The incident report for a hotel may comprise only a few sentences. The report details the guests, describes the incident, identifies the employees who responded, and also records when management was notified.
This report could raise more questions for attorneys than it can answer. Who was in charge of supervising the employees involved? Was surveillance footage preserved? Did the property follow the rules? Did the property experience any prior interactions that weren’t included in the report.
These questions show why it is crucial to examine ordinary business records prior to testimony of witnesses in hospitality litigation.
Begin with the documents that are created in normal operation
Records are kept by hospitality companies for scheduling, guest services, training for staff and security management and many more. These records weren’t necessarily designed for litigation, but they could be used to establish the operation of the establishment during an incident.
A Hospitality expert witness can examine staffing schedules, operating procedures, employee education documents, security logs and surveillance recordings to learn the duties assigned to different personnel. As an example, an official policy might stipulate that the manager should respond when an employee reports an intoxicated client.
Investigating whether or if the manager actually worked, whether or not the report had been communicated and the responses confirmed by the evidence should be the goal. Instead of concluding that the procedures were adhered to or not, the goal is to evaluate how actual operations actually took place.
The interpretation of restaurant records is different
The employees are split between the food service, beverage prep as well as customer service and dining room management. This is a major challenge for restaurant investigations. An expert witness from the restaurant can explain how these responsibilities influence the decisions that employees make during service.
Think about a dining-room incident that involves a customer who ordered alcohol at the bar before taking a seat at a table. The bar receipt may document the initial purchase, while restaurant transaction records might reveal subsequent purchases.
But, these records might not be able to prove the information that the tableserver had about the prior service. Combining the server assignments the time of transactions, managerial notes, and employee records could help in determining the sequence. It is important to recognize a distinction: the fact that alcohol was purchased doesn’t mean the employees noticed that they were drunk.
Casino Investigations can require different forms of documentation
Casinos offer beverage services that differ significantly from standard restaurant service. The inclusion of complimentary drinks and cocktail servers on the gaming floor, and security personnel are all sources of additional information.
An expert witness from a casino can review beverage staffing assignments, security reports, surveillance footage, and procedures governing employee communication. If the beverages are offered as a complimentary service the receipts from sales traditionally are insufficient.
In those circumstances the investigation could rely on surveillance data, employee observations, service records, and process of the property’s documents. Experts must be aware of the limitations of evidence, instead of relying on incomplete records as evidence.
Keep the Evidence in place before it Becomes Unavailable
One practical concern when it comes to hospitality litigation is the preservation of time-sensitive records. Surveillance systems could keep recordings for short periods. Information about employee schedules, internal communications and other information and incident documents are stored by different departments or by different systems. Attorneys need to identify relevant records in the early stages and take the necessary steps to safeguard them.
The required scope is determined by the allegations. Restaurant claims may need bar and dining-room records, while a resort incident could need documentation for the event as well as transportation arrangements and security communications. You can determine relevant records through an in-depth review without being able to conclude that every department was involved.
Making sense of paperwork is much easier with experience from the operational side.
Preston Rideout has worked in hospitality since 1996, with experience in bartending, nightclub management, and multi-unit beverage operations. Through Rideout Hospitality Consulting, established in 2010 by Preston Rideout, he has provided advice to hotel, restaurant, and resort owners in the United States and internationally.
His expert witness work includes matters involving restaurants, hotels, resorts, and casinos for defense and plaintiff attorneys. This operational background can be helpful when interpreting records that may appear simple to someone unfamiliar with the management of hospitality.
A staffing plan, for instance, identifies the employees given the task. Understanding the model of service and operating conditions of the property is essential to know if these assignments offer adequate supervision.
Clarity in questions is the initial step to an argument that is stronger
An early expert review can help attorneys differentiate between unresolved and documented problems. It can help identify other records worth requesting, clarify the terms used in depositions and establish which employee decisions require more scrutiny.
Each discrepancy does not indicate an operational issue however, not every written policy shows that proper procedures were observed.
The importance of expert analysis is to explain the differences through evidence and recognized industry practices. Attorneys preparing for a hospitality lawsuit can benefit from a thorough understanding of the operations and their employees before interviewing them. This allows for an unbiased review of the events that occurred.
