PATA and Hotel Resilient Sign Organisational Partnership
BANGKOK, December 16, 2020 -- The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is pleased to announce a new organisational partnership with Hotel Resilient, a scientific benchmarking and certification body for crisis risk management and climate change adaptation of hotels and resorts based on internationally recognized and industry supported standards.
“Tourism is one of the most severely exposed sectors with many organisations previously emphasising their efforts on disaster response rather than reducing risks. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for our industry to be better prepared for all types of disasters, including natural, man-made and future pandemics,” said Dr. Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA. “Our partnership with Hotel Resilient offers a solution to building a more resilient, responsible, sustainable and stronger travel and tourism industry, and I look forward to working with them towards this goal.”
From 2013 to 2017, the Global Initiative on Disaster Risk Management, an initiative by the German Government under the responsibility of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), in partnership with the United Nations Office on Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and PATA, developed in consultation with government and private sector stakeholders a Multi-hazard Risk Management Standard for hotels under the Hotel Resilient Initiative. The Hotel Resilient Initiative aimed at raising awareness on climate and disaster risks in the tourism sector, advancing comprehensive risk management capacities and strengthening resilience in hotels and at tourist destinations.
This initiative eventually led to the formation of Hotel Resilient, which provides the hotel industry with global risk analytics, digital platforms and pragmatic tools towards disaster and climate resilient planning, design and operations. They support hotels from the design of their disaster management system to implementation of protocols, facilitation of trainings and completion of audits towards a successful certification.
The organisation’s goal is to enable all hotels to thrive in the face of natural disasters and climate change. By doing so, they not only enhance guest safety and business continuity but contribute to the resilience of destinations, local communities, and national economies that rely on tourism.
Hotel Resilient provides hotels and resorts with an international, industry-recognized standard for enhancing resilience in accommodation services. The Hotel Resilient Standards are the first coordinated effort by tourism regulators, hotel operators, insurance industry and leading scientists to develop a multi-hazard disaster risk management and climate change adaptation standards specifically designed for hotels and resorts. The international standard is supported by powerful risk analytics and audit management platform, as well as e-learning modules covering all areas of the standard. The Hotel Resilient Standards take proven disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation strategies and tailor them to the needs of the hotel industry. They outline exactly what a hotel needs to become disaster and climate resilient. The Hotel Resilient software equips hotels with the tools needed to implement the standards, identify potential sources of risk and manage actions to protect life, reduce down time, and minimize business losses. Hotel Resilient’s training tools build hotel staff capacity to prepare, respond and recover from crisis events. Their training and coaching program puts hotel staff in the driver’s seat to implement resilient strategies. Their tools are aligned to optional certification, which are based on the Hotel Resilient Standards.
Dr. Bijan Khazai, CEO, Hotel Resilient, said, “To develop resilience, hotels and resorts have to shift their focus from merely reacting to crises, to proactively identifying, analyzing and assessing risks while formulating their business strategies. Knowing how to do so and where to start is often the biggest challenge. We see ourselves as a tireless partner in supporting hotels become more resilient in the face of disasters with the right tools tailored to the hotel operations.”
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Hotel Resilient highlighted disease outbreak as one of multiple hazards potentially impacting hotels. In the wake of the pandemic, Dr. Trevor Girard, Director of Standards and Accreditation at Hotel Resilient and his team of risk specialists have evaluated the scientific evidence, international guidelines and industry best practices to set new standards that cover all aspects of a hotel's COVID-19 prevention and response strategy. Hotel Resilient has collaborated with governments and hotel associations in various countries such as Thailand, Ecuador, Palestine, Sri Lanka and Maldives, supporting the development of COVID-19 safety and hygiene protocols and training programs for accommodation services.
The Hotel Resilient COVID-READY certification scheme is aligned with the internationally recognised Hotel Resilient global standards on disaster risk management. It goes beyond hygiene and safety, addressing systemic and procedural changes to minimise risk and address various crisis management aspects, such as response planning, business continuity, and crisis communication with regard to COVID-19.
To find out more about Hotel Resilient, visit https://hotelresilient.org or visit their exhibition space during PATA Beyond: Travel Recovery Solutions from February 8-11, 2021.
To learn more about PATA Beyond, visit www.PATA.org/pata-beyond-2021.