HRS, the leading global corporate lodging platform, and SGS, the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, has introduced a new cleanliness-focused program for the hotel industry, named ‘The Clean & Safe’ Protocol. The protocol provides corporations and hoteliers with a well-defined standard at a time when property hygiene is the leading factor of revival. Hotels earning the designation as a safe property, gain access to a new label for use in HRS procurement and booking channels, their own corporate website, and on-property displays at entrances, lobbies and in-room marketing. HRS will display this label on its proprietary desktop, mobile and agent booking solutions, as well as, on corporate online booking engines (OBEs) such as Concur and Cytric.
"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," says Tobias Ragge, CEO of HRS. "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 travelers and corporate buyers. SGS, a recognized provider in the field of corporate lodging with its leading inspection and auditing offerings and a truly global footprint, is an ideal partner on this important issue for our corporate customers, hotel partners and business travellers.”
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the dramatic pause in business travel, cleaning and safety standards for travellers has become the most important deciding factor for corporations using the downturn to recalibrate hotel programs for the balance of 2020 and 2021. As countries loosen travel restrictions and domestic business travel gains momentum, a hotel’s ability to showcase its enhanced hygiene protocol is crucial for gaining more business guests and better long-term relationships with preferred corporate clients. Hotels can use the Clean & Safe Protocol not only to convey their enhanced hygiene practices, but also to make booking easier for business travelers, as the labels enable them to compare inspected hotels before making a selection.
HRS is the leading global provider of hotel procurement services, managing hotel negotiations for more than one-third of the Fortune 500. In a May survey of its corporate customers, 86 percent of companies reported that they will only engage with hotels that have implemented revised specific COVID-19 hygiene measures.
|