Fire Safety Order 2005
Requires assessment, full recording, precautions, maintenance, guest information, staff training and emergency planning.
Hotels, B&Bs, hostels and accommodation operators
Fire risk assessment for hotels and guest accommodation
Assess sleeping risk, unfamiliar guests, night staffing, bedrooms and hospitality areas, then request an assessment quote.
Key points
Hotel or guest accommodation fire risk assessment at a glance
- Sleeping and unfamiliar occupants
- Guest rooms and protected escape routes
- Night staffing and 24-hour management
- London and Surrey assessment enquiries
- The responsible person must arrange a suitable and sufficient assessment and record its findings in full.
- Review the assessment when changes, an incident or new information could affect its validity.
Property-specific guidance
Why this premises type needs its own assessment
Hotels and guest accommodation must protect sleeping occupants who may be unfamiliar with the building, unable to understand instructions or affected by alcohol, age, disability or travel fatigue. Fires may begin in bedrooms, kitchens, laundries, plant, charging equipment or back-of-house areas.
The assessment should cover the entire operation: bedrooms, corridors, stairs, reception, kitchens, bars, function rooms, laundries, stores, staff areas, basements and external escape. Small paying-guest accommodation may use the relevant simplified Home Office guide only where it falls within that guide’s defined scope.
Legal responsibility
Who must arrange the assessment?
The operating employer, owner or person controlling the accommodation is normally a responsible person. Landlords, franchise arrangements or separate bar and restaurant operators can create multiple responsible persons who must coordinate.
Read the main fire risk assessment guideLegal framework
Fire-safety duties affecting this property
The Fire Safety Order is the core life-safety regime in England. Other laws and sector requirements can overlap, so the assessment and action plan should not be managed in isolation.
Home Office sleeping-accommodation guidance
Provides sector-specific benchmarks for hotels, hostels and other sleeping premises.
Small paying-guest guide
Offers proportionate guidance only for properties within its scope; complex layouts require the wider sleeping guide and competent advice.
Building and planning controls
Conversion to guest accommodation and material alterations may require approval and a coordinated fire strategy.
Assessment scope
What the assessor should examine
The final scope should reflect the actual building and any limitations. A site visit and a prioritised written report are fundamental for a professional assessment.
Bedrooms and corridors
Check detection, doors, compartmentation, signage, emergency lighting, dead ends and escape from every room.
Guest profile
Consider unfamiliarity, disability, children, language, alcohol and realistic maximum occupancy.
Night arrangements
Assess staffing, alarm investigation, calling procedures, evacuation assistance and management when occupancy is highest.
Hospitality hazards
Review kitchens, bars, functions, laundry, linen, smoking, charging and contractor work.
Detection and warning
Confirm automatic coverage, audibility at bedheads, visual or tactile needs, zoning and system records.
Management
Examine guest information, room checks, staff induction, shift handover, drills, housekeeping and defect escalation.
Property-specific hazards
Risks that deserve particular attention
These examples are prompts, not a complete checklist. The assessment must identify all significant hazards and how they could affect people in and around the premises.
Bedroom ignition
Smoking, chargers, appliances and guest behaviour create hazards beyond staff observation.
Laundry and linen
Heat, lint and large combustible loads require safe processes and storage.
Kitchens and functions
Cooking, temporary layouts, decorations, alcohol and crowding can change risk.
Compromised corridors
Housekeeping trolleys, linen, furniture and defective doors can affect protected routes.
People at risk
Who may need additional consideration?
The assessment must consider everyone lawfully on or near the premises, including people who may be unable to recognise danger, respond quickly or use the standard escape route without help.
Sleeping guests
They need reliable early warning and may react slowly or choose an unfamiliar route.
Disabled and older guests
Booking, reception and evacuation arrangements should identify and support relevant needs.
Children and groups
Supervision and room allocation can affect evacuation.
Night and lone staff
The emergency plan must be achievable with the people actually on duty.
Emergency planning
Evacuation points to test
A written plan is only useful if it matches the building, occupants, available staff and fire precautions and can be carried out under foreseeable conditions.
- Provide clear guest information that matches the alarm and escape arrangements.
- Confirm warning can wake occupants and that rooms for guests with sensory needs have suitable provision.
- Test what night staff can realistically investigate, communicate and assist without delaying the call to 999.
- Coordinate function rooms, bars and restaurants with bedroom evacuation and assembly.
What to expect
The five-stage assessment process
- 1
Prepare
Confirm the areas in scope, responsible persons, occupancy, plans, previous reports and relevant fire-safety records.
