Fire safety for hotels.Properly assessed, from £295.
A hotel is the sleeping accommodation type that demands the most of a fire risk assessment. Guests who don't know the building, bedroom corridors that have to contain a fire long enough for everyone to escape, commercial kitchens, function suites at full capacity, and staff who may be alone on the night shift when something happens at 3am. We carry out fire risk assessments for hotels across the North West and North Wales, built for the way a hotel actually operates rather than what it looks like on a floor plan.
Who is the Responsible Person in a hotel?
The duty is usually clear but in a managed or franchised hotel it needs to be explicitly documented.
The employer operating the hotel is the Responsible Person and must ensure a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is in place, implemented, and kept current. In a managed hotel, this is the management company, not the property owner.
Branded hotels typically carry additional fire safety obligations under the franchisor's brand standards, alongside legal compliance. Where brand standards and the fire safety order interact, both need to be satisfied.
Where a hotel shares a building with other occupiers, the Responsible Person for each part must co-operate. Common escape routes, shared plant, and the interface between the hotel and other uses all need explicit management.
The responsible person duty operates around the clock. Night managers and lone-working night staff need the authority, the training, and the communication arrangements to manage a fire emergency without waiting for the day team.
The problems we
hear most often
Fire safety in a hotel is often managed by the general manager alongside a full operational workload. These are the gaps we find most regularly.
"We refurbished the bedroom floors, reorganised the kitchen, or added a function suite, and the fire risk assessment has not been updated to reflect any of it."
A hotel that has refurbished is a materially different building from the one that was assessed. Bedroom layouts affect escape routes, kitchen changes affect fire load, and a new function suite changes both occupancy and evacuation strategy. Each material change requires the assessment to be reviewed, and in an active hotel there is almost always at least one material change per year. We assess the hotel as it currently exists.
"Our staff turnover is high and fire safety training is one of the first things to slip. Training records for people who no longer work here don't help us."
High staff turnover is the most persistent fire safety challenge in hospitality, and it is specifically referenced in the sleeping accommodation guidance as a risk factor. Training has to keep pace with the actual workforce, not the workforce you had twelve months ago. We advise on a training programme that works for a hotel with high turnover, and our training sessions produce the records you need to demonstrate compliance.
"We have a fire authority visit coming up, or our insurer has raised questions about our assessment. We need to get the documentation in order quickly."
Hotels are one of the sectors where fire authority inspection is most likely, and where insurer scrutiny is most intense following a fire. We produce documentation that is built to withstand both, with a clear action log that shows what has been identified, what has been done, and what is in progress, in a format that a fire authority inspector and a loss adjuster can both work with.
What makes hotels
different to assess
A hotel combines sleeping risk, commercial cooking, high-occupancy events, licensed premises, and a workforce that changes constantly, all under one roof. Each element needs specific assessment.
Guests unfamiliar with the building
A guest asleep at 3am is in a categorically different position from a daytime office worker. They do not know the layout, cannot see escape routes in the dark, and may be disorientated when woken by an alarm. Bedroom corridor fire doors, alarm audibility in rooms, and the ability of night staff to assist guests all need specific assessment.
Cooking fire load and extraction
A hotel kitchen is one of the highest fire-risk environments in any building. Deep fat fryers, high-temperature surfaces, grease in extraction ducting, and proximity to bedroom corridors all require specific attention. Extraction duct cleaning records and suppression system maintenance are key elements of the assessment.
High-occupancy events
A function suite at a wedding or conference holds far more people than the hotel's normal occupancy. Escape route capacity, assembly point adequacy, and the ability of skeleton night staff to manage a large-scale evacuation all need assessing for peak event occupancy, not just a quiet Tuesday.
Lone working at 3am
The most dangerous scenario in any hotel is a fire at night with minimal staff on duty. The night manager or lone receptionist may be the only person available to raise the alarm, assist guests, and liaise with the fire service. Their training, their knowledge of the building, and the systems they have available all need assessing specifically.
Impaired occupant response
Alcohol slows the recognition of fire cues and the response to them. In a hotel bar late at night, the occupants most at risk of delayed evacuation are also the most likely to have been drinking. The assessment must reflect this in the evacuation strategy.
Multi-use under one roof
A hotel typically includes reception, bar, restaurant, kitchen, function rooms, laundry, and plant room, each with different fire loads and escape arrangements. The interface between uses, particularly between a busy bar and bedroom corridors, requires specific attention.
Kitchen extraction and suppression — the records that matter to insurers
Grease accumulation in commercial kitchen extraction ducting is one of the most common causes of serious fire in hotel premises. Ducting should be professionally cleaned at intervals determined by usage, with records retained. Where a suppression system is fitted above cooking equipment, it must be serviced and tested in line with the manufacturer's specification. We check both during the assessment and flag where records are absent or overdue, because these are precisely the records an insurer's loss adjuster will look for first.
Three services.
One point of contact.
