An incident report for a hotel may consist of a few sentences. It identifies the guest, describes a disturbance that occurred, names the respondent employees and also records the time management was notified.
The report could raise multiple issues for an attorney. Who was the supervisor of the employees involved in this matter? Was surveillance footage preserved? Did the facility follow its policies? Did the property have previous interactions that were not recorded in the report.
This is why it is often necessary to examine business records before witnesses testify in a lawsuit involving hospitality.
Begin with the Documents that were created in Normal Operation
The hospitality industry produces records for scheduling, training guests, guest service, security, and administration. Although these documents weren’t necessarily designed to be used in lawsuits, they can be used to establish how a property functioned in the aftermath of an incident.
An expert witness in hospitality may examine staffing schedules, and operating procedures as along with employee training documents, logs of security, and footage from surveillance cameras to determine what responsibilities are given to each employee. A written policy may require the manager to respond to any employee who has reported an intoxicated client.
Examining whether or not the manager was actually working in the workplace, whether or not the report had been communicated and the reaction supported by evidence is the objective. Instead of simply assuming that processes were observed or not The goal is to find out what were actually carried out.
Restaurant Records Must Have Their Own Interpretation
The employees are split into the food service, beverage prep customer demands and dining-room management. This is a major challenge for investigation of restaurants. A Restaurant expert witness can explain how these responsibilities affect the decisions employees make during service.
Imagine that the customer ordered drinks from the bar and was transferred to an area at a table. The bar receipt might document the initial purchase, while dining room transaction records may show subsequent orders.
However, the records may not reveal what the server at the table knew about the prior service. Combining server assignments, transaction time, management notes, and employee records will help to clarify the order. There is a distinction to be made The fact that alcohol was available for sale doesn’t necessarily suggest that employees are aware of the presence of alcohol.
Casino Investigations Can Require Different Records
The beverage offerings at casinos can be very different from those of a typical restaurant. Drinks are free, there are mobile cocktail servers, gaming-floor supervisors, and extensive security operations create additional sources of information.
A casino expert witness may review beverage staffing, surveillance footage and security reports. They may also review protocols for employee communication. If the beverages are offered in a free service, the traditional receipts for sales can be incomplete.
In those instances the investigation could rely more heavily on surveillance records, employee observations, service records, and property’s documented procedures. The expert must be able identify any shortcomings in the evidence, and not simply accept a faulty document.
Save the Evidence Prior to It is lost forever.
The preservation of documents that are time sensitive is an issue in hospitality litigation. Some surveillance systems only keep records for a specific period of time. Schedules of employees, internal communications as well as incident-related documentation could be archivalized in different departments or systems. Attorneys need to identify and archive potentially relevant records as soon as they can.
It’s dependent on the type of claim. For instance an establishment may need the records of its dining room and bar. A resort incident might require event documentation, travel arrangements, or security messages. Targeted reviews help identify what records are essential and not assume that all departments are involved.
Understanding the paperwork is easier with experience from the operational side.
Preston Rideout has worked in hospitality since 1996, with experience in bartending, nightclub management, as well as multi-unit beverage operations. Through Rideout Hospitality Consulting, established in 2010 he has advised restaurant, hotel, and resort operators in the United States and internationally.
His work as an expert witness includes matters involving restaurants, hotels resorts, casinos, and restaurants for plaintiff and defense counsel. The operational background is helpful in understanding records that might seem simple to someone who isn’t familiar with hospitality management.
A list of staffing plans, for example identifies those given the task of working. To determine if those assignments were under appropriate supervision requires knowledge of the model of service for the property and operating conditions.
A stronger case starts with Simpler Questions
Early expert review helps attorneys identify unresolved and documented issues. It will help identify documents that should be requested and also define the operational terms used in depositions.
Not every discrepancy demonstrates an operational issue and not every written policy shows that proper procedures were followed.
It is the value of an expert’s analysis that demonstrates these distinctions using established best practices in the industry and evidence. Knowing the process prior to interviewing employees in a situation can assist lawyers in preparing cases that have a more focused and credible examination.