How To Grab The Corporate Market Post-Covid – ISO 31030

Date: September 2021

Location: UK…and Global

Who: Global Secure Accreditation

What Did They Say: Look out for ISO 310030…coming in 2021… 5 Things You Need to Know About ISO 31030…and 3 Tips to Help You Get Ready

It’s no secret that traveller security and duty of care is the top priority for hotel’s corporate clients who are seeking to restart their growth in business travel as we move into a post-COVID-19 world, followed closely by traveller satisfaction and wellbeing. As organisational and traveller expectations for safety increase, it will be important that you prepare for and embrace the upcoming ISO 31030 ‘Travel Risk Management’ Standard, expected this year, in order to thrive in an increasingly competitive market.

What You Need to Know About ISO: Set to launch later in 2021, ISO 31030 will lay out in clear terms the expectations for assessing and mitigating risks related to travel. As a result, it will have an impact on everyone in the travel supply chain, spanning your corporate clients, travel and travel risk managers, TMCs, transportation and accommodation providers.

ISO 31030 will:

1. Create a new travel risk management framework. ISO 31030 is a framework for a new travel risk management standard that will be contextualized by industry and sectors, recognising that different companies operate under different constraints. It will provide a flexible framework that meets the needs of organizations of every type, size, and geographical scope.
2. Build on existing standards. It complements the ISO 31000 international standard for risk management guidance used around the world today.
3. Introduce a system of widely accepted best practices. ISO 31030 will consider every aspect of safety when it comes to travel risk—including environmental, transportation and accommodation risks as well as threats from crime, cyberattacks and terrorism—and introduce common good practices that are easy to interpret and implement.
4. Be shaped by travel risk management experts. International experts are developing ISO guidance to help travel risk professionals understand what they need to do to protect employees travelling on business.
5. Have a significant impact on hotels. ISO 31030 guidance will help travel risk managers understand what they need to be thinking about when selecting hotels and other accommodations to meet your corporate customers’ duty of care expectations and prompt them to partner with hotels that comply with the new standards.

How to Thrive Following the ISO 31030 Launch: For hotels, ISO 31030 will help you to assess your security and provide reassurance to travel risk managers or guests. And while this new standard provides much needed clarity for the travel industry, it will be important that all travel suppliers—particularly hotels—align your safety and security practices to the standard to remain competitive and continue to satisfy your corporate clients’ duty of care requirements.

So, how can you ensure you’re ready?

• Get started now. If you haven’t yet planned for ISO 31030, your corporate clients may actually be ahead of you—and they may be working on their next RFP for their preferred hotel suppliers with an amped up consideration for the safety and security of their employees. So now is the time to assess and formalize your security programme with ISO 31030 in mind.
• Uncover and address gaps. Surveys show that travellers are looking for more overt signs of security, which they find reassuring and illustrate that you’re prepared in case of emergencies. Alongside advertising comfort and amenities, consider talking about the importance you place on security. As you get ready for ISO 31030, start looking at gaps in your culture, assessing staffing and training efforts and considering ways you can increase your investment in security by implementing simple measures to increase the physical safety of your guests while they’re staying at your property.
• Pursue accreditation from a partner aligned with ISO 31030 standards. Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of your guests, visitors and staff is an essential part of your operations. But it can be hard to know how you compare to your competition and whether your level of security is appropriate for your location. And your procedures might not be recognised by your corporate clients and their travellers, precisely because they’re operating exactly as they should—in the background. Global Secure Accreditation (GSA) exists to helps hotels make safety and security a strategic advantage through accreditation. Their accreditation focuses on the security and safety of travellers and your employees, which includes all potential sources of harm, including COVID-19. By achieving GSA accreditation, you’ll publicly demonstrate your commitment to the most stringent levels of duty of care to guests and illustrate how your efforts will meet or exceed the ISO 31030 standard.

THPT Comment: ISO 31030 will change the landscape of travel risk management for the better. If you would like GSA’s help in making sure that you are ready for the change contact them directly, or through THPT and follow them on LinkedIn. 

The cost to hotels is very reasonable at just over £1,000 per year.

First Seen: GSA Press Release

The Hotel Property Team (THPT) are a small group of highly experienced business professionals. Between us, we provide a range of skills and experience which is directly relevant to those involved in the hotel property market.

For more information – Visit www.thpt.co.uk or mailto:devanand@thpt.co.uk