An incident report for a hotel may be a couple of paragraphs. The report identifies the guest, describes a disturbance and names the employees who responded and records the date the management was informed.
This report could raise more questions for an attorney than it will be able to be able to. Who was the supervisor of the employees who were involved in this matter? Was surveillance footage preserved? Was the property following its policies? Did the property have previous interactions that weren’t recorded in the report.
These are the reasons the reason why hospitality litigation typically requires an examination of ordinary business records prior to when witness testimony commences.
Begin with the Documents that were created During Normal Operations
Businesses that operate in the hospitality industry create records to schedule, train, guest service, security, and management. These documents were not necessarily designed for litigation, but they could be used to establish how the hotel operated in an incident.
A professional witness in hospitality may review staffing schedules and operating procedures as along with employee training documents, logs of security, and recordings from surveillance cameras to determine the responsibilities that are assigned to each person. As an example one policy may state that the manager must respond if an employee informs them of an intoxicated client.
Investigating whether or if the manager actually was working and whether or not the report had been communicated and the response supported by evidence is the objective. The objective is to assess actual actions rather than to assume that written procedures were either adhered to or not followed.
There is an need for a distinct interpretation of the restaurant’s records.
Restaurant investigations pose challenges since employees have to divide their time between the preparation of beverages, food service customers’ requests, managing the dining area. An expert witness from a restaurant can explain the impact of these roles on the choices taken by employees in service.
Think about an incident in the dining area that involved a patron who purchased alcohol at the bar prior to taking a seat. The bar receipt may be proof of the initial purchase, while the dining-room transaction records record later purchases.
But, these records may not provide a clear picture of what the table server knew about the previous service. The combination of server assignments with the transaction times, management notes, and employee declarations can help clarify the process. A distinction needs to be made that the fact that alcohol was sold does not necessarily indicate that employees have been able to detect intoxication.
Casino Investigations May require different documents
Casino beverage programs can be very different from those of the traditional restaurant. Free drinks, mobile cocktail servers, gaming floor supervisors and extensive security operations provide other sources of information.
An expert witness at a casino can review the beverage staffing assignments along with surveillance footage as well as security reports and employee communications procedures. Traditional sales receipts may give an inaccurate account if drinks are offered for free.
In this case an investigation can rely more on surveillance, employees’ observation, service records and documented procedures. Experts must identify the weaknesses of evidence rather than accepting incomplete records as proof.
Preserve the Evidence Before It is lost forever.
Conserving documents with time-sensitive information is a major concern when it comes to litigation that involves hospitality. Surveillance systems’ records can be retained for a brief time. Schedules of employees, internal communications as well as incident-related documentation could be stored in different systems or departments. Attorneys must identify any relevant documents early and take appropriate steps to preserve these records.
The appropriate scope will depend on the facts. The scope of an investigation will be contingent on the accusations. A targeted review can identify which records are important without presuming that every department was 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. Through Rideout Hospitality Consulting, established in 2010 he has advised hotel, restaurant, and resort operators in the United States and internationally.
Expert witness work for him includes matters involving restaurants, hotels resorts, casinos, and restaurants for defense and plaintiff counsel. The operational background can be useful when interpreting records that may seem simple to someone not familiar with hospitality management.
A staffing schedule is one example. It identifies the individuals who were given the task. Knowing the service model and the operational requirements of a facility is necessary to determine whether the assignments are supervised in a proper manner.
A Stronger Case Begins With More lucid questions
An early expert review will aid attorneys in distinguishing between the facts that are documented and those that remain unanswered. It could help identify which documents are worthy of requesting, or clarifying the terms used to describe depositions.
Every discrepancy is not an operational issue, and not every document proves that the appropriate procedures were followed.
The importance of experts is that they can explain the differences through evidence and recognized industry practices. Understanding the business before asking employees to answer questions in a hospitality case can help attorneys prepare cases that have a an unbiased and trustworthy examination.