Hotel health and safety auditing by docleafsafe.com™ : a way forward for travel arrangers everywhere
October 2005
Introduction
docleafsafe.com™ offers two distinct services; one which places the onus for health and safety back with overseas suppliers rather then the tour operators who use them, giving them ultimate responsibility for due diligence but at the same time allowing them a measure of control. The second offers smaller travel operators a simple and cost effective way of auditing its suppliers allowing them to meet due diligence requirements.
docleafsafe annual hotel health & safety audits
Currently overseas suppliers can be subjected to multiple health and safety inspections depending on the number of tour operators which use them. With docleafsafe™, they can undergo just one annual audit, which will provide them with a complete safety report and final certification. These take the form of an inspection undertaken by qualified docleaf® health and safety staff to review all health and safety elements required by current EU recommendations and directives.
For other tour operators, travel agents and dot coms who send varying numbers of customers to a wide range of different hotels, docleafsafe.com™ operates an on-line supplier self-assessment process enabling these companies to audit all of the hotels they use. This cost effective approach provides a solution to checking overseas suppliers by getting them to complete the on-line web based self-assessment audit. The system then automatically risk assesses them on a on a gold, silver, bronze or non compliant basis.
What is covered?
docleafsafe.com™’s audits cover the following elements, fire, pool, child and general safety as well as hygiene.
docleafsafe.com™ is also particularly pertinent to travel agents, some of whom don’t realise that by putting together their own packages, for example a coach tour to a Christmas Market in Germany, they are subject to the EU Package Travel Directive and therefore legally liable. docleafsafe™’s self assessment audits will allow them to evaluate suppliers to ensure they comply with due diligence requirements and the duty of care to their customers.
Worldwide reach
There has also been considerable interest in the docleafsafe.com™ scheme in other parts of the World. At the recent PATA ( Pacific Asia Travel Association) Travel Mart in Kuala Lumpar much interest was generated and discussions are now underway to establish a base in the Far East.
This will complement our operations in Spain and Portugal where docleaf® already have overseas based staff. The docleafsafe.com™ database is starting to get populated rapidly.
docleaf® has already completed a series of audits in Egypt. Hotels in the Sinai, Luxor, Cairo and El Alamein have all been issued with their docleafsafe.com™ certification.
In addition a number of hotels and Safari Lodges are currently being audited in Kenya on behalf of the Kenyan Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers (KAHC).
Reaction
Colin McGregor, H&S director believes that: “Judging from the response, we’ve already had, docleafsafe.com™ will actively encourage hotels to further improve their health and safety standards. We expect a certain amount of friendly rivalry between hotels as they compete against each other to get the highest ratings on their certificates. For suppliers completing self assessment audits, it certainly focuses their minds on the issues of health and safety and as a result many are reviewing their current policies".
Click here for more information on docleafsafe.com™
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