The hotel incident report could just be a few paragraphs. The report names the guests, explains the incident, identifies the staff who responded and records when management was notified.
The report could raise multiple issues for an attorney. Who was the person in charge of the employees in this incident? Was surveillance footage preserved? The property followed its own procedures. Did the property have previous interactions not included in the report.
These are the reasons the reason why hospitality litigation typically calls for an examination of regular business records before testimony of witnesses commences.
Begin With the Documents Produced During Normal Operations
Records are maintained by hospitality businesses to plan staff training, guest services and security, management and many more. While these records were not intended to be used in court They are helpful for documenting how a facility performed during a specific incident.
An expert witness in Hospitality may look over staffing schedules, operating procedures, employee training documents, security logs and surveillance recordings to learn the responsibilities assigned to different staff members. For instance, an official policy might state that the manager must respond if an employee informs them of an intoxicated client.
Investigating the incident should determine if the manager worked and if a report was sent, and based on the evidence, what the response was. The goal is to evaluate actual operations rather than assume that written guidelines were implemented or not.
There is a need for a separate 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 investigation into restaurant operations. A Restaurant expert witness can explain how these responsibilities affect the decisions employees make during service.
Imagine that the customer ordered drinks at the bar before being transferred to an area at a table. The bar receipt may prove the initial purchase and the transaction records for dining room transactions show later orders.
The information in those records might not be revealing what the server’s information was about the previous service. Examining all the information together such as the server’s assignments and times of transactions and management notes and employee statement can help to understand the order of events. A key distinction is that the fact that alcohol was bought does not necessarily mean that employees were aware of intoxication.
Casino Investigations might require other records
Casinos offer beverage services that differ from the ones offered by restaurants. The inclusion of complimentary drinks cocktails, servers serving drinks at the casino floor, and security personnel are all sources of additional information.
A Casino expert witness can review beverage staffing assignments, security reports, surveillance footage as well as the rules governing employee communication. The standard sales receipt may not be true in the event of complimentary beverages.
In these circumstances, an investigation might depend on surveillance evidence, observations of employees and service records, in addition to the procedures documented by the premises. The expert should be able to spot any limitations in the evidence, and not just accept an incomplete document.
Preserve the Evidence Before It is lost forever.
A major concern in hospitality litigation is the preservation of time sensitive records. Surveillance systems may retain recordings for short periods. The details about employees’ schedules and internal communications and incident documents may be kept by different departments or by different systems. Attorneys should identify potentially relevant documents early and take the appropriate steps to protect these records.
The scope of the necessary investigation is contingent upon the allegations. For instance, a restaurant may need the records of its dining room and bar. A resort incident may require event documentation such as travel arrangements or security communications. Targeted reviews help identify which documents are necessary without making assumptions that every department was involved.
The paperwork is the result of operational experience
Preston Rideout is a hospitality veteran with over twenty years of experience. He has held positions in management, bartending and beverages operations in a variety of divisions. Rideout Hospitality Consulting was established in the year 2010 and has offered assistance to hotel, restaurant and resort operators throughout the United States.
Expert witness testimony for both plaintiffs and defendants has covered matters that involved resorts, casinos or restaurants, as well as hotels. This knowledge of operations is helpful in understanding records that might seem simple to someone who isn’t familiar with hospitality management.
A staffing schedule will, for instance, identify those who were assigned to work. Understanding whether those assignments provided adequate supervision is dependent on knowing the service model of the facility and its operational conditions.
A Stronger Case Begins With Clarer Questions
An early expert review will help attorneys to distinguish between evidence-based facts and questions that remain unanswered. It could help identify which documents merit requesting or clarifying the terms used to describe depositions.
It is not necessary to demonstrate that a written policy was followed in the event of contradictions.
The value of hospitality experts is that they can explain the differences through evidence and established industry practices. Attorneys preparing for a lawsuit can benefit from a thorough understanding of the company and its employees before conducting an interview with them. This will permit to conduct a thorough review of the events that occurred.