An incident report for a hotel may consist of a few sentences. The report details guests who were involved, outlines the disturbance, names the staff who responded and also records when the management was informed.
The report can raise multiple questions to an attorney. Who was in charge of supervising these employees? Was surveillance footage preserved? Did the facility follow its standard procedures? Do you know of any prior interactions that were not documented?
This is the reason why it’s often necessary to look over business records prior a witness testifies in a lawsuit involving hospitality.
Start by reviewing the documents that were made during normal operations.
Records are maintained by hospitality firms to record scheduling staff training, guest services, security, management, and much more. While these records were not intended to be used in court but they can be helpful in establishing how a property performed during a specific incident.
An expert witness in hospitality could review the staffing schedules and operating procedures, as in addition to employee training files, logs of security, as well as recordings from surveillance cameras to determine the roles that are assigned to each individual. Written policies may demand that the manager take action to an employee who reports an intoxicated customer.
Investigating whether or not the manager actually worked, whether or not the report had been communicated and the reaction evident from the evidence available is the main objective. The objective is to assess actual actions rather than to assume that written procedures were either observed or not.
Restaurant Records require their own Interpretation
Restaurant investigations present challenges because employees divide their attention among the preparation of beverages, food service, customer requests, and the management of the dining room. A Restaurant expert witness can explain how these responsibilities affect the decisions employees make during service.
Take a look at an incident that occurred in the dining room that involves the patron who bought alcohol at the bar prior moving to the table. The bar receipt might prove the initial purchase while the records of dining-room transactions indicate later purchases.
However, these records might not establish what the table server knew about the previous service. The combination of server assignments, transaction time, management notes, and employee records can clarify the sequence. It is crucial to note distinctions: just because alcohol was purchased does not mean that staff was intoxicated.
Casino Investigations may require different records
Casinos have beverage programs that differ significantly from traditional restaurant services. Complimentary drinks, mobile cocktail servers, gaming floor supervisors and extensive security operations provide further sources of information.
An expert witness at a casino can review the assignment of staff to drink as well as surveillance video including security reports, employee communication procedures. Traditional sales receipts may be insufficient when drinks are offered for free.
In those instances the investigation might rely more heavily upon surveillance or employee reports, service records, and property’s documented procedures. The expert should also be able recognize any limitations in the evidence and not accept a partial report.
Make sure you save the evidence prior to when it is no longer available
The preservation of documents that are time sensitive is an important concern in litigation involving hospitality. Surveillance systems may retain recordings for a limited time. Information about employee schedules and internal communication as well as incident records are stored by different departments or by different systems. Attorneys should be able to spot potentially relevant records in the early stages and take appropriate steps to protect them.
It’s all about the type of claim. For instance an establishment may need documents for the dining room or bar. A resort incident might require documentation for an event and travel arrangements or security messages. Targeted reviews help identify what records are essential and not assume that every department is involved.
The Paperwork is a result of operational experience
Preston Rideout is a hospitality veteran with more than twenty years of experience. He has held positions in bartending, management and beverages operations in a variety of businesses. Rideout Hospitality Consulting is a company he created in the year 2010. He has provided advice to the resort, restaurant and hotel operators across the United States.
He has served as an expert witness in a variety of cases involving hotels, casinos, resorts as well as restaurants for the plaintiffs and defense counsel. His operational knowledge is helpful in the interpretation of records that seem simple to someone not familiar with the management of hospitality.
Staffing schedules, such as, identify who has been given the task. To determine if these assignments were appropriate it is necessary to understand the structure of the building and its operating conditions.
A Stronger Case Begins With Simpler Questions
An early expert review can help attorneys identify unresolved and documented issues. It will help identify documents that are worth requesting and define the operational terms used in depositions.
It is not necessary to demonstrate that a written policy was followed if there are discrepancies.
It is the significance of an expert’s assessment that shows these distinctions using accepted best practices in the industry and evidence. Attorneys preparing for a hospitality lawsuit can benefit from a thorough understanding of the operation and its employees prior to examining them. This will permit an in-depth examination of what happened.