Inauguration A Windfall For Security Companies

Nearly two months ago, a retired international executive booked the armored Cadillac from Robert Oatman's fleet to ferry him around Washington for inaugural events. Jim Remik is stocking up on inflatable mattresses for himself and members of his security team, in anticipation that the buildings they will guard along Pennsylvania Avenue will be their accommodations. Kelly Martin's firm has been lining up dozens of retired FBI, Secret Service and other officers from the West Coast to meet client demands for security at inaugural parties and corporate events.

Because the demand for access to the inauguration, exclusive parties and other events is high, so is that for protective services. Business is growing by the day, say executives at the firms, who declined to provide specifics about their clients for privacy reasons. But they did say that in addition to risk management details, clients are looking for the logistical support that will enable them to move through a city that is expected to operate under extraordinary restrictions for four days.

"We've never had this level of interest in an inauguration," said Bruce McIndoe, president and founder of iJet Intelligent Risk Systems, an Annapolis security consulting firm. "Around national conventions and the Olympics, yes, but this is unprecedented around a presidential inauguration."

The economic downturn has not yet seriously impacted the security industry, companies say. Layoffs often create business for security firms, with employers seeking to avoid workplace confrontations. But the long inauguration weekend is expected to be a particular boon. Building guards will be earning weekend and holiday pay and lots of overtime as hotels, office buildings, museums and other venues are kept open for events or locked down. Executive security details will be working nearly around the clock guarding VIPs.

"The whole security community is on fire," McIndoe said. "This is a once-in-four-years kind of boom that's coming just at the right time."

Norman Buffalo, director of operations for District-based Watkins Security Agency, said the company is getting three times as many requests as usual for this time of year and that every one of its approximately 400 officers will be either providing building security or protecting clients.

"We do specials all the time, executive protection all the time, long hours all the time," Buffalo said. "It's just the amount of requests we are getting now are exceeding what our company is capable of doing." He has referred prospective clients to other security companies, he said.

Martin, president and chief executive of the Off Duty Group, is lining up dozens of retired or off-duty officers from police departments or "alphabet" agencies, such as the FBI, from states as far away as California. Many of the requests are coming from West Coast corporate and entertainment clients who are throwing parties and balls.

International executive security firms like Garda World are doing extensive research, scouting out the best drop-off points and coming up with communication plans and backup sites to connect with well-heeled clients.

Mark Fair, managing director of executive protection and training for Garda World, said his clients expect "not to just have a bag of meat following them, but to have someone be the answer person and have a plan A, B, C, D for them."

Those clients include multinational executives flying into Washington on private jets. Each client will have a logistics manager developing plans for each party. Prices range from $400 to $1,200 a day per security person, not including such expenses as tuxedos, meals and hotel accommodations, which clients pay for. If clients want to bring private security details into balls and other events, they must provide tickets and obtain clearance for them, Fair said.

One out-of-town couple wanted Fair to provide a driver and protective guard who would join one of them at a ball while the other waited at the hotel. They were looking at a cost of about $10,000 for two days of security, he said. "I was very honest with this client. I told them, you stand the risk of creating more problems for yourself by having protection at formal inaugural events because it's going to be an extremely secure event, if it is within the [security] perimeter," Fair said. They decided to skip the guard, saving about $6,000.

The extra business brings with it logistics headaches for security companies.

Remik, operations manager for Admiral Security Services in Bethesda, is planning on camping out in one of the buildings his teams will provide security for because there are no available hotel rooms.

"I'm looking to make our officers as comfortable as possible, which means more air mattresses," he said. "It's a logistical nightmare, but it will be a financial boost for our people."