Essential Safety Guidance for Hospitality Venues
Hospitality venues are vibrant public spaces where people gather to eat, drink, and celebrate. While we want our venues to feel welcoming and safe, it’s important to be prepared for unlikely emergency situations.
The New Zealand Police have launched a national safety campaign called Escape. Hide. Tell, designed to help Kiwis know what to do during an armed offender incident in a crowded place.
As hospitality operators, you manage spaces where the public gathers—restaurants, bars, cafés, hotels, and event venues. Being prepared and ensuring your team knows how to respond in an emergency is a duty of care to staff and guests.
While armed offender incidents in crowded places are rare in New Zealand, having a plan can save lives.
The Three Simple Steps: Escape. Hide. Tell.
If an armed offender incident occurs, remember these three words:
- ESCAPE – Move quickly and quietly away from danger, but only if it is safe to do so.
- HIDE – Stay out of sight and silence your mobile phone.
- TELL – Call Police by dialling 111 when it is safe to do so.
Our role in the campaign
Restaurant Association of New Zealand is proud to be part of the Crowded Place Strategy Group, which helped support the development of this important campaign. Hospitality venues play a vital role in community safety, and we’re committed to providing our members with the tools and resources they need to prepare.
Escape.Hide.Tell Toolkit
We’ve compiled a toolkit to help you and your team prepare, including:
- Trainers Guide explaining the Escape. Hide. Tell steps
- ESCAPE.HIDE.TELL. Conversation guide
- Social media tiles to share with your team and community
- Escape.Hide.Tell posters in 15 languages
- Links to official NZ Police Escape.Hide.Tell website
Taking Action
We encourage you to:
- Share this information with your team during staff meetings or briefings
- Display Escape. Hide. Tell information in staff areas
- Discuss emergency procedures as part of your venue’s safety planning
- Use the social tiles to raise awareness among your customers and community
While we hope you never need to use this knowledge, being prepared gives everyone confidence and could make all the difference in an emergency.
Learn More
For more information about the campaign, visit the New Zealand Police website.