Safe Stays: Accor Develops Certification Plan for Virus-Free Accommodations
Accor and Bureau Veritas launch a quality assurance label based on sanitary measures to support the return to business in the hospitality and restaurant industry
Accor, a global leader in augmented hospitality, and Bureau Veritas, a world-leading provider in testing, inspection and certification, have joined forces to develop a label designed to certify that the appropriate safety standards and cleaning protocols have been achieved to allow businesses to reopen.
The group hopes that the label will help to provide assurances to hotel guests and restaurant guests following the current global lockdowns in progress as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The goal is to have a dedicated Bureau Veritas website would-be guests and customers could check to see whether an individual hotel or restaurant had been certified, ahead of visiting or making a booking.
According to Accor, the program has infused input from doctors and epidemiologists, and had been developed in collaboration with Accor owners and trade associations.
“Welcoming, protecting and taking care of others is the very DNA of Accor and at the heart of what we do and our customers and partners need to be reassured of our ability to offering them the best welcome possible. It is our duty to anticipate needs and respond to health and safety requirements and we are pleased to be pioneering this drive with Bureau Veritas and to extend it to all stakeholders,” said Franck Gervais, CEO Europe Accor.
The label will cover both accommodations and catering, and will set the sanitary standards applicable to all the Group’s hotels as well as to other chains and independent hotels. The project will be shared this week within Alliance France Tourisme as well as with the relevant ministries (French Ministries of Tourism, Health and Labor) so that they are actively involved in – and validate – the recommended standards. Concrete proposals will be submitted, in France and subsequently in Europe, to the various governments, relevant ministries and committees for the easing of lockdown measures.
The move comes as the hospitality and aviation industries scramble to introduce policies to enable the return to travel once global restrictions are eased.
Airlines are introducing social distancing efforts both on the ground and inflight, and carriers including Emirates and Etihad are developing capabilities to test passengers for Covid-19 ahead of boarding flights.
