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 staff members who responded.
An attorney’s report can cause more questions than it addresses. Who was the person who was supervising employees who were involved? Was surveillance footage preserved? Did the facility follow the rules? Do you know of any prior interactions that were not disclosed?
These questions illustrate why it is important to look over business records prior to testimony of witnesses in hospitality litigation.
Begin by reviewing the documents that were created in normal operations
The records are maintained by hospitality businesses to plan guest services, training for staff and security, management and more. These documents were not necessarily intended for litigation however they may be used to prove the operation of the establishment during an incident.
A hospitality expert witness will look at the staffing schedules as well operating procedures, documents for employee training Security logs, security records and surveillance recordings to know what duties are delegated to what employees. For instance an established policy could oblige a manager to take action when an employee has a complaint about an drunken guest.
The investigation should establish if the manager worked on the incident, if the complaint was sent, and in light of the evidence, what the response was. It is much more important to look at actual actions as opposed to assuming that the written instructions were followed or not observed.
Restaurant Records Must Have Their Own Interpretation
The employees are split into the catering, beverage prep customer demands and dining-room management. This presents a problem for investigation of restaurants. A Restaurant expert witness can discuss how these responsibilities impact the choices that employees make in service.
Think about a dining-room incident that involves the customer who purchased alcohol at the bar before making the move to a table. The bar receipt can be proof of the initial purchase, while the records of dining-room transactions record later purchases.
However, the records may not provide a clear picture of the information that the table server had about the earlier service. By examining all of the data such as servers assigned and transaction times together with the management’s notes and employee declarations can help to understand the sequence. There is a distinction to be made: the fact that alcohol was available for sale doesn’t necessarily indicate that employees have been able to detect the presence of alcohol.
Casino Investigations Can Require Different Records
The beverage offerings at casinos can be significantly different from those offered by a typical restaurant. Complimentary drinks, mobile cocktail servers, gaming-floor supervisors, and extensive security procedures create other sources of information.
A casino expert witness may look into beverage staffing, security reports and surveillance footage. They could also examine processes for employee communication. The typical sales receipt might not be accurate when complimentary drinks are involved.
In these circumstances the investigation might rely more heavily on surveillance records, employee observations, service documentation, and even the procedure for the property’s documentation. Experts should be aware of the weaknesses of evidence instead of relying on incomplete records as evidence.
Conserve the Evidence before It Becomes Unavailable
The preservation of documents that are time sensitive is an important concern in the context of litigation that involves hospitality. Records from surveillance systems may be retained for a brief duration. Information about employee schedules, internal communications and other information as well as incident documentation can be stored by different departments or systems. Attorneys must identify pertinent documents and implement the appropriate measures early.
The required scope is determined by the accusations. Restaurant claims may need bar and dining-room records and a resort-related incident could need documentation for the event, transportation arrangements, and security communications. A focused review will help identify the records that are pertinent without taking for granted that every department played an important role.
Operational Experience Aids in Explaining the Paperwork
Preston Rideout has worked in hospitality since 1996, with experience in bartending, nightclub management, and multi-unit beverage operations. Rideout Hospitality Consulting was established in 2010 and has provided recommendations to restaurants, hotels and resort operators throughout the United States.
He has served as an expert witness in a variety of cases involving resorts, hotels, casinos as well as restaurants for the defense and plaintiffs. This operational background can be helpful in interpreting documents that might appear simple to someone unfamiliar with hospitality management.
A schedule of staffing is a good example. It lists the employees who were given the task of working. To determine if those assignments were under appropriate supervision requires knowledge of the model of service for the property and operating conditions.
Clearness in your questions is the first step to a stronger argument
A quick review by an expert will aid attorneys in distinguishing between evidence-based facts and questions that remain unanswered. It may help identify which documents merit requesting or clarifying the terminology employed in depositions.
Not every discrepancy demonstrates an operational flaw or a lack of document proves that the appropriate procedures were observed.
An expert analysis of hospitality is valuable when it can explain these distinctions based on 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 business prior to questioning its employees can result in a more focused, credible investigation of what actually happened.
