A hotel incident report may consist of a few sentences. It contains the name of the guest, a description of the issue as well as the names of the personnel who attended to the incident.
This report may bring up more questions for an attorney than it will be able to provide an answer. Who was the manager of the employees that were implicated in this case? Was surveillance footage preserved? The facility adhered to its own rules. Did previous interactions occur that weren’t recorded in the report?
These questions highlight why litigation involving hospitality often demands an examination of normal business records prior to when witness testimony begins.
Begin with the documents that are created during normal operations
Records are maintained by hospitality businesses to plan guest services, training of staff, security, management, and more. While these records weren’t designed to be used in litigation, they can help establish how a property functioned in the event of a specific incident.
A professional witness in hospitality will look at the staffing schedules as well operating procedures, employee training records, security logs and monitoring recordings in order to better know what duties are given to whom. A written policy may require that a manager respond to any employee who has reported an intoxicated customer.
The investigation must determine if the manager was in fact working on the report, if it was distributed, and what response was provided by the evidence. It is much more important to look at actual actions as opposed to assuming that written directives were followed or not followed.
There is a need for an independent analysis of the restaurant’s registers
The employees are split among the catering, beverage prep as well as customer service and dining room management. This creates a challenge for restaurant investigations. A Restaurant expert witness can explain how these responsibilities affect the decisions employees make during service.
Consider an incident in the dining area that involved an individual who had purchased drinks at the bar prior moving to a seat. The bar receipt can document the initial purchase, and the transaction records for dining room transactions record later purchases.
However, these records may not be able to prove the information that the tableserver had about the earlier service. Examining server assignments, transaction time, management notes, and employee declarations together will assist in determining the order. It is important to recognize the distinction that simply because alcohol was consumed doesn’t mean employees were intoxicated.
Casino Investigations May Require Different Records
Casinos run beverage programs that differ significantly from the standard restaurant service. Free drinks, mobile cocktail servers, gaming-floor supervisors, and extensive security operations create additional sources of data.
A casino expert witness may review beverage staffing, surveillance footage and security reports. They could also examine protocols for employee communication. The traditional sales receipt may not be valid when complimentary beverages are involved.
In those instances the investigation will rely more heavily on available surveillance employees’ observations, employee documents, and the documenting procedures of the property. Experts must recognize the limitations of evidence, rather than accepting incomplete records as proof.
Save the Evidence Prior to It Does Not Remain Available
The preservation of records that are sensitive is a practical concern for the litigation of hospitality. Some surveillance systems will only save recordings for a certain period of time. Schedules of employees, internal communications, as well as incident-related documentation could be kept in various systems or departments. Attorneys should identify and save documents that could be relevant as quickly as is possible.
It is contingent on the nature of the claim. A restaurant case may require documents for the dining room and bar for instance, while a resort event could need documentation for the event transport arrangements, as well as security communications. Targeted reviews help identify what records are essential without presuming that all departments were involved.
The paperwork is the result of the Operational Experience
Preston Rideout has worked in hospitality since 1996, with prior experience in bartending, nightclub management, and multi-unit beverage operations. Through Rideout Hospitality Consulting, established in 2010 he has advised the hotel, restaurant and resort operators across the United States and internationally.
His expert witness work involves matters involving hotels, restaurants resorts, casinos, and resorts for defense and plaintiff counsel. That operational background is useful when it comes to interpreting data that might seem simple to someone not familiar with hospitality management.
Staffing schedules, such as to identify who has been given the task. The service model and the operational environment of a building is vital to determine if these assignments provide appropriate supervision.
Clearness in your questions is the first step towards an argument that is stronger
Early expert reviews help lawyers discern between documented and unresolved issues. It helps identify documents that are worthy of requesting and help define the operational terms that is used in depositions.
Some discrepancies are not indicative of a malfunction. Neither is every policy that proves the correct procedure was implemented.
It is important to have an expert’s report that illustrates these distinctions by using recognized practice in the field and supporting evidence. Attorneys preparing for a lawsuit can benefit from understanding the operation and its employees prior to examining them. This will permit an unbiased analysis of what transpired.