Health and safety is an important consideration for any workplace as it’s a high priority to keep both workers and guests safe. To run an effective hotel business, it’s important to have a hotel health and safety checklist in order to have a reference guide to perform checks quickly and efficiently. Everything from fire safety to cleaning procedures as well as training and documentation must be covered in your checks.

The following checklist isn’t comprehensive, but will allow you to identify potential risks in your hotel, so you can outline, document, and train your staff on safety policies. Make sure that there’s a plan in place for every potential workplace hazard in order to keep staff, working visitors and guests safe.

Find our hotel health and safety checklist below:

1) Documentation

2) Document and Implement Training Procedures

3) Create a Guest and Occupational Safety Committee

4) Have an Agreed Plan for Emergencies

5) Decide Housekeeping and Cleaning Operations

6) Assess Laundry Operations and Facilities

7) Food and Beverage Services and Kitchen Operations

8) Update Guest Room and Floor Safety

9) Final Point

1) Documentation

Your hotel will need a documented hotel and guest safety plan. Assign someone to be responsible for updating and maintaining the manual.

Every consideration needs to be documented with a designated safety procedure including incident reporting and incident investigation for guests and employees. Other considerations include (but aren’t limited to) bloodborne pathogens in food service and housekeeping; confined space entry reports for engineers and contractors; electrical safety reports and energy conservation programmes; an emergency action plan for fire, threat, and action response; housekeeping, service, engineering, and maintenance procedures; HVAC systems; boiler operations; lift maintenance; workplace safety; power generators; cooling maintenance; waste management; property management; and asset management.

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2) Document and Implement Training Procedures

There should be documented training in place for all hotel departments including engineering, front of house personnel, maintenance, security, housekeeping, laundry personnel, executive management, and contractors for all permanent, part time, and casual employees. There should be a description of what is done in training and manuals and training records have to be kept up to date with regards to Hazard Communication/Material Safety, Blood-borne Pathogens, Safe Lifting, Personal Protective Equipment, Security, Key Control, and any Job Specific tasks.

The hotel should decide when training will occur. Will it happen during the first week or at orientation?

If a guest loses his/her property or is injured, all hotel staff should be trained appropriately on how to deal with these situations and other liability scenarios. There should also be someone trained in first aid in each department.

All training and attendance should be documented. All documentation should be maintained and renewed regularly. There should be a protocol for how long records are maintained too.

3) Create a Guest and Occupational Safety Committee

There should be a safety/risk control committee who meets regularly. Guest and employee safety should be addressed, minutes should be written down, and Executive and Department management should be adequately represented.

The committee should discuss how they will correct deficiencies. The meetings should also review relevant industry-related risks (security updates affecting the hotel industry, for example). They should also review security logs and incident and investigation reports.

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4) Have an Agreed Plan for Emergencies

Any hotel should have a written Emergency and Disaster Response Plan. There should be a dedicated person who is responsible for maintaining and updating the plan. Any special contingencies or provisions made for evacuations relating to guests with special needs (e.g. disabled or elderly guests located on lower floors) should be in place too. Staff shouldn't be caught out in emergencies without knowing the correct procedure to keep themselves and guests safe, especially vulnerable guests.

There should be a register at all times noting guests that need staff assistance in an emergency evacuation.

The Emergency and Disaster Response Plan should include procedures for:

Aircraft Crash
Bomb or Terrorist Threat
Chemical Spill
Civil Disturbance
Death/Suicide
Earthquake/Tsunami
Elevator Failure
Emergency Response Team
Evacuation (partial and full)
Fire/Life Safety System
Fire
Flood
Hostage Situation
Cyclone/Hurricane/Weather extremes
Medical Emergencies
Power Failure
Robbery
Snow/Ice
Emergency Phone Numbers
Location of Emergency Supplies
Floor Plans
Assembly locations for guests and employees including a method of accounting for staff and communicating with guests.
Protocols for media requests relating to any of the above

Other emergency plan considerations:

All employee roles in the disaster plan should have been documented, and the employees should be trained on what to do in case of emergency.
Training and drills should be conducted.
Instructions should be provided to guests through in-room guest literature and rear-door signs and instructions.
All instructions should be clear in a number of languages.
All telephones should have a single rapid-dial button for quick response rate including in the gymnasium and swimming pool areas.
There should be a hotel-wide intercom to allow for broad-based evacuation or notification to the building occupants.
Guest rooms should have torches or flashlights with batteries in case of power failure.
Lifts should have clear signs relating to emergencies.
Telephone operators should be trained in procedures too.
There should be dedicated evacuation areas and safe rooms in and off property.

