A hotel stay is more than just a place to catch a few winks. It connotes uppermost safety and security followed by comfort to most, as well as luxury to a few. Big brands advertise their stays basis star ratings, which primarily denote amenities and luxuries. When it comes to star rated properties, safety and security is taken for granted by the travelers/ customers, but should it be so? And can it be so for all the other hotels? More so, how will safety be ensured in times of COVID-19?
Terrorists attacks at hotels in Sri Lanka, recent fires reported at different hotels in India and now safety issues with regard to COVID-19 infection highlight the spectrum of security and safety issues that need to be catered for by hotels. Big gatherings/ conferences/ functions have always posed multitude of challenges as regard to safety and security for most hotels, and COVID-19 further adds to these challenges, requiring special preparations on part of the hotels to ensure security and safety. Screening of staff as well as ensuring their safety is another area, which if not looked into, can pose a threat to the safety and security aspects of a hotel and its customers.
Most of the safety requirements related to fire and building code are very clearly articulated by various rules, laws, guidelines of relevant municipalities/ countries, however, to what extent they are being met and ensured tends to remain a question mark, and as such are never promulgated for the information of travelers. In the pre COVID-19 era, travel for business and vacations showed an increasing trend with the user penetration expected to hit 16.2% by 2023 from 15.4% in 2020 and the revenue from the hotels segment expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2020-2023) of 4.1%, resulting in a market volume of US$ 432,095 million by 2023 (Travel & Tourism report 2019 – Statista Mobility market outlook – pre COVID-19). At the same time, as per an article published in ‘NY Times’ in 2018, there was approximately a 20% increase in crimes in city’s hotels and motels over the previous three years. Today the industry is reeling under the effect of COVID-19 with the industry coming to a complete standstill – leading to closures, layoffs etc., as is evident from news reports such as Hyatt Hotels is reported to have closed some of its properties and furloughed staff to cut costs and a net loss of $103 million (https://www.hotelmanagement.net/human-resources/hyatt-plans-temporary-closuresfurloughs-due-to-covid-19), in the first quarter of this year. French hospitality group Accor is reported to be closing more than 3,000 of the group’s 5,000 hotels and making more than 200,000 staff temporarily redundant during the outbreak (https://www. thejakartapost.com/travel/2020/04/03/accor-saysclosing-two-thirds-of-hotels-over-coronavirus. html), and other such reports.
The effect of COVID-19 is more likely to introduce different ways of operating and being able to ensure safety and security is definitely going to help kick-start the industry and keep it going in times to come. COVID-19 is very likely to define a new normal for the industry. The safety and security readiness of hotels thus needs to find an expression, which should easily be convertible into a decision. The world as such does not have a standard established for safety and security ratings, which if established will help in the aforementioned decision making.
A study conducted by Tyra W. Hillard, JD Seyhmus Baloglu, PhD in 2008 on ‘Safety and Security as Part of the Hotel Servicescape for Meeting Planners’ (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233203682_Safety_and_Security_as_Part_of_ the_Hotel_Servicescape_for_Meeting_Planners) concluded that ‘visible safety features’ along with ‘documentation and staff training’ had a significant and positive impact on actual hotel selection and meeting planners willingness to pay more for a hotel with a safety and security certification. Having a safety and security rating displayed clearly is the need of the hour to encourage travelers to venture out of the safety of their homes.
Most of the starred hotel chains, world over, have incorporated procedures to ensure safety and security and are incorporating measures to conform to the guidelines issued by WHO and governments in respect of measures to safeguard against COVID-19. They ensure the same by conduct of surprise checks/ audits undertaken through inhouse efforts as well as through conduct of third-party safety and security audits. The economically viable options like Oyo, Zolostays, FabHotels etc., also need to ensure the safety and security to remain viable. The star ratings elude to a competent safety and security establishment even though it is not specifically depicted by any rating, nor it is corroborated by any form of external certification; the other hotels/ stays in the market do not have any recourse to claim their safety and security status. Hence, there is an emergent need to have a safety and security rating/ certification by an external agency to help the travelers decide on a place to stay and understand the associated risks. The online travel agents (OTAs) like MakeMyTrip, Expedia, Cleartrip, Yatra, Trip Advisor, Booking.com etc. could help in assisting the customers make an informed decision by displaying the safety and security ratings. Needless to say, even the starred hotels could do with safety and security rating/ certification to further ensure the trust of the travelers/ customers.
The challenge off course is to have a standardised format for safety and security, which cuts across different size and types of hotels, so as to enable availability of a common point or level rating system. There is a lot of work which has happened in this field. One such pioneering firm is Sky Touch Global, Australia, which has standardised the safety and security requirements and aligned them with existing threats/ risks inclusive of risks associated with COVID-19, and at the same time ensuring compliance with mandatory requirements. The designed system clearly communicates the safety and security levels of a hotel which enables decision making for the traveler. It also acts as a marketing tool for the hotels, both starred and non-starred, whilst ensuring safety and security for the traveler, considering various safety and security scenarios that exist world over. The Sky Touch Global Security Certification is providing a stamp of security to Mantis collection of hotels, the Fraser group etc., and many others who are giving adequate weightage to ensuring safety and security of their hotels and in conveying the same to their customers. Netrika Consulting Pvt. Ltd., India, is the authorized hotel safety and security auditor for Sky Touch Global covering the region of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Israel. Safety and Security certification is the way to ensure safety and security and establish trust of the customers and more so now than ever.
Disclaimer – The views are a professional opinion. Facts/ references, as mentioned in the article, have been taken from open source and where possible indicated.
