Hotels urged to comply with safety standards
INTERNATIONAL certification company Safehotels Alliance AB hopes to certify more Philippine hotels as having met global standards on safety and security.
Andy Williams, Safehotels vice-president for business development, said they were in discussion with other hotel brands after Radisson Blu in Cebu.
“Radisson is our gateway into the rest of the Philippines,” he said after awarding Radisson Blu Cebu its premium certification.
Radisson was certified safe after undergoing more than three months of preparation for the technical audit. It is the first hotel in the Philippines and second in Asia to receive certification from Safehotels.
Williams said they were considering partnerships not only with the international hotel chains such as Marriott and Marco Polo, but also the smaller and individually-owned local hotels.
Travelers trust certified-safe hotels more, Williams said. Safehotels also endorses the certified hotels to event organizations, such as the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).
“I think this will definitely enhance Cebu as a growing tourist destination,” Williams said, referring to the certification granted to Radisson Blu.
Having certified-safe hotels will also provide competitive edge to Cebu and the Philippines in an integrated regional market, he added.
Safehotels makes use of 210 individual standard elements to score a hotel’s safety and security systems. The elements are divided into six categories: hotel property, training process and procedure, fire training, security training, fire and security equipment, and crisis management and recovery.
The hotel is given time to prepare for the audit. If it passes the audit, it will be awarded the Global Hotel Safety and Security Standard Certificate.
Certified hotels are checked yearly by Safehotels in order to maintain high standards of safety and security.
Under the Safehotels Alliance AB, over 200 hotels have been certified in over 30 countries worldwide.
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