I was told that they do not have to do it unless the do any structural alterations to the hotel.. .
This has not been the case for 10 years. In the old days of fire certificates the fire service could not make new requirements having once issued a fire certificate. But in 1997 the law changed and the Workplace Regulations put the onus on the employer to assess the risk to his employees from fire and take suiitable risk control measures. At that time the law only covered employees. On 1 October 2006 the Law changed once again to extend this duty of care to all persons who could be harmed by a fire- and to take basic fire precautions to prevent fire and make sure that if a fire occurs people will not be harmed.
There are guidance documents that tell the hotelier how to carry out the risk assessment and indicate the type of standards that should be adopted. Bit like the Highway code tells you how to drive safely- but is not in itself Law. If you break the highway code and have an accident you are prosecuted for a breach of the road traffic act - not for breaking the highway code.
Its an absolute duty in law to carry out a risk assessment but the law doesnt say how good it must be. But if you choose to ignore the recommendations in the fire precautions guide and someone gets hurt you have to account to the court for your actions. Sadly the fire services are not getting round the rogues as quickly as we would like. They will look into any complaints though. You could ring the fire authority for the area you were staying in- if you dont know the number the county council will put you right.
