CCTV for Hotels and Restaurants in Bangalore: Planning and Rules

Why hospitality needs more than a few cameras

Hotels, lodges, restaurants and pubs deal with large numbers of strangers, cash and card payments, alcohol, deliveries at all hours and staff working in shifts. Cameras help settle guest complaints, deter theft from rooms and stores, protect staff, check cash handling and give police usable footage after an incident. In Bengaluru they are also a compliance requirement.

The rules in Bengaluru

Under the Karnataka Public Safety (Measures) Enforcement Act, 2017, places where 100 or more people gather at a time — reported by police and industry as more than 100 people at a time or more than 500 a day — must install CCTV at entries, exits and common areas and keep 30 days of recordings. Bengaluru police have fined non-compliant establishments Rs 5,000 for a first offence and Rs 10,000 after that, and the Act allows premises to be sealed.

In 2023 the Bengaluru police commissioner said restaurants, pubs and other public spaces with footfall over 100 must install CCTV. Ahead of New Year 2026, the current commissioner warned that hotels, lodges, pubs and entertainment venues would be checked and could be closed for violations. Police drives have also checked CCTV in hotels and lodges specifically.

Where to put cameras: hotels and lodges

• Main entrance and driveway, with a camera that can identify faces at the door.
• Reception and front desk, covering guests at check-in and the cash drawer.
• Lobby, lift lobbies and every guest corridor — room doors are the most common dispute point.
• Staircases and fire exits.
• Parking, including basement ramps and the vehicle entry with number-plate coverage.
• Back-of-house: staff entry, stores, kitchen entry, laundry and the goods receiving area.
• Never inside guest rooms, washrooms or changing rooms.

Where to put cameras: restaurants, bars and pubs

• Entrance and waiting area.
• Billing counter and cash drawer, positioned to see the till and the customer.
• Dining areas, wide-angle, to settle complaints and spot trouble early.
• Bar counter and liquor store, where stock losses are most common.
• Kitchen pass and kitchen (useful for hygiene checks and training).
• Back door, delivery area and garbage area.
• Outdoor seating and parking.

Storage and recording

Plan for at least 30 days of continuous recording on every camera to meet Karnataka’s rule; many hotels keep longer for guest disputes that surface weeks later. 4MP cameras on H.265 recording are a sensible default. Put the NVR in a locked room or rack — not behind the reception counter where it can be switched off or carried away — and on a UPS so recording continues through power cuts.

Privacy and data

Display clear notices that CCTV is in use. Restrict who can view and export footage, keep a record of exports, and do not share clips on social media. Guest images are personal data under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, whose main duties are due to take effect in 2027; good practice now makes compliance easier later. Cameras must never point into rooms, washrooms or changing areas.

Linking with locks, Wi-Fi and alarms

Keycard lock audit trails show which card opened a room and when; corridor cameras show who used it. Together they resolve most complaints in minutes. CCTV, keycard encoders and guest Wi-Fi can share the building’s cabling while sitting on separate networks. SightShield installs IP camera systems only, from CP Plus, PRAMA, Honeywell and Hikvision, using models certified for sale in India, with a GST invoice and an annual maintenance contract.

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