The operator of a new hotel and resort health and safety accreditation system has called for industry-wide co-operation to protect holidaymakers.
Travelsafe, which has been trialled by a number of companies including Opodo for the last 12 months, announced Lowcostbeds.com and the On Holiday Group/Jet2 Holidays have signed up to its information sharing system this week. Talks are continuing with a number of other firms.
An original announcement was due in January but delayed amid legal wranglings. The delay saw ABTA get in first with the launch this week of its own system ABTA Resort Check in partnership with Argent Health and Safety, which provides services for Thomson.
Both Docleaf, the crisis management firm behind Travelsafe and rival firm Check Safety First, have claimed their systems are superior because they rely less on self-assessment by hoteliers, but ABTA head of business development Keith Richards has defended the association’s choice.
“The system is as robust as any other in the market. Major operators rely on self-assessment,” he said.
However, Travelsafe chief executive Dr David Perl, who welcomed the fact ABTA was taking this issue seriously, said the market will decide who offers the best system.
“It can be a lonely battle trying to convince people to change the way things have been done. Maybe the bigger companies will see sense and co-operate in this. If we share information we can cut costs and be more effective,” he said.
Low Cost Travel Group chief executive Paul Evans denied the decision to use Travelsafe was a snub to the ABTA system. “It is purely coincidental these announcements have been made at the same time,” he said.