Skift Take
Supporters of a new global risk standard soon coming into play have a tough challenge: convincing hotel groups it’s not just another layer of costly bureaucracy.
After spending most of 2020 disinfecting, scrubbing and cleaning, hotels are now being urged to show their security credentials are just as spotless.
Company travel managers say they’re more likely to do business with properties that can help them comply with a new global risk benchmarking standard, which will be the first of its kind for corporate travel when published in the summer. It also stands to help them fend off potential litigation.
ISO 31030 Risk Management — Managing Travel Risks is being developed by the International Organization for Standardization, a worldwide federation of 82 national standards bodies.
The upcoming release comes as the hospitality industry is warned that it is suffering from "Covid myopia" — where all other threats are given less priority in favor of Covid-19, according to International SOS. The pandemic is apparently preventing a holistic approach to health and security risk management.
The risk level to the global workforce has also reached its highest since 2016, in part, due to a rise protest movements and terrorist attacks across Europe. “Security issues have been exacerbated by the pandemic, particularly in relation to civil unrest and political protest,” said Mick Sharp, group director security services at the health and security services firm.
Meanwhile, ISOS' Risk Outlook 2021 found 60 percent of risk professionals believe the risks faced by business travelers in 2021 will increase on 2020 levels, based on its survey of 1,400 people across 99 countries.
Cover All Bases
The ISO standard widens the scope beyond coronavirus-busting protocols, and calls on travel managers to consider all aspects of travel as part of their duty of care responsibility. And as well as hotels it includes the airlines and ground transportation companies they use.
One assessor, Global Secure Accreditation, audited the Strand Palace Hotel, in London, in the summer of
