BUREAU VERITAS TEAMS UP WITH GHS ON ‘BACK TO BUSINESS’ HOTEL ASSURANCE

Experts from Bureau Veritas and GHS are working closely together to provide independent assurance of hotels’ COVID-secure measures to help give peace of mind to guests, staff and contractors.  

The combined solution offers voluntary assurance of best-practice measures covering hygiene, safety, maintenance and regulatory inspections, amongst others, at a time when many organisations are still struggling to navigate the often conflicting advice available to them.

Gergana Halatcheva, Senior Vice President at GHS, said: “The last few months have been challenging for everyone in the hospitality industry but, as lockdown measures and travel restrictions are being eased, we are pleased to see signs of recovery in various markets. With hotels emerging from the pandemic and eager to start welcoming guests, it is important to rethink and implement new measures to ensure that the health and safety of staff, guests and contractors is not compromised and equally, to give them the reassurance they need.

“At GHS we recognise the importance of global certification and we are delighted to have partnered with Bureau Veritas to deliver a first-in-class solution, helping hotel partners demonstrate their COVID-secure measures through independent assurance and verification.”

The Bureau Veritas and GHS solution includes a comprehensive five-stage process, covering project kick-off, a management level system assessment, individual site audits and reporting. On completion, if mandatory requirements have been achieved, hotels are issued with an Assurance Statement together with public website for full traceability, providing independent assurance to employees, stakeholders and customers. Individual sites can also be awarded an Assurance Statement.

Victoria Shah, Sector Lead for Retail and Hospitality at Bureau Veritas, said: “This voluntary assurance solution is already proven across a number of sectors and we are delighted to have teamed up with GHS to offer a focused, enhanced service for the hospitality sector too.

“We have already learnt that many organisations are struggling to identify and implement the measures they need to ensure they are COVID-secure and our experts are working closely with clients to help overcome these challenges.”