The incident report for a hotel may just be a few paragraphs. The report identifies the guest who caused the disturbance and identifies the staff who responded, and records the time management was notified.
The report is likely to raise more questions for an attorney than it could solve. Who was in charge of supervising these employees? Was surveillance footage preserved? Did the property adhere to its prescribed procedures? Were there earlier interactions that never appeared in the report?
These are the reasons why hospitality litigation usually necessitates an examination of standard business records prior to when witness testimony commences.
Begin by looking over the documents that were produced during normal operations.
Companies in the hospitality sector maintain records of scheduling, guest service, training, security and management. Although these records were not designed to be used in court however, they can be useful in establishing how a property performed in the event of a specific incident.
An expert witness in Hospitality may look over staffing schedules, operating procedures, employee training documents, security logs and surveillance records to comprehend the duties assigned to different employees. For instance the policy could specify that the supervisor must respond if an employee reports an intoxicated client.
Investigating whether or not the manager was actually working on the report, whether or no report was properly communicated and the reaction confirmed by the evidence should be the goal. It is more important to look at actual actions than to presume that written directives were followed or not followed.
There is a need for a separate analysis of the restaurant’s registers
The employees are split into the food service, beverage preparation as well as customer service and dining room management. This creates a challenge for investigation of restaurants. An expert witness from the restaurant industry can show how decisions made by employees affect their decisions based on these responsibilities.
Imagine a dining room incident that involved the customer who purchased alcohol at the bar, before making the move to a table. The bar receipt may document the initial purchase, whereas the table transaction records could record subsequent purchases.
However, these records might not establish the information that the table server had about the previous service. The combination of server assignments the time of transactions, managerial notes and employee statements can clarify the sequence. A key distinction is that the evidence of alcohol consumption isn’t necessarily proof that employees were aware of intoxication.
Casino Investigations may require different records
Casinos have drink programs that are different than the ones that are offered by restaurants. Other sources of information are free drinks serving mobile cocktails, mobile cocktail servers as well as gaming-floor supervisors.
A Casino expert witness can look over beverage staffing assignments security footage, surveillance reports and employee communications. Traditional sales receipts could not provide a complete account when beverages are complimentary.
In these circumstances the investigation could rely more heavily on surveillance records employees’ observations, employee records, and property’s documented procedures. The expert must also identify weaknesses in the evidence, instead of relying on an insufficient record as proof of a specific event.
You should keep the evidence up to the point that it’s no longer accessible
The preservation of documents that are time sensitive is an important concern in the context of litigation that involves hospitality. Recordings from surveillance systems can be retained for a brief period of time. Schedules of employees, internal communications as well as incident-related documentation could be archivalized in different departments or in different systems. Attorneys should identify potentially relevant records early and take the necessary steps to secure these records.
It’s all about what the claim is. Restaurant claims may need documents for the dining room and bar, while a resort incident could involve event documentation as well as transportation arrangements and security communications. It is possible to locate relevant documents by performing an investigation that is specific, not having to assume that all departments were involved.
Operational Experience helps explain the Paperwork
Preston Rideout has worked in hospitality since 1996, with experience in bartending, nightclub management, and multi-unit beverage operations. Rideout Hospitality Consulting is a business he started in 2010. He has advised on resort, restaurant and hotel owners across the United States.
His work as an expert witness includes issues involving hotels, restaurants resorts, casinos, and restaurants for plaintiff and defense counsel. This knowledge of operations is helpful in understanding records that might seem simple to someone who is not familiar with hospitality management.
A staffing schedule For instance, it identifies who was assigned to work. Knowing the service model and operational conditions of a property is essential to know if these assignments will provide the appropriate supervision.
The ability to clearly state the issue is the first step towards stronger arguments
An early review by an expert can help attorneys to distinguish between evidence-based facts and questions that remain unanswered. It may help identify which documents are worthy of requesting, or clarifying the terminology used to describe depositions.
Some discrepancies are not indicative of an operational failure. Not every policy that proves that the correct procedures were observed.
The analysis of a professional in the field of hospitality is useful when it can explain the distinctions with relevant evidence and practices that are widely accepted by the industry. In the case of attorneys who are working on cases involving hospitality, understanding the operation before questioning its employees could lead to a more specific, convincing analysis of what actually transpired.