out isn’t easy—which helps explain why the cost of a data breach keeps rising. The global average cost of a breach in the hospitality sector rose from $3.82 million in 2024 to $4.03 million in 2025, and that doesn’t account for the long-term damage to reputation, operations, and guest loyalty. The global average time to identify and contain a breach across all industries now stands at 241 days.¹ In a business built on trust, speed, and seamless service, cybersecurity can’t be treated like a maintenance issue. You can’t patch over a breach with a smile at check-in.
Top Risks Keeping Hospitality CISOs Up at Night
Building resilience starts with proactive risk assessments, ongoing threat detection, and a culture of vigilance. You can’t control who targets you, but you can control how ready you are when they do.
So where are the biggest risks hiding? Here are seven cybersecurity challenges every hotelier should have on their radar, because what you don’t see can absolutely hurt you.
The Data Buffet Is a Feast for Hackers
Guests hand over a goldmine of information including names, payment details, loyalty accounts, and passport scans. That personally identifiable information (PII) flows through booking engines, POS systems, PMS platforms, and mobile apps, expanding the attack surface with every digital interaction. To stay secure, end-to-end encryption, centralized data monitoring across systems, and strict governance controls are critical, especially across multi-property portfolios.
Too Many Keys and Not Enough Locks
Operating across dozens or even hundreds of locations, many hospitality brands juggle decentralized systems, inconsistent IT setups, and fragmented security practices. Each site may have different vendors, protocols, or update schedules, creating blind spots that attackers are quick to exploit. Standardizing infrastructure, centralizing policy management, and investing in remote monitoring can reduce complexity and strengthen defenses across every site.
When Wi-Fi Becomes the Weakest Link
Whether it’s guests streaming content in their rooms, staff managing operations on mobile devices, or internal systems connecting via cloud-based platforms, always-on connectivity is nonnegotiable. But when Wi-Fi is the backbone of the entire property, it also becomes a major attack vector. Open networks, weak authentication, and lack of segmentation allow attackers to slip in through guest portals and pivot into business-critical systems. To reduce risk, hospitality businesses need to treat Wi-Fi as critical infrastructure, implementing secure guest network separation, multifactor access for staff, and active monitoring to prevent lateral movement.
Old Systems Bring New Entry Points
Many hospitality properties still rely on legacy systems that weren’t designed with today’s threat landscape in mind. Integrating modern tools, such as mobile check-in, smart thermostats, and cloud-based property management, into outdated infrastructure creates vulnerabilities that threat actors are quick to exploit. And as more properties adopt hybrid and multicloud setups, inconsistent security policies and limited visibility make it even harder to detect and respond to threats. While upgrading systems is costly and operationally disruptive, failing to modernize leaves critical gaps in defense.
Team Turnover and Training
High employee turnover and seasonal staffing make it tough to build a consistently security-aware workforce. Without clear training and reinforcement, insider threats—intentional or not—become an ever-present risk. Just as employees are trained to deliver on the brand promise, they also play a vital role in protecting it. And that includes protecting their own information, too. Frequent simulations, clear policies, and easy-to-access support resources help staff recognize and respond to threats before they escalate.
Booked Solid With Third-Party Risks
From booking engines and payment processors to CRM platforms and mobile key apps, hospitality vendors are deeply embedded in operations. But each integration brings new potential for compromise. Stronger third-party management, including access controls, security certifications, regular audits, segmented network privileges, can help properties embrace innovation without surrendering control. If a vendor can access your systems, they can expose them. Choose partners who protect as well as they perform.
Smart Doesn’t Mean Secure
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping hospitality with predictive booking, dynamic pricing, and personalized concierge services. Internet of Things (IoT) brings in smart thermostats, voice assistants, and real-time sensors, streamlining operations and elevating the guest experience.² But without the right guardrails, these innovations can work against you.
Opaque AI models, unmonitored data flows, and unsecured devices create new entry points for attackers and increase the risk of misuse, bias, or breach. For organizations that don’t employ AI and automation for security, the global average cost of a data breach rises from $4.03 million to $5.52 million.3 To make smart technology an advantage—not a vulnerability—hospitality providers need to treat it like any critical system: segmenting networks, securing data pipelines, auditing AI models, and enforcing strict governance. When managed correctly, innovation doesn’t just enhance service. It strengthens your security posture.
In hospitality, service is everything, and that includes protecting the digital experience behind every stay. When uptime, trust, and guest data are on the line, you need a cybersecurity partner that understands your world.
That’s where ESP, a NexusTek company, comes in.
As your trusted cybersecurity partner, we help you secure every layer of the guest journey, from AI-powered personalization and mobile check‑in to IoT-enabled guest rooms and cloud-native property systems. With end-to-end managed services, hybrid cloud expertise, and deep hospitality experience, we turn complexity into clarity—and risk into resilience.
Let’s make cybersecurity part of your signature service.
Schedule a consultation and give your guests a safe, seamless experience, from check-in to checkout.
Reference
1. IBM, Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025, July 2025
2. EHL Insights, Top Hospitality Tech Trends Not to Miss in 2025, December 2024
3. IBM, Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025, July 2025
About the Author
Jason Pullo
Founder, ESP, a NexusTek company
Jason Pullo is a seasoned technology entrepreneur with a passion for transforming the hospitality industry through innovative IT solutions. As Founder and CEO of Enterprise Solutions Providers, he leads the company’s vision and growth, helping hotels navigate everything from new builds and brand transitions to large-scale renovations. Since launching the firm in 2003, Jason has played a key role in the technology strategy behind more than 1,000 hotel acquisitions. His journey began at just 18 years old as an IT manager for a trade show company, and he’s since led major projects like a multimillion-dollar hotel renovation in New York City, delivering guest-centric technology with measurable business impact.
