Safety audits in hotels: how to pass with flying colours

In the hospitality industry, maintaining high safety standards is not just a legal requirement – it’s crucial for protecting your guests, staff, visitors and reputation. While running a hotel is already riddled with numerous daily challenges, regularly carrying out safety audits should be one of your top priorities. Not staying on top of your safety could quickly lead to complaints, damaged reputation, costly fines, legal battles, or worse – putting your guests at significant risk.

Take, for example, the recent case of a hotel in Chester, which was fined £45,000 for serious fire and safety failings. This is a harsh reminder of what can happen when the outcomes of safety inspections are not given the attention they deserve. Had the hotel been more proactive in maintaining its fire and safety standards, this outcome could have been avoided. So, how can hotel operators ensure they are fully prepared for inspections and keep their guests safe? The answer lies in getting expert assistance from a safety partner, backed by user-friendly safety management and monitoring systems.

Why safety audits matter

Safety audits are designed to identify and address potential risks within your hotel. From fire hazards, health and safety risks, food safety and general compliance with legal safety standards, audits cover a wide spectrum of safety concerns. By checking and addressing these risks before an inspection, hotels can avoid dangerous conditions, bad press and financial penalties. They are also beneficial for ensuring continual improvement and demonstrating confidence in management, which is a key aspect of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme Criteria. More importantly, these audits provide peace of mind, ensuring that every guest who walks through your doors can expect a safe and enjoyable stay.

A financial penalty is more than just a hurt pocket, it may also do irreversible damage to your business’ reputation; in an era where online reviews and word-of-mouth can make or break a hotel’s success, ensuring safety and compliance should be a top priority for every hotel operator.

How Navitas Safety can help you prepare

Navigating the world of safety audits can be daunting. That’s why we offer tailored solutions to ensure your hotel doesn’t just meet minimum legal requirements, but sets a new standard in safety.

Our comprehensive safety audit services are designed to address every aspect of hotel safety. Our approach isn’t just about ticking boxes – we aim to help hotels create a culture of safety, through coaching, that runs through every level of your operation. Here’s how we can help:

1. Comprehensive assessments

We begin with a detailed safety audit, thoroughly assessing all areas of your hotel. From kitchens to guest rooms, we cover every corner, identifying any risks that could compromise safety or lead to non-compliance. We can also carry out audits with the Night Team to cover those important high risk times of operations. Our auditors are hotel safety experts, equipped to bring the latest industry insights plus 35+ years of experience to your business. They’ll even catch things you might never have thought of and spot things you may have missed!

2. Tailored solutions

Once the audit is complete, we provide you with a digital report and tailored action plan. Every hotel is unique, and we make sure our recommendations are practical, relevant and cost-effective for your business. We don’t just highlight the problems – we offer solutions that are easy to implement, ensuring you’re always ahead of safety requirements and can prioritise key non-compliances at a glance.

3. Ongoing support

Safety is an ongoing commitment and regulations can change frequently. To ensure your hotel remains compliant in the future, we offer continuous support, including regular coaching audits or re-audits, online staff training courses, digital safety solutions and a general support service should you find you ever need our help. Our digital platform allows you to monitor your hotel’s compliance status in real-time, keeping track of improvements and providing an audit trail for when mistakes are made. 

Don’t let safety be an afterthought

Our goal is to help hotels stay ahead of the curve with tailored audit solutions, expert advice and ongoing support. You can rest assured that your hotel will not only pass audits but exceed expectations. 

Don’t wait until it’s too late – get in touch with Navitas Safety today and ensure your hotel is fully prepared for any unannounced inspections.

For more information on how we can support your hotel, visit Navitas Safety.