The hotel incident report may only contain a few sentences. The report identifies the guest who caused the disturbance, names the responding employees and records the date management was notified.
This report could raise more questions for attorneys than it can be able to. Who was in charge of supervising the employees that were involved? Was surveillance footage preserved? Was the property in compliance with its procedures? Did previous interactions occur that never appeared in the report?
These questions show the need to look over business records prior witnesses testify in a lawsuit involving hospitality.
Begin with the Documents that were created During Normal Operations
Businesses in the hospitality industry keep track of schedules, guest service, training, security and management. While these records were not intended for use in litigation however, they can be useful in establishing how a property did during a particular 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 example A written policy could call for a supervisor to act to an employee’s report of an drunken guest.
The investigation should establish whether the manager was working on the incident, if the complaint was made, and in light of the evidence, what the reaction was. It is important to evaluate the actual operation than to presume that the written instructions were followed or not respected.
Restaurant Records require their own Interpretation
The employees are divided between the food service, beverage prep as well as customer service and dining room management. This creates a challenge for restaurant investigations. A Restaurant expert witness can provide an explanation of how these responsibilities influence the choices employees make during service.
Take a look at an incident that occurred in the dining area that involved an individual who had purchased alcohol at the bar prior to moving to a table. The bar receipt can be evidence of the first purchase while the table transaction records could document subsequent orders.
However, those records might not be able to determine what the table server knew about the prior service. By examining all of the data including the server’s assignments and times of transactions and management notes and employee declarations will help clarify the sequence. One important point to remember is: the evidence of alcohol consumption isn’t necessarily proof that the staff member was intoxicated.
Casino Investigations can require different forms of documentation
Casinos offer beverage services that are different than those offered by eateries. Free drinks, mobile cocktail servers, gaming floor supervisors and extensive security operations provide additional sources of data.
An expert witness at a casino can examine the assignments for staffing of beverages as well as surveillance video including security reports, employees’ communication methods. Traditional sales receipts can be insufficient when beverages are free.
In such a case, the investigation may depend on surveillance data and employee observation, service documentation, and even the documenting procedures of the property. The expert also needs to recognize shortcomings in the evidence instead of relying on an insufficient document as evidence of a specific event.
Save the Evidence Prior to It becomes unavailable
One issue that can arise when it comes to hospitality litigation is the preservation of time-sensitive records. Certain surveillance systems can only store recordings for a certain period of time. Different systems or departments may archive employee calendars, internal communication as well as incidental documentation. Attorneys should identify and save the records that may be pertinent as soon as they are able.
The scope of the investigation depends on the type of allegations. The extent of an investigation will depend on the accusations. A specific review can help determine what records are important without presuming that every department had an important function.
Making sense of paperwork is much easier when you have operational experience
Preston Rideout is a hospitality veteran with over 20 years of experience. He has held various positions in management, bartending and beverage operations for several companies. Rideout Hospitality Consulting was established in 2010 and has since provided recommendations to restaurants, hotels and resort operators across the United States.
Expert witness testimony on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants has included matters involving casinos, resorts restaurant, hotels, and casinos. That operational background is useful in the interpretation of records that seem straightforward to someone who is not familiar with hospitality management.
A staffing schedule, for example identifies those who were designated to work. The service model and the operational environment of a building is necessary to determine whether the assignments are supervised in a proper manner.
To build a stronger case and build a stronger case, you must ask better questions.
Early review by experts helps attorneys differentiate documents from unresolved issues. It helps identify documents that are worthy of requesting and help define the terms that is used in depositions.
The reason for discrepancies is not always because of an operational failure. Neither is every policy that shows the proper procedure was observed.
The value of hospitality expert analysis lies in explaining these distinctions using relevant evidence and recognized industry practices. Understanding the operation prior to questioning employees in a hospitality case can help attorneys prepare cases that have a more precise and reliable examination.