An incident report for a hotel may contain only a few paragraphs. The report will contain the name of the guest, a description of the incident, and the names of the responding staff.
For attorneys, this report could be more complicated than it provides answers. Who was the person in charge of the employees in this matter? Was surveillance footage preserved? Did the facility follow its policies? Was the property involved in earlier interactions that weren’t recorded in the report.
These questions illustrate the need to examine business records before a witness testifies in a lawsuit regarding hospitality.
Begin by reviewing the documents that were created during normal operation
Businesses in the hospitality industry keep track of schedules, guest service security, training, and management. Even though these documents weren’t made to aid in legal proceedings, they may help determine the way a property operated in the event of a specific incident.
A professional witness in hospitality could review the staffing schedules and operating procedures as in addition to employee training files and logs of security as well as recordings from surveillance cameras to determine the duties that are assigned to each employee. For instance A written policy could have a manager respond when an employee reports an drunken guest.
Investigating whether or if the manager actually was working in the workplace, whether or not the report had been communicated and the response supported by evidence should be the goal. It is important to examine the actual performance of the operation rather as opposed to assuming that the written instructions were followed or not respected.
Restaurant Records Must Have Their Own Interpretation
Investigations in restaurants are difficult because restaurant employees are required to split their time between cooking food and serving customers as well as managing the dining area. A restaurant expert witness is able to clarify the impact of these responsibilities on decisions taken by employees in service.
Imagine a situation in which a client ordered alcohol from the bar and then transferred to an area at a table. The bar receipt will confirm the initial order while dining-room records will show the more recent orders.
However, these records may not provide proof of what the tableserver was aware of about the earlier service. Looking at all the data together such as server assignments and time-of-transactions and management notes and statements from employees could help in determining the process. It is important to make an important distinction: the fact that alcohol was purchased doesn’t mean the employees noticed that they were drunk.
Casino Investigations Might require a different set of records
Casino beverage programs can be significantly different from those offered by the typical restaurant. Other sources of information are complimentary drinks cocktails, mobile servers for drinks and gaming floor supervisors.
A Casino expert witness may review beverage staffing assignments, surveillance footage, security reports, and procedures governing employee communication. When beverages are provided in a free service, traditional sales receipts can be not complete.
In those circumstances the investigation might rely on surveillance data or employee reports, service records, and process of the property’s documents. Experts must be aware of the limitations of evidence, rather than accepting incomplete records as proof.
Make sure you keep the evidence until it’s no more available
The preservation of documents that are sensitive is a practical concern for litigation involving hospitality. Certain surveillance systems only preserve the records for a set amount of time. Different departments or systems could store employee calendars, internal communications, and incident documents. Attorneys need to identify and archive the records that may be pertinent as soon as is possible.
The scope of the investigation varies on the type of accusations. A restaurant claim may require documentation for dining and bar areas, while a resort incident may require event documentation transport arrangements, as well as security communications. A specific audit helps determine which records are relevant without presuming that every department had an important role.
The Paperwork is a Product of operational experience
Preston Rideout is a hospitality veteran with more than twenty years of experience. He has held roles in management, bartending, and beverage operations across multiple divisions. Rideout Hospitality Consulting is a company he created in the year 2010. He has advised the resort, restaurant and hotel owners across the United States.
He has served as an expert witness in cases involving hotels, casinos, resorts and restaurants for both the plaintiffs and defense counsel. This knowledge of operations is beneficial when interpreting documents that could seem easy to a person who is not familiar with hospitality management.
A staffing schedule is a good example. It lists the employees who were given the task of working. Knowing the service model and the operational environment of a building is necessary to determine whether the assignments are supervised in a proper manner.
A more convincing case begins with Clearer Questions
An early expert review will help lawyers distinguish the evidence-based facts from issues that remain unresolved. It can help identify other records worth requesting, help clarify the terms used in depositions and establish which employee decisions require more scrutiny.
There are many reasons why discrepancies may not be indicative of a failure in operation. Not every policy that proves the correct procedure was adhered to.
It is the significance of an expert’s analysis which demonstrates these distinctions using accepted business practices and pertinent evidence. For attorneys preparing the case for a hospitality client, understanding the company prior to questioning its employees can lead to more precise, reliable investigation of what actually happened.