Fire risk assessments, fire door inspections, and fire safety training, delivered by one company that understands how a hotel actually operates across a full 24-hour cycle.
Fire risk assessments
From £295 per assessmentA thorough, hotel-specific assessment covering sleeping risk, kitchen fire load, function suite occupancy, night staffing, and licensing. Clear written report suitable for the fire authority, your insurer, and the licensing authority.
- Sleeping accommodation escape routes assessed
- Commercial kitchen and extraction duct risk reviewed
- Function suite and event occupancy assessed
- Night staffing and lone-working arrangements covered
- Staff training adequacy reviewed
- Documentation suitable for fire authority and insurer
Fire door inspections
From £14 per doorBedroom corridor fire doors are the most critical fire safety element in any hotel. A failed self-closer or compromised seal on a bedroom door is a direct risk to sleeping guests. We inspect every component with photographic evidence.
- Bedroom, corridor, and stairwell fire doors
- Frame, leaf, intumescent seals, hinges & hardware
- Self-closing devices and smoke seals
- Photographic evidence per door
- Prioritised remedial recommendations
Fire safety training
From £395 per sessionPractical fire safety training for hotel management, reception, and housekeeping staff, focused on waking and assisting sleeping guests, managing the night shift, and evacuating a multi-floor building.
- Fire marshal training for management and front of house
- Waking and assisting sleeping guests
- Night-shift and skeleton-crew scenarios
- Hands-on extinguisher use on a live fire
- Certificates issued to all attendees
The framework
hotels work within
Hotels answer to the fire safety order, the licensing authority, and their insurer, with the sleeping accommodation guide setting a higher standard than for daytime-only premises.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to all hotels as non-domestic premises. The standard of suitable and sufficient is higher for sleeping accommodation than for daytime-only commercial use, because guests are unfamiliar with the building and cannot self-evacuate as effectively. The government's sleeping accommodation fire safety guide is the primary reference for hotels and the document a fire authority inspector will expect the assessment to align with.
Under the Licensing Act 2003, fire safety is one of the four licensing objectives. The fire authority is a responsible authority under the Act and can make representations at licence hearings on fire safety grounds. A current fire risk assessment supports your licensing position and is frequently requested at licence review hearings.
BS 9999 provides specific guidance on fire safety management for complex buildings including hotels, and alignment with its principles carries additional credibility with the fire authority for premises with sleeping accommodation. From an insurance perspective, hospitality policies typically require current assessment documentation, kitchen suppression maintenance records, and staff training evidence as conditions of cover.
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Always appliesThe core legislation. Higher standard required for sleeping accommodation. Failure can result in unlimited fines, prohibition notices, or imprisonment.
Sleeping accommodation guide
Hotels guidanceThe government's sleeping accommodation fire safety guide is the primary reference for hotels and the benchmark a fire authority inspector will apply.
Licensing Act 2003
Licensed premisesFire safety is a licensing objective. The fire authority is a responsible authority and can make representations at licence hearings. A current assessment supports your licence.
Hospitality insurer requirements
Check your policyMost hospitality policies require current assessment documentation, kitchen suppression maintenance records, and staff training evidence as conditions of cover.
Experience you can
put in a report.
Tim founded Fletcher Risk Management to bring genuine expertise and personal accountability to fire safety consultancy in the North West. With more than 30 years in the fire industry, he has assessed hotels and hospitality premises across the region and understands what it means to assess a building that never really closes, where the most dangerous scenario happens at 3am with one person on duty. When you book with Fletcher Risk, Tim carries out the work.
- ABBE Level 4 Diploma in Fire Risk Assessment
- NEBOSH National General Certificate
- FPA Fire Safety Management Certificate
- Member — Fire Protection Association
Sam oversees operations and brings both fire safety qualifications and a legal background to the practice. For hospitality operators navigating licensing obligations or insurer requirements alongside fire safety law, Sam's LLB and operational background mean the documentation is framed to satisfy all three.
- ABBE Level 4 Certificate in Fire Risk Assessment
- Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
- Master of Business Administration (MBA)
- 10+ years fire safety experience
"We have engaged Fletcher Risk Management to carry out surveys on a number of our sites for a very important client. The work produced exceeded our expectations by far. I would definitely recommend using this company." — Marie Morgan · EIS Ltd ★★★★★
"Without doubt one of the best and most professional businesses I have used for our Fire Risk Assessment. Tim Fletcher is a highly regarded professional in his field. Don't take a chance — protect your staff, protect your building."
"We have engaged Fletcher Risk Management to carry out surveys on a number of our sites. I would never hesitate to send Tim — always professional, friendly and accommodating. The work exceeded our expectations."
"Thorough, professional, and excellent value. The report was clear and the action points prioritised in a way that made it easy to know exactly what to tackle first. Would recommend without hesitation."
Book an assessment
built for your hotel.
Whether you need a fresh assessment, a review after a refurbishment, or training for your management and night staff, we can help. Call us for an honest conversation with no obligation.