As a hotel owner your main concerns will be to provide your guests with an enjoyable and memorable stay. The last thing you want is for your guests to find themselves involved in an accident or go away with any injuries, but sometimes these things happen. Health and safety laws and regulations are in place to help you to avoid these issues, and you need to be prepared. As the hotel owner you have to follow the laws and regulations and do everything you can to protect everyone coming and going through your establishment.
Risk Assessments
Risk assessments will help you to spot any areas and actions within your hotel that could result in accidents or injuries affecting either a member of staff or one of your guests. Risk assessments will help you to spot the hazards, define the risks and come up with ways to avoid the worst scenario happening. If the risks cannot be avoided you can also use the risk assessment to decide what protection or equipment you need to have to at least limit the hazards. There are versions of risk assessments for hotel owners available from the Health and Safety Executive but as a general rule of thumb yours should include:
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The possible hazards
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The staff that could be put in danger
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The level of the risk and the precautions you can take
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Recording your risk assessment and putting together a plan of action
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Reviewing your risk assessment on a regular basis or when operations and systems change
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Sharing your risk assessment with the people who it will affect
Safety Equipment
You’ll need to ensure all of your safety equipment is available and in good condition. Fire safety is obviously a major concern and a legal requirement, so it’s essential to have everything you need such as the extinguishers, smoke and fire alarms, fire evacuation plans, signs, fire doors and other equipment that will be identified by your fire risk assessment.
Protecting the Public
Health and safety involves many different areas, including providing first aid to your employees and your guests. You will need a suitable first aid kit and a provider who is trained in what to do if someone is injured. You should also think about the different provisions that would be essential or useful for you to have in your hotel, such as wheel chairs and the K5 Evacuation Chair.
The Equality Act will have further regulations for you to follow along with the health and safety laws. A golden rule is to make your premises accessible to everyone without discrimination. While it’s not always possible to do so you at least need to bear this in mind when altering the property. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed but there is plenty of help and documentation available that will break down your required actions for you. If in doubt consider asking for a health and safety specialist to come into your hotel to help you find the errors and lack of compliance with an audit.
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