Corporate lodging platform HRS has partnered with global
inspection, verification, testing and certification company SGS to develop a
new cleanliness programme for the hotel industry that provides labels for
properties that meet hygiene standards.
The Clean & Safe Protocol sets out standards for hotel
cleanliness during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond, and includes
recommendations from the World Health Organisation, World Travel and Tourism
Council and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as
guidelines for meetings and groups as defined by the Research Institute for
Exhibition and Live Communication.
According to HRS, a recent survey of its corporate clients revealed 86 per cent will only consider using hotels that can demonstrate enhanced cleaning measures as travellers prepare to get back on the road.
Measures included in the protocol include improved hygiene
services in public areas, guest and meeting rooms; extended infection
prevention measures; guaranteed minimum distances; implementation of revised
training programmes for employees and suppliers; regular control and
monitoring; and other measures.
According to Louis Fernandes, HRS’s MD of Northern Europe,
the Clean & Safe Protocol allows smaller independent hotels to follow a
standard similar to programmes being introduced by larger chains. “We will take
individual protocols into account,” Fernandes told BTN Europe, “but we wanted
to provide a standard for all of our partners.”
Hotels can receive a label that shows corporates they have
met the standards set out in the Clean & Safe Protocol, with two
distinctions available – Self-Inspected, whereby properties can fill out an
online assessment form that is then rated through an algorithm to determine if
they pass or fail, or the Expert Inspected option, which involves a digital or
onsite assessment by an SGS representative. Hotels that have implemented their
own measures and had them validated by an external audit partner can also
receive this label. The Expert Inspected label can be displayed in the property
and on its website and marketing materials.
Francesca Cerchia, global product manager at SGS, told BTN
Europe the company, which already partners with a number of hotels on both the
property and chain level, collaborated with HRS to create 46 main questions for the
Self-Inspected option. Questions cover measures such as how often high
touch-points are disinfected, which cleaning products hotels are using and what
properties are doing to limit contact among guests and staff, particularly in
public areas. “There’s a certain level of flexibility built into the assessment
because every property is different; we just wanted to develop a minimum level
of protocols they should be following to reassure guests of their safety,”
Cerchia said.
Cerchia also said she believes the new protocols will be a
permanent fixture in hotels. “I think it would only be social distancing guidelines
that go away if we get a vaccine for coronavirus. Really, these standards
should always have been in use, and I think they have but maybe haven’t been monitored
or vetted the way they will be moving forward. Covid-19 is just one of many
possible infections, and I think a lot of hotels already had plans in place for
outbreaks.”
HRS said there are already hotels in more than 40 countries
listed on its sourcing and booking platforms with the Clean & Safe labels.
When asked whether he thought the certifications would go
some way to reassuring travel managers and their travellers as businesses start
to send employees back on the road, Fernandes said: “It depends on the company’s
risk attitude, and it would also depend on their sector. For instance, the oil
and gas industry has fairly strict risk protocols because that’s what they
specialise in – keeping employees safe on the job – whereas other sectors might
be a little more flexible.
“The point of Clean & Safe is to give both our hotel
partners and our corporate clients the ability to choose what works for them.
At the end of the day, the best way to fill rooms as hotels reopen is to gain
consumer confidence, and we think the labels will help with that.”
HRS chief executive Tobias Ragge said: “Covid-19 has
fundamentally changed the world of business travel. In times of pandemic and
beyond, corporate travel managers are rigorously weighing their duty of care
responsibilities and traveller safety as their colleagues get back on the road
to see clients and sell to prospects. Hoteliers around the world are investing
significant amounts into new cleanliness procedures. We intend to make their
efforts transparent, as this is needed to restore the sentiment of trust for
business travellers and corporate buyers.”
Hotels wishing to engage with HRS on either label can do so
by contacting the company at [email protected]