INTERNATIONAL REPORT—Accor and Bureau Veritas, a provider of testing, inspection and certification, have partnered to develop a label designed to certify that the appropriate safety standards and cleaning protocols have been achieved to allow businesses to reopen.
“Welcoming, protecting and taking care of others is the very DNA of Accor and at the heart of what we do,” said Franck Gervais, CEO, Europe Accor. “Today, more than ever, our employees, customers and partners need to be reassured of our ability to offer them the best welcome possible. As the European leader in hospitality, it is our duty to anticipate needs and respond to health and safety requirements by adhering to the highest standards. We are pleased to be pioneering this drive with Bureau Veritas and to extend it to all stakeholders.”
The label will cover both accommodations and catering, and will set the sanitary standards applicable to all Accor hotels, as well as to other chains and independent hotels. The project was carried out in partnership with doctors and epidemiologists and has been developed in collaboration with Accor owners and trade associations, such as UMIH, GNC and GNI.
“For almost 200 years, it has been Bureau Veritas’ mission to shape a world of trust,” said Jacques Pommeraud, CEO, Bureau Veritas Africa & France. “With this label, today we have the ability to meet the new expectations of our society in terms of health and safety. This label will contribute to the hospitality and restaurant industry reopening with confidence. We are proud to work with Accor, at first in France and subsequently in all European countries. This approach will benefit the entire industry as every company could request to be certified by Bureau Veritas.”
The project will be shared next 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 output of this effort will be an operational guide made available to all stakeholders in the hospitality industry, enabling them to rigorously apply the health and safety recommendation of authorities (WHO, Health Ministry, etc.), both in guest services spaces and in back office and catering spaces. European customers will be able to check on a dedicated Bureau Veritas website before they book their next stay to see whether a hotel or restaurant has been certified or not by Bureau Veritas.