- 2
Inspect
Walk the premises and examine hazards, people at risk, escape, fire protection and management arrangements.
- 3
Evaluate
Judge whether precautions are suitable for the actual use, occupants, construction and emergency strategy.
- 4
Record and prioritise
Document findings in full and provide a clear, risk-prioritised action plan with responsible owners.
- 5
Review
Keep the assessment current and revisit it when change, an incident or new information may affect its validity.
Evidence and management
Records to prepare and retain
Good records help an assessor understand the premises, allow defects to be tracked and demonstrate that significant findings have been acted on.
- Current FRA and action plan
- Guest information and accessible-evacuation arrangements
- Alarm, lighting, doors and extinguisher records
- Night procedures, training and shift handovers
- Laundry, kitchen and equipment maintenance
- Occupancy, events and contractor controls
Keeping it current
When to review the assessment
There is no single fixed review interval suitable for every premises. Set a proportionate programme and review sooner whenever there is reason to think the assessment may no longer be valid.
- Bedroom, occupancy or guest-profile changes
- Refurbishment, conversion or layout alteration
- New kitchen, laundry, charging or entertainment activity
- Staffing, night cover or operating-model changes
- Fire, near miss, unwanted alarm or evacuation problem
- Evidence the assessment is no longer valid
Quote planning
What affects assessment cost?
A useful quote reflects assessor time, competence, site access and reporting complexity. A low headline price is not meaningful without a clear scope.
Bedrooms and capacity
Room count, guest numbers, corridors and floors.
Building complexity
Historic construction, basements, extensions and multiple stairs.
Operational areas
Kitchens, bars, functions, laundry and staff accommodation.
Management and systems
Night arrangements, alarm records, doors and guest-assistance planning.
Choosing an assessor
Check the person as well as the company
BAFE SP205 provides third-party certification for organisations delivering life-safety fire risk assessments. The National Fire Risk Assessors Register (NFRAR), administered by the Institute of Fire Safety Managers, records individually assessed fire risk assessors and their competency level.
Use both as complementary evidence: verify the organisation’s current BAFE SP205 status where applicable and the individual’s current NFRAR registration and assessed level. Also check direct experience with hotel or guest accommodation premises, insurance, report scope, site visit, exclusions and how follow-up questions are handled.
Related fire-safety services
Acting on the assessment
The FRA should define outcomes and priorities. Any design, installation, inspection or maintenance work must then be scoped and completed competently.
Fire doors and protected routes
Plan a competent fire door inspection
Sleeping risk, vulnerable occupants, repeated use and flat-access arrangements can make door condition and records especially important in this premises type.
Local coverage
Find and compare assessment support across London and Surrey
Explore local assessor information and quotation guidance, or use the form below to request a property-specific quote.
Frequently asked questions
Fire risk assessment for hotels and guest accommodation FAQs
Do small B&Bs and holiday lets need an FRA?
Paying guest accommodation is generally covered by the Fire Safety Order. A simplified Home Office guide may suit properties within its defined scope, but an assessment is still required and more complex premises need wider guidance.
What makes a hotel FRA different?
Sleeping occupants are unfamiliar with the building and may need assistance. Automatic detection, bedroom warning, protected routes, night staffing, guest information and 24-hour management require detailed attention.
Must alarms be audible inside bedrooms?
The warning arrangement must be capable of alerting occupants in time. Design should consider sound at bedheads and suitable visual, tactile or management arrangements for people who may not hear a conventional alarm.
How often should a hotel FRA be reviewed?
There is no universal fixed legal interval. Review regularly and after changes to rooms, occupancy, staffing, systems or activities, incidents, alarm problems or evidence that the assessment is no longer valid.
Can the assessment cover a hotel restaurant too?
It can, if the scope, assessor competence and responsible-person arrangements cover the whole operation. Where businesses or control differ, assessments and emergency arrangements must still coordinate.
Property-specific enquiry
Request a quote for your hotel or guest accommodation
Provide the essential building and occupancy details. Your enquiry can be reviewed and passed to an assessor serving London or Surrey.
- No obligation to book
- Telephone number required
- Use the details box for unusual risks or deadlines
Sources and limitations
Guidance reviewed 21 July 2026
This page provides general information for England. It is not legal advice, a building-specific assessment or a guarantee of compliance. Fire Safety Services is independent and is not affiliated with BAFE, NFRAR, IFSM, the Government or fire and rescue services.
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