In the latest episode of The Safety Gap podcast, Parminder Batra, CEO and Founder of TrakNProtect, joined Cassidy Shield and Karin Marquez for a candid, in-depth conversation about the origins—and critical importance—of robust employee safety technology in the hospitality sector. What began as a simple, relatable frustration about misplaced belongings in a busy family home became a catalyst for industry-wide change.
Parminder’s children, like so many, repeatedly asked, “Have you seen my…?”
“Isn’t there an app to track your stuff?”
an idea that eventually led her to build TrakNProtect. The journey wasn’t instantaneous. With a law background and little technical expertise, Parminder spent years learning, iterating, and asking the essential question: “Tell me more.” That curiosity not only honed the company’s technology but kept it closely aligned to the needs of those it would serve.
TrakNProtect’s initial vision was basic asset tracking—helping hotels keep tabs on rollaway beds, microwaves, and cribs. But as Parminder engaged with clients and attended industry events, another need emerged: employee safety. The intersection of the #MeToo movement and rising awareness of workplace safety in hospitality crystalized the company’s mission. Hoteliers weren’t just losing property;
Crucially, Parminder didn’t invent safety needs—she listened to the actual users. Housekeepers described heavy, awkward devices they left on carts instead of keeping on their bodies, precisely because they were inconvenient or intimidating. Hotel engineers lamented operational headaches—constantly changing batteries, troubleshooting technology that might fail when most needed. Parminder’s approach: minimize points of failure, make safety buttons small, discreet, and reliable (with batteries lasting years, not months), and ensure usability even in high-stress moments.
So, how does TrakNProtect work? At its heart is a simple, wearable button—no “big red” panic indicator, no distracting noise, just a discreet way to call for help. With a three-second hold, the device activates, vibrating with haptic feedback, and sends location-based alerts to designated responders (from on-site security to management), via multiple channels: SMS, desktop, apps, even wearables. This redundancy ensures that alerts are noticed, not lost in a sea of notifications or dependent on someone remembering to log in to an app.
One key innovation:
integrating with room tech, WiFi access points, and more. This minimizes disruptive installation and ongoing maintenance, tackling head-on the primary barriers to adoption: operational cost, deployment friction, and employee reluctance.
Despite technological readiness and clear need—
—adoption in the industry is far from universal. Even as hotel owners genuinely care about their teams, their decision calculus often boils down to cost-benefit equations shaped by razor-thin margins and mounting regulatory demands. In many cases, “check the box” compliance, or going for the cheapest option rather than the right one, prevails.
Parminder is pragmatic: “If you go with a competitor, fine. Just please don’t buy an unfit device from Amazon.” She urges technology companies to meet owners halfway—reduce costs, educate buyers about the distinctions between devices, and make solutions so intuitive that carrying and using them becomes second nature.
As the conversation wound down, they explored TrakNProtect’s broader relevance. The same principles—simple, low-friction, role-adaptable safety tools—apply in schools, distribution centers, hospitals, and public transit. Whether it’s a teacher breaking up a classroom fight or a lone bus driver walking to their next stop, the imperative is the same: everyone deserves instant, reliable access to help.
In a world where our phones are an imperfect safety crutch, Parminder’s vision shines: technology that’s always on, always ready, keeping people safe, quietly closing the gap between vulnerability and protection—wherever the workplace may be.