A hotel incident report may be a couple of paragraphs. It is a record of the guest’s name and describes the disturbance and identifies the staff who responded and details the time the management was informed.
The report may raise multiple questions to an attorney. Who was the manager of the employees that were implicated in this matter? Was surveillance footage preserved? Was the property following its rules? Did the property have previous interactions that weren’t recorded in the report.
These questions demonstrate the reasons why it is sometimes necessary to look over business records prior a witness testifies in a hospitality lawsuit.
Begin With the Documents Produced during normal operations
Hotels create documents for scheduling, training guests service, scheduling and administration. Although they weren’t made to aid in legal proceedings, they may help determine the way a property operated during an incident.
A Hospitality expert witness may examine staffing schedules, operating procedures, employee training files, security logs, and surveillance recordings to understand the responsibilities assigned to different personnel. For example A written policy could oblige a manager to take action to an employee’s report of an drunken guest.
The investigation should establish whether the manager was actually working, whether the report was shared, and the responses were provided in the evidence. Instead of assuming that procedures were not followed or not it is important to assess how the actual operation actually took place.
There is the need for a different interpretation of the restaurant records
Restaurant investigations can be difficult due to the fact that employees have to divide their time between food preparation serving customers, as well as overseeing the dining room. A Restaurant expert witness can discuss how these responsibilities affect the decisions employees make when they serve.
Take a look at a dining-room situation involving a customer who ordered alcohol at the bar, before moving to a table. The bar receipt can be proof of the initial order, while the dining room records will document the orders that were later placed.
However, these documents may not provide proof of what the tableserver was aware of about the previous service. Combining the server assignment with the transaction times, management notes, and employee records could help in determining the sequence. A key distinction is that the evidence of alcohol consumption does not necessarily mean that staff recognized intoxication.
Casino Investigations may require different forms of documentation
The beverage offerings at casinos can be quite different from the ones of a typical restaurant. The additional drinks that are complimentary, cocktail servers at the casino floor and security personnel are all sources of additional information.
A Casino expert witness may review beverage staffing assignments, security reports, surveillance footage, and procedures governing employee communication. The traditional sales receipt may not be accurate when complimentary beverages are being served.
In those instances, the investigation may depend on surveillance data, employee observations, service records, and process of the property’s documents. Experts must identify the limitations of evidence, instead of relying on incomplete records as evidence.
Save the evidence before it becomes unavailable
The preservation of records that are sensitive is a real concern in hospitality litigation. The records from surveillance systems could be saved for a specific duration. Information regarding employee schedules and internal communications as well as incident records may be kept by different departments or even systems. Attorneys must identify and preserve potentially relevant records as soon as is possible.
It’s dependent on the nature of the claim. For example the restaurant might require bar and dining room records. An incident at a resort could require event documentation, travel arrangements, or security communications. A focused review will help identify what records are important without assuming every department played any part.
The Paperwork is a result of operational experience
Preston Rideout has worked in hospitality since 1996, with prior experience in bartending, nightclub management, and multi-unit drinks operations. Rideout Hospitality Consulting is a company he created in the year 2010. He has advised restaurants, resorts and hotel owners across the United States.
He has been an expert witness in a variety of cases involving resorts, hotels, casinos and restaurants, for both plaintiffs’ and defense counsel. It’s useful to have a background in hospitality management when interpreting documents that seem straightforward to those who aren’t familiar with the business.
A staffing schedule includes, for instance, the people who were designated to work. To determine if these assignments were appropriate it is necessary to understand the model of service for the property and its operating conditions.
A more convincing case begins with More lucid questions
A quick review by an expert will help lawyers distinguish the documented facts from unresolved issues. It helps identify documents that are worthy of requesting and help clarify the operational terminology that is used in depositions.
Every discrepancy is not an operational error, and not every written policy proves that appropriate procedures were observed.
It is the importance of an expert’s assessment that shows the distinctions made by utilizing established business practices and pertinent evidence. Attorneys who are preparing for a hospitality lawsuit could benefit from understanding the operations and their employees before interviewing them. This allows for an in-depth examination of what happened.