An incident report for a hotel may contain only a few paragraphs. It includes the name of the guest, a description of the incident, and the names of the personnel who attended to the incident.
An attorney’s report may cause more questions than it can answer. Who was the person in charge of the employees in this incident? Was surveillance footage preserved? The facility was following its own policies. Are there any interactions that occurred prior to the property which were not reported?
These issues illustrate why hospitality litigation usually demands an examination of normal documents of business before witness testimony begins.
Begin with the documents that were created in normal operation
The records are maintained by hospitality firms to record scheduling, guest services, training of staff and security management and much more. While these records were not created to be used in litigation but they can be helpful in establishing how a property did during a particular incident.
A Hospitality expert witness can study staffing plans, operating procedures, employee education files, security logs, and surveillance recordings to learn the responsibilities assigned to different personnel. As an example the policy could say that the manager has to react when an employee notifies them of a drunk client.
The investigation should establish whether the manager was involved or if the report was sent, and from the evidence what the manager’s response was. It is much more important to examine the actual performance of the operation rather as opposed to assuming that written instructions were adhered to or not followed.
Restaurant records require their own Interpretation
Restaurant investigations are challenging since employees must split their time between food preparation, serving customers, and managing the dining area. An expert witness for Restaurants will explain how these duties influence the decisions that employees make when they serve.
Think about a dining-room incident that involves an individual who had ordered drinks at the bar, before moving to a table. The bar receipt could document the purchase made at the bar, while restaurant transaction records might document subsequent orders.
However, those records might not establish what the server at the table knew about the earlier service. Combining the server assignments, transaction time, management notes, and employee records could help in determining the sequence. It is essential to keep distinctions: simply because alcohol was consumed doesn’t mean staff noticed intoxication.
Casino Investigations may require different forms of documentation
Casinos offer beverage services which are distinct from the ones offered by eateries. Other sources of information are complimentary drinks serving mobile cocktails, mobile cocktail servers as well as gaming floor supervisors.
A Casino expert witness may review beverage staffing assignments, surveillance footage, security reports, and procedures governing employee communication. If beverages are offered in a free service, traditional sales receipts may be insufficient.
In such circumstances an investigation can be heavily based on the surveillance, employee observation and service records as well as the documented procedures of the facility. The expert also needs to recognize limitations in the evidence rather than relying on an uncomplete document as evidence of a particular event.
You should keep the evidence up to the point that it is no longer available
Preserving time-sensitive documents is an important concern in litigation which involves hospitality. Certain surveillance systems only preserve records for a specific period of time. Employee schedules, internal communications, and incident records may be kept in different systems or departments. Attorneys must identify pertinent documents and implement the appropriate steps early.
It depends on what the claim is. The extent of an investigation will be contingent on the allegations. A targeted review helps establish the relevant records without presuming that every department had an important part.
Understanding the paperwork is easier with experience from the operational side.
Preston Rideout, a hospitality professional since 1996, has experience in the management of nightclubs and bartending and multi-unit beverage operations. Rideout Hospitality Consulting is a company he created in 2010. He has advised on resort, restaurant and hotel operators across the United States.
He has been an expert witness in cases involving resorts, hotels, casinos and restaurants for both the defense and plaintiffs. It’s beneficial to have an understanding of hospitality management when interpreting documents that appear simple to those who aren’t familiar with the industry.
Staffing schedules, for example to identify who has been assigned to work. The service model and the operational environment of a building is vital to determine if these assignments provide appropriate supervision.
To help build a stronger case Ask more pertinent questions
Early expert review helps attorneys identify unresolved and documented problems. It can help determine which records are worthy of requesting and help define the operational terms used in depositions.
Each discrepancy does not indicate an operational failure however, not every written policy shows that proper procedures were adhered to.
A professional analysis of hospitality is valuable in demonstrating the distinctions with relevant evidence and practices that are widely accepted by the industry. Attorneys who are preparing for a hospitality lawsuit can benefit from understanding the business and its staff prior to examining them. This will permit an in-depth analysis of what transpired.