Travel Management Companies (TMCs)

TMCs need to provide comprehensive information to businesses about the security and safety of the hotels they are recommending.  This is a critical part of a company’s duty of care to its employees.

To date the only way for TMCs to query the security of a hotel was via hotel self-certification or expensive visits from security teams. Both options lack independence and consistency.

These issues have been a driving force behind a new ISO Travel Risk Management standard, ISO 31030, which is due to be published in 2020. This ISO standard requires organisations to seek independent confirmation of the security standards of hotels.

GSA have developed global independent hotel security standards that are risk-based. TMCs can adopt the GSA accreditation standard.

“Our duty of care portfolio, of which GSA forms a vital part, ensures TMCs have the very best tools to offer their clients to protect their employees and to help build traveller confidence. Working with GSA enriches the proposition of our Global Accommodation Programme, enabling us to put guest wellbeing at its core and aligned to ISO31030 Travel Risk Management.”

Leigh Cowlishaw, Global Supplier Partnership Director at Advantage Travel Partnership

“We cannot emphasise enough how important the benchmark and independent accreditation that GSA is setting. The hospitality industry is desperately in need of a set of standards that work across all regions and deals with health, safety and security directly for our travellers and suppliers staff.” 

 Bex Deadman, Managing Director at Blue Cube Travel

“ACE Travel work in partnership with GSA accreditation in promoting GSA accredited hotels to clients, to provide increased assurance to travellers around safety and security.

ACE Travel advocate clients to include and verify hotel security standards in their RFP programme – to include GSA accreditation and ISO 31030 – Managing Travel Risks.”

Martine Holland-Robinson, Head of Sales and Marketing at ACE Travel

Through TMCs RFP Process

A requirement for GSA accreditation can be incorporated into RFP processes. Hotels are required to meet the standards to enter the procurement process. This would be at a cost to the hotel rather than a TMC.

Through a Bespoke assessment

GSA can provide consistent safety and security assessment services for TMCs. This can be conducted remotely or on-site. GSA can provide access to hotel security reports on hotels that have already been assessed.

Remote assessment

GSA can conduct a remote security assessment. This includes comprehensive hotel research (including risk assessment) and interactive engagement with the hotel. The hotel must provide evidence to support its policies and procedures.

SIMPLIFIED PROCESSES

GSA provides a simple and consistent process to assess security requirements with reduced costs of validating security requirements for TMCs.

DIFFERENTIATOR

In a crowded market, a GSA accreditation provides corporate clients with reassurance that a TMC implements enhanced duty of care.

CONSISTENT STANDARD

A consistent global standard applied by trained and accredited expert assessors and backed by independent assessment.

SECURITY COMPETENCE

GSA is a marque for security competence developed a team with experience at the highest level of policing, protective security and counter terrorism.

ISO 31030

The GSA accreditation is designed to be compliant with the requirements of ISO 31030 Travel Risk Management Standard due in 2020.

BESPOKE

GSA can add bespoke checks for specific security elements to the assessment process if required by TMCs or their clients.