Accor has partnered with inspection and certification specialist Bureau Veritas to launch a label certifying sanitary-standards compliance in the hospitality and restaurant sectors.
Hospitality group Accor hopes the certification scheme will help reassure customers and employees that appropriate standards and cleaning protocols have been met as coronavirus restrictions are lifted and businesses reopen.
Accor said the standards would apply to all group hotels and an operational guide be made available “to all stakeholders in the hospitality industry, enabling them to rigorously apply the health and safety recommendations of authorities”.
In a statement, the group said: “The project has been carried out in partnership with doctors and epidemiologists and developed in collaboration with Accor owners and trade associations.”
Details of the scheme will be shared with the French ministries of tourism, health and labour to validate the standards and with French tourism association Alliance France Tourisme.
Accor said it would also submit “proposals for the easing of lockdown measures” to “governments in France and subsequently in Europe”.
Once up and running, the scheme would enable customers to check whether a hotel or restaurant has been certified on a dedicated Bureau Veritas website before booking.
Accor Europe chief executive Franck Gervais said: “Today more than ever our employees, customers and partners need to be reassured of our ability to offer them the best welcome possible.
“We are pleased to be pioneering this drive with Bureau Veritas and to extend it to all stakeholders.”
Bureau Veritas chief executive (France & Africa) Jacques Pommeraud, said: “This label will contribute to the hospitality and restaurant industry reopening with confidence.
“We are proud to work with Accor, at first in France and subsequently in all European countries. This approach will benefit the entire industry.”
