New York, NY —

Last month's attacks in Mumbai were a visceral example of how vulnerable urban hotels and restaurants can be. This is not a new fear for New York law enforcement, who have the responsibility of keeping the city's public spaces safe in a post-9/11 world. But protecting the interior of "soft targets" like hotels is a job done by private security guards. A walk through Midtown Manhattan by WNYC's Bob Hennelly gives us a glimpse into what has and hasn't yet changed at New York's hotels. In Times Square, the sidewalks are packed with holiday shoppers and tourists. Cops are on every corner. One opens the door for an elderly couple headed into Toys R' Us. New York's Finest own this street scape. But a half block off Broadway, the job of securing the high profile Millennium Hotel is the responsibility of the private sector. Terrorism is nothing new to Millennium Hotels. Their facility at the World Trade Center was devastated on 9/11. Yet on this December day at the Midtown location, there appears to be one security guard on duty. And he's in an extended conversation with the Concierge. With the aid of the hotel's display board, this reporter gets a quick orientation of the entire hotel and convention center. "Drug and Medical device litigation conference, ACI..." Unimpeded, I enter the Millennium's wide stairwell and have an easy ascent to the second floor. Then the third, fourth, and fifth floors. And that's where I find a hotel guest from Houston -- Tania Vaughn and her one year old daughter Taylor. HENNELLY: I am with WNYC National Public Radio and I am doing a story about hotel security. As a customer how do you feel about it? VAUGHN: I don't think hotel security is adequate enough. I feel like anybody can pretend to get locked out of a room and say to the housekeeping staff, "oh let me in" and it could not be their room. I am on the 21st floor, trying to keep her occupied for a couple of minutes. I have been just wandering around looking into rooms nobody has asked me any question. I am just floating around. REPORTER: In a statement responding to my ability to roam throughout their Midtown property, Millennium Hotel management says they have extensive security training in place. I was assured their lobby has a security presence at all times. They add that in the days since the Mumbai attacks -- and after my visit -- they conducted an additional training session. Yet on Millennium's own Web site, complete floor plans are readily available. And that's exactly the kind of information police say the terrorists had in Mumbai. Earlier this month at One Police Plaza, several hundred executives who manage security for both public and private facilities packed an auditorium to hear the NYPD's take on vulnerabilities in Mumbai. DEL POZO: Open source says they had received video recognisance of the hotel interiors... REPORTER: NYPD Captain Branden Del Pozo checked in from Mumbai via teleconference about the terrorists' infantry tactics on civilians. DEL POZO: They had an excellent knowledge of the hotels, in fact their knowledge clearly surpassed that of the Navy commandos that were tasked with getting them out, the bad guys had a great tactical advantage in this case and that is why the siege lasted as long as it did. REPORTER: Del Pozo says a private guard was standing sentry at Mumbai's Lubavaticher Center when it was attacked. DEL POZO: There was an unarmed security guard. He saw guys coming at him with machine guns and he just ran a way. He was helpless and they haven't even seen him since. REPORTER: Here in the U.S., the private security guard industry is plagued with high turnover, low wages and widely varying training. There are no federal standards, and regulation of this critical industry varies state to state. Mike Marano is with FJC Security -- which has 5,000 security guards protecting everything from hospitals to airports in the Tri-State Area. He says quality training is costly. MARANO: Probably the biggest problem is that the types of facilities are so varied that the training can not necessarily be across the board. You have to do site specific type training and that gets very expensive and time consuming, which is one of the biggest problems in an economy the way we have it today. REPORTER: Security industry experts say ultimately, it comes down to thinking ahead and getting guards to be fully present on the job. FJC's Frank Ferreyra says keeping guards motivated is key. FERREYRA: We have no trouble with our guards being a little more aggressive because in a lot of the locations people are timid it is good for us to get up there and ask people when they come into the lobby sitting there, "are you a resident?" "Are you a guest?" You have to challenge people. You can't let them sit around. REPORTER: Back at the Millennium, as Tanya Vaughn and I board the elevator with her daughter to go up, Vaughn says she's stayed in hotels in as varied places as Angola and Kuwait. She says she feels safest in the U.S. but what passes as good security leaves her anxious. VAUGHN: It is scary. When I come into a hotel anytime I am in for the night I am double bolting the doors, I am locking the locks and if they have a door to an adjoining room I am making sure that's closed cause I almost feel like this is all on me. REPORTER: Vaughn says she's willing to pay an additional premium on her hotel bill to feel safer. For WNYC, I'm Bob Hennelly.