Reasonable care, by definition, is "satisfying a legal duty to act as an ordinary, prudent, reasonable person not to do something that will cause injury to guests, customers, or invitees, or fail to do what will prevent such injury." For example:

Are your portable dance floors safe and will your chairs hold any guest regardless of their size or weight? Your answer should be:

"We carefully inspect portable dance floors and chairs on a regular basis to ensure they're in good condition. We make repairs or replacements as needed, and we keep records of our inspections."

Some of a hotel's highest-cost claims have resulted from collapsing chairs and defective or poorly installed portable dance floors. The following guidelines are intended to help you in your efforts to provide "reasonable care."

What to Inspect

Portable Dance Floors

• All pieces should fit together without gaps or surface irregularities.
• Panel attachment devices should be in good condition and securely tightened.
• Edge trim pieces are available and fit properly.

Chairs (Including Lobby, Guest Room, Pool-Side and Banquet Chairs)

• Wooden chair legs and braces should all be securely fastened and not wobble
• Chair arms and backs should also be securely fastened.
• Casters or leg and leveling tips should be in place and in good condition.
• Pool-side chairs require sufficient clearance at pivot points to avoid pinched fingers.
• Welds on banquet chair legs, backs and seat-pans should be inspected for cracks and defects. Chairs found with defects or cracks at weld points should be returned to the vendor or thrown away. For liability purposes, they should not be repaired by personnel employed by the hotel.
• Give special attention to chairs that are 8 - 10 years old or older, particularly if they have no cross bracing beneath the front of the seat pan.

Inspection Frequency

• Portable dance floors - before and after each use.
• Guest room chairs - each time the room attendant cleans the room
• Lobby chairs - each time they're cleaned or vacuumed.
• Pool-side chairs - each time the chairs are folded or relocated at day's end
• Banquet chairs - all chairs should be inspected at the same time, at least annually, with interim inspections whenever the chairs are set up for an event.

Once again, any defective chair or portable dance floor should be immediately repaired or taken out of service and records of your inspections should be kept for at least three years. 

Guests of your hotel expect that chairs will hold their weight, and that dance floors will be smooth and seamless, so be sure you're taking reasonable care to ensure chairs and portable dance floors are more than reasonably safe. That's what reasonable care is all about.

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