HRS, the corporate lodging platform, is leveraging its capabilities to support corporations, governments and health responders addressing the COVID-19 outbreak in India. The unprecedented scope of the latest outbreak – reaching 400,000+ infections per day – has both public and private organizations challenged to find safe lodging options, both for individuals that need to be isolated and professionals helping with the pandemic. Struggling with this reality, the Indian government has reached out to the corporate community to enlist its help.
Facilitating Safe Shelter for Employees and Officials
Applying a proven solution successfully used in emergency events in America, Australia and Europe, HRS has set up dedicated online crisis accommodation sites in India for immediate use. With HRS already supporting global and local corporations (including Siemens and Tata Group) with their lodging needs across India; the structure is in place to collaborate with corporate security officers, hotel officials, and HRS experts to quickly allocate inventory at safe hotels and place individuals and families as warranted.
Thanks to the HRS’ Clean & Safe Protocol, introduced in June 2020, more than 2,000 hotels in India provide accommodation with elevated hygiene standards, even for the extended periods that are required for these circumstances. These hotels accept guests today to support response efforts, companies with distinct lodging needs for individuals and families, and isolation scenarios.
“These are unique times across our country, and we stand ready to rapidly increase the scale of our current efforts to support organizations that require immediate assistance,” said Neelu Singh, Managing Director for HRS in India. “Our crisis management solution, with its fast implementation and online accessibility, has been refined to a greater extent in recent months after successful use in other regions in 2020. We’re already working with hotels and companies in Bangalore and Mumbai, and are ready to expand our services in more locations.” Centralized Virtual Payment Solution Eliminates Expense Burden on Lodgers
Companies and governments can leverage HRS’ Touchless Payment functionality to streamline the financial component of the costs of extended hotel stays. Using proven virtual procedures, the solution allows for seamless payment to the hotel from corporations and/or agencies while taking the burden of expense off the individual and/or group staying at the property.
Supported by secure APIs with credit card providers and financial institutions, the process automates reconciliation and reimbursement processes while eliminating fraud opportunities. Hotels gain from securing timely payment and having rooms occupied, while guests don’t need to worry about extensive costs that can accrue from lengthy stays at a hotel.
Proven Technology with Rapid Deployment
HRS’ end-to-end platform has been deployed with timely results on multiple continents. For example, in California last year, state travel officials contracted with HRS to manage a flash procurement exercise for 21 counties and a minimum of 18,000 room nights for healthcare and other response teams. After a four-week turnaround, the program was up and running. As COVID-19 progressed in the USA’s largest state, HRS’ platform and services scaled in rapid fashion, ultimately supporting more than 2.5 million room nights across every county in the state over the past year. Highlights of the initiative include: - Average savings per room night ranging from 25 to 40 percent;
- 98.5 percent invoice collection and digitization, including level-3 data, helping speed reimbursement activities;
- The essential elimination of fraud via safeguards in processing procedures, and
- 100 percent cooperation from participating hotels.
HRS’ Crisis Management Solution was also deployed with success last year in Australia to support displaced families during the Bushfire disaster, and in multiple locations in Europe where the company facilitated lodging for COVID-19 medical responders, isolating families, and working professionals.
“One outcome of the pandemic is the irrefutable evidence of the role technology can play to expedite solutions that address humanitarian issues resulting from crisis situations,” said HRS CEO Tobias Ragge. “The combination of automation, flexible integration and on-the-ground expertise can drive the fast implementation of lodging solutions with widespread reach. With our Crisis Management Solution refined with new technology, and lessons learned from our global COVID response effort over the past year, we are prepared to assist the people of India as they navigate this challenging time.”
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