Hotels should train staff rigorously on emergency procedures. Although emergencies do not happen often, everyone should know what their role is in case of emergency. If staff are not trained on all emergency procedures, when problems arise the lack of preparation can result in bad publicity for the hotel, or compromised safety for guests and staff - or at the very worst, it could result in deaths. All telephones, torches, and other equipment should be tested regularly to ensure it's all in working order.

5) Decide Housekeeping and Cleaning Operations

Housekeeping can be difficult work involving bending, lifting, and working with hazardous materials. Safe practices must be in place to keep housekeeping and cleaning staff safe. The staff should be trained on how to keep safe too. Consider the following:

Housekeeping staff should be trained on safe lifting techniques.

All mops, buckets and other cleaning equipment should be cleaned and replaced regularly to avoid possible cross contamination,
Cigarette butts and sharp objects should be stored in separate metal containers.
There should also be syringe disposal units.
Linen, rugs, and spreads should be rolled up before putting them in the soiled laundry bundles.
Rubber gloves should be worn when handling cleaning solutions.
Housekeeping should be taught not to run their hands along objects without checking for razor blades, needles, or broken glass.
Caution signs should be used when there are wet floors.
Public toilets should be isolated when cleaning is in progress.

6) Assess Laundry Operations and Facilities

The laundry room can be hot, dangerous work for staff and it's definitely difficult lifting and bundling clothes as well as handling potentially hazardous linens. There are some necessary procedures in the safe handling of linens and the safety of the room itself to protect both workers and staff.

The laundry room should have adequate ventilation.
The dryer filter should be cleaned regularly.
There should be strict clothing and linen handling procedures to avoid contamination.
Rubber gloves should be worn at all times.
All soiled linen must be kept in a covered barrel at all times.
Dirty linen should always be separate from clean linen, and clean linen should be transported in covered containers and stored in a covered area.
Linen barrels should be lined with plastic bags at all times to avoid contamination.
Linen folding areas should be cleaned with germicide.
Washing appliances (washers, dryers, carts, etc) should be cleaned daily with germicide.

Guests may deposit harmful bodily fluids on linens, and even if bleach kills the hazards on the linens themselves, then contaminants can still be spread if the surfaces and bins aren't cleaned. Wrapping and storing linen in plastic allows for safe, contamination free linens once clean, and protecting all surfaces with germicide provides additional protection.

7) Food and Beverage Services and Kitchen Operations

Food safety is paramount in every hotel restaurant. A good hotel restaurant can generate good publicity and revenue, but if guests slam the hotel for a food poisoning case (or five) or lack of hygiene and cleanliness, you can see custom go out the window. Make sure all those who work with food are properly trained and/or sent on a food safety course. The UK Foods Standards Agency has hygiene and food safety guides and other resources.

Also as you’re constantly dealing with food and utensils and potentially customers, it’s really important to keep washing and sterilising your hands regularly to avoid possible cross contamination. Some restaurants may now require you to wear a facemask and gloves while working in your specific environment. If this is the case make sure you always follow the business guidelines around when to wear them and replace them.

