Asbestos Management in Hotels: Interpreting the HSE’s Official Video
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) released a short but powerful video titled “Asbestos – Your Duty”, on the importance of managing asbestos correctly. We’re breaking it down in this post with hotel operators in mind—because managing asbestos in a hospitality setting comes with unique challenges.
Here’s the video we’re talking about (credit: HSE):
Video credit: Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Watch the original here
What the HSE Said – And What It Means for Hotels
Find out who has the duty to manage
HSE- “If you're responsible for the maintenance or repair of non-domestic premises, either through a contract or tenancy agreement, the law requires you to manage asbestos.”
What this means for hotels:
General Managers are usually considered the dutyholder in a hotel setting. They typically have control over the people, operations, and budget related to the building’s maintenance. Under Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, they are legally responsible for ensuring that asbestos is managed throughout the hotel premises.
Find out if asbestos could be present in your building
HSE- “If the building was built before 2000, asbestos may be present. It was used in many building products such as pipe insulation, ceiling tiles, and floor tiles.”
What it means for hotels:
If your hotel building or any of its facilities were constructed or refurbished before the year 2000, assume asbestos may be present. Common risk areas include plant rooms, ceiling voids, floor tiles in linen stores or ceiling tiles in kitchens, and riser cupboards. The potential is high—especially back-of-house areas that haven’t been updated recently.
Arrange an asbestos management survey
HSE- “You must arrange for a survey of the premises to identify asbestos-containing materials and assess their condition.”
What it means for hotels:
You’ll need to commission a Management Asbestos Survey from a qualified surveyor, ideally UKAS-accredited. If any refurbishment or structural work is planned, a Refurbishment and Demolition Survey will also be required for the affected areas. These surveys include the Material Risk Assessments that form the basis of your asbestos management system.
Assess the risk from asbestos
HSE- “Assess how likely the materials are to be disturbed and the potential for fibre release. Take into account maintenance activities and the building’s use.”
What this means for hotels:
You’ll need to carry out a Priority Risk Assessment. This assesses how likely asbestos-containing materials are to be disturbed during routine hotel operations. It helps determine the urgency of action, sets inspection frequency, and informs your overall asbestos management plan.
Write your asbestos management plan and monitor it
HSE guidance “Based on your risk assessment, you must produce a written plan showing how you’ll manage the risks. You must keep the condition of materials under review.”
What it means for hotels:
You’ll need to create a clear plan for managing asbestos within the hotel. It should outline roles, responsibilities, and tasks, and include details of any training staff will need to carry out their duties safely. The plan should also show how and when you’ll engage professional services. It must set out how you will prevent the release of asbestos fibres and how you would contain and manage an incident if one occurs.
Put your plan into action, communicate it, and keep it up to date
HSE says “You must make sure the plan is implemented, that the relevant people are aware of it, and that it’s kept up to date.”
What this means for hotels:
As with all risk management systems we use in hotels, the asbestos management plan must be actively used, reviewed, and updated regularly—not just filed away to tick a compliance box. To make sure it actually works in practice, consider running a test scenario with your facilities or risk team.
Find out more
The HSE advises “Visit hse.gov.uk/asbestos for detailed guidance, tools, and resources to help you comply.”
The HSE provides clear, free, and legally reliable guidance to help dutyholders meet their responsibilities. If you're managing a hotel, bookmark and refer to:
If you're not sure where to start with your Asbestos Management Plan, let us step in. We specialise in hospitality risk management and can help you translate HSE compliance into clear, actionable steps tailored to your hotel.
👉 Give us a call today and let’s make asbestos compliance one less thing to worry about. Alternatively head over to our Insights & News pages for more useful reads on asbestos risk management for Hotels.
