A hotel incident report could be a couple of paragraphs. It describes the guest who caused the disturbance that occurred, names the respondent employees and details the time the management was informed.
An attorney’s report might raise more questions than it answers. Who was the supervisor of the employees involved in this case? Was surveillance footage preserved? The facility adhered to its own rules. Did the property have earlier interactions that were not recorded in the report.
These questions illustrate why it is crucial to examine ordinary business records prior to testimony of witnesses in litigation involving hospitality.
Start by looking through the documents that were created in normal business operations.
Hotels create documents for training, scheduling guests service, scheduling, and administration. Although these records were not created to be used in court They are helpful for understanding how a business performed during a specific 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 instance the policy could stipulate that the manager should react when an employee reports an intoxicated client.
The investigation must determine if the manager was in fact working, whether the report was distributed, and what responses were provided in the evidence. Instead of assuming that procedures were observed or not, the goal is to determine what actual actions were actually carried out.
Restaurant records require their own Interpretation
Restaurant investigations pose challenges since employees have to divide their time between food service, beverage preparation, customer requests, and the management of dining rooms. An expert witness from the restaurant industry could help show how decisions made by employees are affected by these responsibilities.
Take a look at a dining-room situation involving customers who have ordered alcohol at the bar prior to making the move to a table. The bar receipt may document the initial purchase, whereas the table transaction records could record subsequent purchases.
However, the records may not establish what the table server knew about the earlier service. Examining all the information together, such as server assignments and transaction times, along with management notes and employee statement will help clarify the process. A distinction needs to be made when it comes to alcohol: the fact that it was sold does not necessarily indicate that employees were aware of intoxication.
Casino Investigations may require different records
Casino beverage programs are quite different from the ones of a typical restaurant. Drinks are free, there are mobile cocktail servers, gaming floor supervisors as well as extensive security operations are further sources of information.
A casino expert witness can review beverage staffing, security footage and surveillance. They can also look over the procedures for employee communications. If beverages are offered as a complimentary benefit, the traditional receipts for sales can be inadequate.
In these circumstances, the investigation could rely on surveillance, employee observation service records, and other documented procedures. The expert must also be able identify any limitations in the evidence and not just accept an incomplete report.
You should keep the evidence up to the point that it is no longer available
The preservation of documents that are sensitive is an issue for hospitality litigation. Some surveillance systems only keep records for a specific period of time. Different departments or systems could archive employee calendars, internal communications and incidental documents. Attorneys should identify potentially relevant records earlier and take the necessary steps to secure the records.
It depends on the nature of the claim. The extent of an investigation will be contingent on the accusations. You can determine relevant records by conducting an examination that is targeted, without needing to presume that every department was involved.
Operations Experience Helps Explain the Paperwork
Preston Rideout is a hospitality veteran with over twenty years of experience. He has held various positions in management, bartending and beverage operations across multiple divisions. Rideout Hospitality Consulting was established in 2010 and has since provided recommendations to restaurants, hotels and resort operators throughout the United States.
He has been an expert witness in the case of resorts, hotels, casinos as well as restaurants for plaintiffs’ and defense counsel. This knowledge of operations is useful in interpreting records which may seem straightforward to someone who is not familiar with hospitality management.
Staffing schedules, for example determine who was assigned to work. To determine if the assignments were proper it is necessary to understand the model of service for the property and its operating conditions.
Clarity in the questions is the first step in a stronger argument
A quick review by an expert can help attorneys distinguish documents from unresolved issues. It may also help identify what documents are worthy of requesting, or defining the terms that is used in depositions.
The reason for discrepancies is not always because of an operational issue. Neither is every policy that shows the proper procedure was observed.
The value of hospitality expert analysis lies in explaining those distinctions through relevant evidence and accepted industry practices. Knowing the process prior to conducting an investigation into employees in a hotel case can help attorneys prepare a case with a more focused and credible examination.