The incident report for a hotel may comprise only a few sentences. It describes the guest, describes a disturbance, names the responding employees and details the time the management was informed.
The investigation could bring up multiple issues to an attorney. Who was the manager of the employees that were implicated in this matter? Was surveillance footage preserved? Did the facility follow its procedures? Are there any previous interactions that weren’t recorded in the reports?
These are the reasons why hospitality litigation usually requires an examination of ordinary business records before witness testimony begins.
Begin by examining the documents made in normal operation
Businesses that operate in the hospitality industry create records to schedule, train, guest service, security, and administration. Even though the documents were not intended to be used in litigation They are helpful for understanding how a business performed during a specific incident.
A Hospitality expert witness may review staffing schedules and operating procedures, employee education documents, security logs and surveillance recordings to understand the duties assigned to different personnel. For example the written policy may require a manager to respond when an employee reports an drunken guest.
The investigation must determine if the manager was in fact working on the report, if it was shared, and the response was provided by the evidence. The goal is to analyze actual operations rather than assume that written procedures were either followed or ignored.
The interpretation of restaurant records may be different
The employees are divided between the food service, beverage prep customer demands and dining-room management. This presents a problem for investigation into restaurant operations. An expert witness in the restaurant industry can help show how decisions made by employees affect their decisions based on these responsibilities.
Imagine a situation in which the client purchased alcohol at the bar, and later moved to a table. The bar receipt may document the initial purchase, while restaurant transaction records might record subsequent purchases.
However, those records might not establish the information that the table server had about the prior service. Reviewing all the data, such as the server’s assignments and times of transactions, along with management notes and statements from employees will help clarify the process. An important distinction remains: the evidence of alcohol consumption isn’t necessarily proof that employees were aware of intoxication.
Casino Investigations May Require Different Records
The beverage offerings at casinos can be quite different from the ones of a traditional restaurant. The addition of complimentary drinks, cocktail servers at the casino floor, and security personnel are all sources of additional information.
A Casino expert witness may review beverage staffing assignments, surveillance footage, security reports, and procedures governing employee communication. The traditional sales receipt may not be valid in the event of complimentary beverages.
In these circumstances, an investigation might depend on surveillance records, employee observations and service records, as well as the procedures documented by the facility. Experts must be aware of the limitations of evidence, rather than relying on insufficient data as proof.
Make sure you keep the evidence until it’s no more available
One practical concern in the hospitality litigation field is the protection of time-sensitive records. Certain surveillance systems only preserve records for a specific period of time. The details about employee schedules and internal communication and incident documents are stored by different departments or by different systems. Attorneys must identify any relevant documents early and take appropriate steps to preserve these records.
The extent of the investigation is contingent on the nature of the accusations. The extent of an investigation will be contingent on the accusations. It is possible to find relevant records through an in-depth review without having to assume that all departments were involved.
The Paperwork is a Product of operational experience
Preston Rideout, a hospitality professional since 1996, has extensive experience in nightclub management and bartending as well as multi-unit drinks operations. Rideout Hospitality Consulting is a company he founded in 2010. He has provided advice to the resort, restaurant and hotel owners across the United States.
His expert witness work involves matters involving restaurants, hotels resorts, casinos, and resorts for plaintiff and defense counsel. That operational background is useful when interpreting records that may seem simple to someone not familiar with the management of hospitality.
Staffing schedules, like, identify who has been assigned to work. To determine if those assignments were under the proper supervision requires understanding of the model of service for the property and operational conditions.
To create a stronger argument and build a stronger case, you must ask better questions.
Early expert review assists attorneys identify unresolved and documented problems. It could help uncover additional documents that are worth seeking, clarify the the terms used in depositions and determine which employee actions need closer scrutiny.
Not every discrepancy demonstrates an operational flaw and not every written policy shows that proper procedures were observed.
A professional analysis of hospitality is valuable when it can explain these distinctions based on relevant evidence and well-known practices. Attorneys preparing for a hospitality lawsuit can benefit from a thorough understanding of the company and its employees prior to interviewing them. This will enable an in-depth analysis of what transpired.