Inntelligent News 2021

Risk Management Q&A Radisson Hotel Group Whilst hotels and venues have always had risk mitigation high on the agenda, the pandemic has taken this to a new level. One of our partners, Radisson, explain the changes in their safety protocols. What measures have you put in place at your venue and/or hotel to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 spread? Our highest priority is the health, safety and security of our guests, team members, and business partners. In partnership with SGS, who are a world leading inspection, verification, testing & certification company, we have reviewed our existing health and safety processes and developed new safety protocols. This in- depth cleanliness and disinfection protocol is designed to ensure guest safety and peace of mind, from check-in to check-out. In general, how do you think your guests and/or delegates feel about visiting your hotel and/or venue in the near future? We believe that the safety protocols in place allow our guests the peace of mind and confidence to return to our hotels knowing their safety and security remain our number 1 priority. Do you feel your specific risk management measures will give you a competitive advantage? Radisson Hotel Group is the first to offer a comprehensive rapid testing program for guests. This ground breaking coordinated approach across EMEA, reinforces traveller confidence and peace of mind as the world returns to business by providing a safe environment and seamless testing service. What would your advice be for travellers and delegates who are preparing to start traveling and meetings again soon? Travellers and delegates can plan meetings and hotel stays confident in the knowledge that the very highest level of safety standards are robustly implemented across ALL Radisson Hotels. Our hotel teams are ready and waiting to welcome you back! OSL Rail OSL Rail is one of our clients who continued to operate throughout the pandemic, we ask them about their experience in managing the risk during this time. Has the pandemic had an impact on risk management within your travel policy and if so, what changes have you made? The guidance and expertise from Inntel has been invaluable as we continued our work as 'key workers' in the rail industry. For those that couldn't work from home or were site based, we created small work bubbles, gave all members of staff 'lockdown health and safety packs', had a strict no van sharing policy, and opted for hotels with food service to avoid unnecessary travel outside of the hotel. We developed our own 'walk through' sanitisation units (Personnel Access System) for our head offices and sites. Inntel supported us with implementing these in hotels, helping keep staff and community secure on our Isle of Wight project. In general, how do your travellers feel about travelling to provide essential services during these challenging times? They work with risk in their roles, so they adapt well to change and keeping themselves and the public safe. As a business we have provided 24/7 support to those working away and operate a robust close call system if any situation arose that felt unsafe or uncomfortable. What logistical challenges did OSL Rail face when planning projects during the pandemic? Due to volume of workers we need to complete projects across different skill sets we had to manage this carefully, where we would normally use one hotel, we split workers into smaller groups. This would mean each hotel would reach a 40% capacity to allow public areas to remain manageable, enhanced cleaning, dining bubbles for 15 people at one time on separate tables. In the midst of 'lockdown' we had a key commissioning on the Isle of Wight. To support the chosen accommodation, to ensure it was financially viable for them to operate at 40%, we paid a small portion of room rate for rooms to remain empty for the safety of our workforce, delivering the project on time and the important work hotel staff also do to keep us safe. We developed our own sanitisation and temperature checking equipment to each entrance of the hotels. We felt it was also important to support local businesses to give back to the community. With the help from Inntel we arranged the workforces lunches through a local café to supply us with approx. 60 lunches per day for 4 months Do you feel there will be permanent changes to the way you plan and book travel? We pride ourselves on our holistic approach to travel and duty of care as a business and we have always embodied Network Rail's 'Everyone home safe, every day. However, Inntel's expertise, top tier customer service and shared learning has really enhanced our travel policy. They remain our first point of call - from Project Managers, Resource or Procurement - we all use their knowledge and adaptability to manage any situation or curveball, in the best way possible. What would your advice be to organisations who are currently reviewing their traveller safety and duty of care policies? Whilst you should always 'do your best' - you can't take any chances with traveller safety. Get advice from the experts, in our case - Inntel for best practice and travel management. INNTELLIGENT NEWS - ISSUE 17 PAGE NINETEEN