Hotel Insurance

Guest houses are typically smaller and privately owned buildings that rent out rooms at a daily rate. Guest Houses also have fewer rooms than hotels, usually between 4 to 10.

In this sense, guest house insurance will generally cost less than most hotel insurance policies; however, this could still vary according to factors such as the total value of a guest house’s assets and whether it has amenities such as a swimming pool.

Here are some of the most common hotel hazards:

• Handling tasks – Many hotel staff injuries are related to them performing manual handling tasks such as moving stock from one point to another.
• To prevent these injuries, staff should undergo extensive operational training, workflows should be optimised, and hotel owners should consider implementing mechanical devices to ease the fulfilment of these tasks.
• Trips and falls – The thrills of hotels are always accompanied by spills. Whether it’s in the kitchen or hotel lobby, staff and guests aren’t immune to the possibility of slipping in an unmopped puddle of water. For this reason, staff should always wear nonslip shoes and clean up messes as soon as possible.
• Harmful chemicals – Because hotels need to maintain incredibly high standards in terms of safety and cleanliness, they often use a number of hazardous chemicals to clean their facilities. These chemicals can cause a great deal of harm to the human body, so preventative measures and comprehensive cover are key in this case.
• Business interruption – Whether it’s a global pandemic, dreadful weather conditions, or loss of licence, hotels are extremely susceptible to having their operations interrupted. When businesses cannot operate as normal, they can experience immense financial losses.
• Luckily, business interruption insurance is generally always a feature of standard hotel cover.

More often than not, hotels reserve the right to charge guests for the cost of rectifying damage, but the damage has to be caused by an intentional, negligent, or reckless act on the part of the guest. Such cases can result in a legal dispute, so having appropriate coverage is key to finding quick resolutions and ensuring operations aren’t interrupted.

An important part of getting the right hotel insurance is understanding why people commonly take legal action. The following are areas that hotel owners should always pay close attention to:

• Insufficient provision of security.
• Being irresponsible with supplies, keys, or keycards.
• Failure to sanitise sheets, blankets, and pillows.
• Not providing reasonable services such as safe parking.

Failure to remove hazards on the property that can cause tripping or falling, the most common example being an overly wet floor.

There aren’t many things you can do to decrease the cost of your hotel insurance, and of the things you can do, most of them won’t dramatically decrease your premiums. Nevertheless, here are some things you can do:

• Prioritise safety – As they say, prevention is better than cure. Robust or improved safety measures can make your business look significantly less risky to insure. This could be as simple as improving internal communication systems to drive timely issue resolution.
• Add high liability and property deductibles to your policy – Doing this is generally seen as the least desirable approach, but it can lead to measurable reductions in your insurance policy.
• Show your insurer that your run your business well – By conducting internal risk assessments and audits, implementing quality control procedures, and filing financial accounts on time, you will look like a more attractive insurance prospect to an insurer.
• Find a cheaper alternative – This is where Utility Saving Expert’s comparison tool comes in handy. Sometimes, reducing your premiums can be as simple as changing insurers. If you plan on making a switch, do your best to make sure that your new policy doesn’t forgo any coverage upon which you rely.
• When you look for insurance providers, always verify their legitimacy by cross-referencing their financial services registration number and be sure to use our comparison tool to get the hotel insurance quote you’ve been seeking.