does a hotel need to have staff in the building 24 / 7 while guests are staying there?

[mnovember]

does a hotel need to legally have staff in the building 24 / 7 while guests are staying there?

[jackthehat]

Yes.

[craft1948]

The hotel in Bath which I used to stay at didn't................

[mnovember]

legally tho? is it a health n safety issue or?

[mrs_overall]

I think there are different rules depending on the number of guests that can be accommodated.
I know a few small B&B's (9 or less guests) where no staff have been on the premises overnight

[jackthehat]

There are several issues..........not least H&S.

In the event of a fire, there should be a member of staff able to provide the emergency services with the guest-register in order for the Fire Officer to determine whether guests are trapped, etc.........

[mnovember]

obv i know the moral reasons they are obvious but are they legal requirements? is there somewhere where it is written officially? i have googled and googled

[Buenchico]

There's no legal definition of an 'hotel' in this country, so there are no separate rules for 'hotels' than there are for other types of holiday accommodation, such as the chalets at Center Parcs, B&Bs, or self-catering accommodation. i.e. nobody has ever created a law which SPECIFICALLY states that an hotel must have staff permanently on duty. (Many small hotels/guesthouses/b&bs are run by just one person. It would be ridiculous to state that they could never go shopping or visit the pub if a guest was present in their property!).

All that applies is the same general 'duty of care' that applies whenever someone provides good or services. As long as, for example, they've installed and maintained adequate fire alarms, together with ensuring that all fire exits are clearly lit, signed and freely accessible, they will have discharged their duty in respect of fire safety.

Chris

[mrs_overall]

I've just rung a hotel friend and she has reminded me of a local guesthouse that has no staff accommodation and rarely has any staf on the premises!

[jackthehat]

I obviously inserted something into the question which on another read-through isn't there.........:o(

No, there is no legal obligation for a hotel to have someone present 24/7 whilst guests are in the property.
However, failure to have a night-manager can leave a hotel open to prosecution in the event of injury or fatality in a fire..........

[Eve]

It may not be illegal but seems very risky to me. How could you make sure that the building was kept safe and secure and you don't open yourself up to all kinds of liabilty?

I'd also check your insurance and see what that might stipulate or if you could find yourself invalidating potential claims eg thefts/fires/floods overnight which could have been avoided or nowhere near as serious if staff were on hand.

[Maydup]

In the past, when a hotel needed a Fire Certificate, the Fire Officer would most likely have insited on there being someone there at night to supervise an evacuation.

Now the Fire plan is written as a set of Risk Assessmnets and these describe the evacuation procedure. There is no legal requirement to have someone there,. but there is a legal requirement to have an evacuation procedure and a set of Fire Risk Assessments.

If no staff are there at night then who would run an evacuation? I suppose one of the guests could to be appointed as Fire Marshall but its a bit extreme!

[Maydup]

...and remembering the question was "Does a Hotel need to have staff in the building 24/7"

Which in my mind is slightly differnt to a Guest House or a B&B where people are in a building reasonably similar to a domestic house. An Hotel on the other hand is likely to have corridors, kitchens, and multiple escape routes - all higher risk siuations.

[protectu]

I believe it is down to the Fire Risk Assessor to stipulate the requirements. It would depend on the risks posed by the building, size, ignition sources, number of floors, fire safety management and the complexity of the escape route.