Here are some quick checks to make to keep your food safe and contaminant free:

All stored food should be properly covered and refrigerated.
Kitchen storage areas should be clean, well-organised, and have adequate floor mats, and other slip-resistant methods.
Food must be stored off the floor in covered or sealed containers.
There should be a separation of meat from other foods.
“Best by” and “use by” dates should routinely be checked.
A member of staff should be responsible for checking received goods to confirm quality of daily deliveries.
Food suppliers should be required to be Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points’ accredited - or another such accreditation.
Raw foods should not be transported with ready to eat foods.
Perishable cold foods shouldn’t be transported at 5° C or below.
Hot foods should be transported at 60° C or above. Frozen foods should be transported at –15°C or below.
All meals or ingredients should be vacuum sealed for later testing.
Fridges and freezers should be fitted with temperature gauges, and temperatures should be manually recorded regularly.
Food handlers should wear protective gloves.
All food staff should be trained on appropriate hygiene and food safety measures.
Kitchen and food service employees can be subject to health screening - including blood testing.

There should be regular inspection of the kitchen and pantry to make sure

Cooked and raw foods are stored in different areas
Ready to eat food is stored wrapped
Chemicals are not stored near food
Dry goods are stored in close fitting lid containers
Storage areas are in a clean condition
Storage areas are pest proofed
Equipment /utensils are clean and each piece of equipment has been designated to a particular food

Kitchen managers should confirm that:

All kitchen and food service staff have been trained in personal hygiene on a regular basis
All frozen food is thawed under refrigeration
All food thawed in a microwave is cooked immediately
All fruit and vegetables are washed in clean water upon receiving and again prior to use
Exposure of food to room temperature is kept to a maximum of 1 hour
Internal temperature of food is a minimum of 70° C before serving
Meat and poultry products internal temperature of food is at least 80° C before serving.
When cooling food it is not left out for more than 1 hour
Bulk quantities of food is stored in small proportions
All perishable foods on display are kept at 5° C or below
All hot foods on display are stored at 60°C or above
Any price tags (bistro operations etc.) do not pierce food
All raw and ready to eat foods are displayed separately
A program is in place to clean entire food preparation and food services areas on a regular basis
All chemicals used for cleaning are safe to use around food
All equipment / utensils are cleaned after use
All bench tops are wiped after use

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Although hotel stays are at the highest this decade, a good hotel restaurant service can do wonders for hotel profits, especially in a poor economy where people do not frequent hotels as often (or opt for shared-economy apartments instead).

8) Update Guest Room and Floor Safety

Floor safety is important in a hotel since guests and staff will be moving often along different surfaces. Follow these rules for floor and guest room safety - from equipment in the room to water temperature, all hazards need to be analyzed:

Bathroom floors need to have slip-strips or alternate slip-proof surfacing.
Hand rails must be fitted on baths.
Hot water outlets should be set to a maximum of 55 degrees.
Guest should be able to modify output temperatures.
Any hairdryers placed in bathrooms should be hardwired away from locations where they cannot drop into vanity basins or baths.
Free-moving hairdryers are more dangerous.
Hairdryers should have annual electrical inspection, and be tagged following inspections.
Any room fitted with cooking equipment should have equipment checked routinely, and tagged.
Internet modems should have surge protectors for computer outlets.
Steam irons should be regularly inspected and have cut out switches.
Childproof plugs should be available upon request.
If the hotel provides high-chairs and cots they should be inspected regularly and meet safety standards.
There should be a protocol in place for how items are issued and returned.
Balconies should be structurally sound with no climb points.
Balcony furniture should be in good condition.
There should be warning signs to warn against leaving young children unattended on balconies, against maximum capacity, etc.
Veranda railings should be routinely checked and maintained.
It’s up to the hotel if room windows are operable by guests, or if drying of clothing and towels on the veranda is discouraged.

Guests can sometimes behave in unsafe ways, so it's important that safety procedures are covered to help protect guests from harm.

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There’s certainly a lot to think about when running a hotel, and considering health and safety, but it’s better to be over prepared than under prepared!

The final point on your checklist:

Ensure your hotel staff have slip-resistant safety shoes to get them home safely!

Slips and trips are the most common workplace accident, so it’s vital your staff have the safest shoes on the market. Make sure to provide them with comfortable, slip-resistant shoes with multiple safety features.

Here are some recommended styles:

Our shoes are tested to the highest ISO standards and always go above and beyond the minimum measures. We have shoes that are quite literally the highest rated in the industry, and the safest you can buy. They are long lasting and durable too. You won't find these safety features in you high-street shop.