Hotel Horror- How Can Insurance Protect You?

 

It’s the time of year where danger is lurking around the corner, and as a hotel it is important to avoid danger to your property all year-round. A successful hotel accommodates a range of people and can get very busy. With the presence of bustling guests, suppliers and staff there is a higher risk of accidents occurring. This means that you need a good hotel insurance policy that will protect you if you face a compensation claim from a guest. For example, theft or injury on the premises. Additionally, damage to the building means that you may have to temporarily close your doors with no income. Read on to learn about all the necessary business insurances a hotel should have secured under its belt.

What types of insurance does a hotel need?

It is important to evaluate the risks involved in your business based on the scale of your hotel. This can include the size, number of rooms and guest capacity. Depending on these facts, you can determine how much cover you will need in your insurance policy. Here are some popular policies you should be insured in and consequences if you aren’t:

1. Business Buildings and Contents Insurance: This protects your hotel from damage if it were to suffer from a flood, fire and burglary. Any building is susceptible to these infortunes so it is important to have the right amount of cover.
2. Business Interruption Cover: This insures your hotel when it is forced into closure. Usually damages that create an unsafe environment for workers and guests has to close its doors.
3. Public Liability Insurance: Protects you against compensation claims made by a member of the public. This could be due to injury or damage to their personal items that they blame on your business. For example, if a hotel guest trips on your lobby floor because it’s wet from the cleaning and there’s no warning sign.
4. Employers’ Liability Insurance: This will protect you against employee compensation claims. This is a legal requirement for any business that employs staff. You may face hefty fines if you don’t have a suitable policy in place. It covers claims made against you by an employee for injury or illness that’s due to their work. This insurance is a must for any employer because it protects you and your employee.

Hotel Horror Stories

In 2018, the Mandarin Oriental was set on fire despite millions worth of renovation, and all guests had to flee. Could it have been due to careless smoking? Faulty plugs? Arson or sabotage? Nobody knows! Whatever the reason, without appropriate insurance to cover the disaster, the hotel could have been left as rubble.

On Christmas Day 1971, Daeyeonggak Hotel in Seoul, South Korea, suffered a gas explosion. The resulting fire killed 164 people and injured 63 people. It remains the single deadliest hotel fire in history.

Getting ambushed by a natural disaster is just one of the rare-but-catastrophic scenarios you might encounter. Always prepare and secure appropriate cover for every possible situation.

How we can help!

If you are a hotel or guesthouse owner and looking for commercial insurance, our experts at Trevellyan can help advise you on the best policies tailored to your unique requirements. You may face steep fines if you don’t have a suitable policy in place. Contact us today for further information on how we can help you with tailored hotel insurance.