Meliá Hotels International has developed ‘Stay Safe with Meliá’

Meliá Hotels International has developed a program to deal with the staggered reopening of its hotels in the post-COVID-19 recovery phase, and has contracted one of the most prestigious certification entities in the world, Bureau Veritas, to ensure that it complies with the most demanding standards in health security.
In addition to its own certification, Meliá actively collaborates with Spanish sector entities such as the FEHM, AESPLA, ICTE and with the Technical / Health authorities, to prepare a guide for the hotel sector in the context of COVID-19, which has national application and international.
In addition to specifying the protocols and measures for hygiene and disinfection of the spaces and the main operational processes, the program devotes an important section to the training of professionals, and to the emotional aspect of the relationship with the client in the situation created by COVID. To do this, and to prioritize the experience of its clients as much as possible, the "Stay Safe with Meliá" program also foresees the creation in the hotel of a person in charge of the client's "emotional well-being", and to verify the proper compliance with the established processes for the prevention of Covid-19.
The certification will cover the needs of the hotel and restaurant industry, establishing sanitary standards in all Meliá hotels, which will be applicable to other companies in the sector. As a final result, an operational guide will be created that will serve as a roadmap for Meliá Hotels International, to rigorously apply the health and safety recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the competent authorities of each country.

A global and multidisciplinary plan
As a global company, Meliá Hotels International has always relied on the excellence of its team of professionals to ensure effective and efficient management and the best experience for its clients. To ensure that hotel teams worldwide are prepared to implement them, the Group has shared and disseminated the "Stay Safe with Meliá" program with each and every one of the Directors of its hotels, from each of its regional offices, who in turn will share it and put it into practice in their teams and establishments.

The Meliá "360º" Program foresees actions in various areas:
- Post COVID-19 Cleaning and Disinfection Plan, endorsed by a strategic provider such as Diversey.
-Recommendations of Occupational Health for the incorporation to the job (corporate offices and hotels), which includes the hygienic and organizational measures to guarantee the return to the job, the identification of people at risk, the coordination of the relationship with suppliers and third parties, and the management of possible cases of contagion.
-Innovation and technology, with technological solutions to minimize close physical contact between customer and employee, guarantee the safety of facilities and sustainability
-Global post COVID-19 operations guide, with adaptations of procedures and necessary training for teams
-Brand Standards readapted to the security required to avoid risks of contagion by COVID-19 in processes such as F&B, In-room Experience, Wellness, Entertainment, etc.
-Guide to Technical Installations and Maintenance after COVID-19

Comprehensive, participatory and tested process in hotels
For the preparation of this program, Meliá Hotels International has had the international knowledge and experience of its Risk Management and Occupational Health, Operations and Brands, Purchases and Maintenance, and Information Systems teams, and with the advice of specialist strategic suppliers. . To define the new spaces, processes and brand standards, the team has reviewed all the points of contact with the client: reception, rooms, parking lots, swimming pools, restaurants, meeting rooms, spa, entertainment program, etc. Likewise, to ensure that customer preferences are incorporated, more than 100,000 Group customers will be involved in the adaptation process, to which a survey has been launched.

To verify that the new product and service processes and standards adapted to the post-COVID context "work" in terms of security and customer experience, the company is developing, both in closed hotels and in "guard" hotels for essential services. , a battery of "trials" of the new gastronomy and Food and Beverage service processes, cleaning procedures for rooms and common areas, simulations of customer flows at entrances and exits, car parks and pool areas, and estimation of capacity In the different spaces, new applications and digital solutions are also tested, which will reduce contact at direct contact points.
With a view to implementing the program as establishments are opened, the process will adapt to the pace of reopening in each region and country, maintaining constant monitoring of the results obtained by the global team.

As Gabriel Escarrer, Executive Vice President and CEO of Meliá Hotels International explains, “We will be ready to open our hotels as soon as there is sufficient mobility and demand to guarantee a minimum occupancy, and for this, we are putting all our know-how and experience of these months in our hotels in China, in the “Stay Safe with Meliá" program. The certification from Bureau Veritas reaffirms that the new processes and the adaptation of spaces comply with the highest health and safety guarantees and the most demanding standards international, a factor that will be essential to operate in the post-COVID-19 times. "

Bertrand Martin, Executive President of Bureau Veritas Spain and Portugal, maintains: “We are very pleased to be able to work together with Meliá Hotels International. Bureau Veritas' mission is to build a world of trust. In this sense, Global Safe Site allows us to meet the expectations of our society in terms of health and safety. In this way, we will contribute to the reopening of hotels and restaurants in accordance with the maximum guarantees of reliability. This certification will undoubtedly benefit the entire industry".