Foreword

With the increasing number of people traveling overseas to countless destinations every year, travelers' expectations, regardless of their choice of destination, are that all accommodation and related services are safe. In holiday or business travel, the safety and health of travelers should be a priority for travel suppliers, tourism accommodation providers, and authorities at the destination.

For many years, ABTA – The Travel Association and the Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) have worked with Members, accommodation suppliers, transport providers at overseas destinations, and other tourism service organizations to improve health and safety standards for travelers, tourism accommodation staff, and local communities. We continue to collaborate with the tourism sector on key tourism issues, infrastructure, health and safety, accessibility, and sustainability.

As part of our ongoing commitment to continuously improve health and safety in the tourism accommodation sector, this Tourism Accommodation Health and Safety Technical Guide has been reviewed and updated to replace the Tourism Accommodation Health and Technical Guide published in 2012, thanks to the cooperation of our Members and our health and safety expert team.

The technical instructions contained in this book do not replace the standards required by local laws and regulations. Local standards and regulations related to safety and hygiene vary from country to country and even region to region, and compliance with local laws and regulations is a prerequisite for every tourism accommodation supplier.

Foreword

The purpose of this Guide is to provide realistic safety information related to tourism accommodation security to governments at destinations and tourism accommodation suppliers such as hotels, guesthouses, and villa owners. Users of this Guide will be able to identify important safety components to consider in tourism accommodation planning and management.

We offer these instructions as a sensible approach to raising safety standards where there is no European or International Tourism Accommodation Safety Law, to accommodation suppliers, tourism organizations, hotel associations, and government authorities. These instructions are provided so that accommodation suppliers can develop their own safety and risk management programs in connection with their local, regional, and national safety law compliance programs.

We cannot advise on individual compliance programs; therefore, these instructions are offered in good faith but without any legal liability. Accommodation suppliers must ensure they have done what is necessary to comply with regulations and contracts with travel suppliers and other partners.

ABTA – The Travel Association July 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this technical guide may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of ABTA. © ABTA – The Travel Association 2017.

Foreword Acknowledgements

Tourism accommodation suppliers needing assistance with health and safety procedures for their own properties should ensure that a reputable consultancy service is used. Local and international suppliers may offer consultancy services, but references should be sought before engaging their services.

ABTA – The Travel Association thanks the international expert teams and health and safety consultancy companies for their invaluable contributions and expertise in preparing this technical guide.

  • Argent Health and Safety Ltd - Claire McKinney - Claire.McKinney@argenthands.co.uk
  • BeSafe Ltd - Barbara Evans - barbara@besafelimited.co.uk
  • Biolinea - Dr Sebastian Crespi - screspi@telefonica.net
  • Check Safety First Ltd - Jason Burnett - jburnett@checksafetyfirst.com
  • CORGI - John Gregory - jgregory@corgitechnical.com
  • David G Parker Fire Consultancy Ltd - David Parker - dparker_1@btinternet.com
  • Euro Hygiene - Miles Kirkwood - miles@eurohygiene-supplies.com
  • Fire and Life Safety Services Ltd. - Paul Woods - fireandlifesafety@btinternet.com
  • IGI Ltd - Ian Greaves - iangreaves@igint.co.uk
  • MicroDiagnostics Ltd - Professor Rodney Cartwright - profc@microdiagnostics.plus.com
  • Moonlight Consulting - Belinda Stuart-Moonlight - office@me-ltd.biz
  • Preverisk - Esteban Delgado - edelgado@preverisk.com
  • ROSPA - David Walker - djwalker@ROSPA.com
  • STS Solutions - Mike Williams - mwilliams@sts-solutions.co.uk
  • Securewest International - James Lawrence-Felton - JamesLawrence-Felton@securewest.com
  • Tetra Consulting - Barry Hilton - barry.hilton@tetraconsulting.co.uk
  • Wayman Experts - Oggs Wayman - oggsw@waymanexperts.com

Contents

  • Section One: Health and Safety Risk Management
  • Section Two: Fire Safety
  • Section Three: Food Hygiene and Safety
  • Section Four: Pool Safety
  • Section Five: General Security
  • Section Six: Pest Control Management
  • Section Seven: Fuel and Energy
  • Section Eight: Water Safety Management
  • Section Nine: Child Facilities
  • Section Ten: Security
  • Section Eleven: Transportation
  • Section Twelve: Water Parks
  • Section Thirteen: Beach and Water Sports
  • Section Fourteen: Prevention of Infection Spread
  • Section Fifteen: Legionnaires' Disease
  • Section Sixteen: Incident Management and Investigation
  • Section Seventeen: Natural Disasters
  • Section Eighteen: Villa Security

Section One: Health and Safety Risk Management

The purpose of the Health and Safety Risk Management section of this technical guide is to support tourism accommodation providers and other relevant providers in effectively identifying and managing health and safety risks.

The benefit of having an appropriate health and safety risk management process is that it provides a consistent and proportionate approach to the following:

  • Identifying and reporting hazards
  • Determining and documenting existing controls and their effectiveness
  • Identifying any additional actions that may be necessary to reduce risk to an acceptable level

An effective health and safety risk management process can help reduce accidents and injuries related to the facility. All users of this technical guide should seek support from a competent person regarding any area not fully understood.

Competence can be defined as the combination of a person's education, skills, experience, and knowledge, and the ability to assess whether a task is performed safely. Other factors such as attitudes and physical fitness can also affect a person's competence.

Management Responsibility

While the daily management of health and safety at the facility can be delegated to other staff, the accommodation owner and facility manager are responsible for the safe provision of facility services and amenities and must follow risk management procedures to ensure they operate correctly.

It is recommended that the hazard identification process and accepted risk reduction actions are regularly monitored to ensure they are implemented and achieve the desired results.

Accommodation owners and managers must ensure that the risk management process they use is documented, communicated, accessible to staff, and that staff receive appropriate training to effectively perform their duties and responsibilities.

Duty of Care

Accommodation owners and tourism accommodation managers are responsible for complying with local standards regarding the health, safety, and welfare of their staff, customers, third-party suppliers, and other visitors within the facility.

This duty may also cover activities and processes carried out by the accommodation provider outside the facility boundaries or under their responsibility (such as transportation or excursions).

In most countries, this duty is a legal requirement; however, caring for the health and well-being of employees and customers should not be seen merely as a legal obligation. Demonstrating commitment to the health and well-being of everyone staying, working, or visiting the facility should be the purpose of the accommodation business.

Risk Management

An effective health and safety management system provides a logical and systematic framework to help a business identify hazards within the facility boundaries, reduce or eliminate them, and determine any additional controls required.

Additionally, regular monitoring of the risk management system will also provide assurance regarding the effectiveness of established control measures.

Hazard

A hazard is defined as elements that have the potential to cause harm or adverse health effects to one or more persons.

Risk

Risk is the likelihood that a person will be harmed or suffer adverse health effects as a result of exposure to a hazard.

Risk can be effectively assessed by identifying the following:

  • The likelihood of harm occurring
  • How serious the harm could be (severity)
  • The number of people who could be affected by this harm
  • Existing controls

Risk Assessment

Risk assessment is carried out to understand hazards, the likelihood of accidents, and what can be done about them. It is a careful examination of what could cause harm to customers, employees, and other visitors, including activities inside the facility and, in some cases, activities outside the facility.

It then determines whether sufficient measures/controls are in place to prevent harm or reduce the risk of harm, or what more needs to be done.

Risk assessments must be conducted by a competent person. However, the assessor should also involve a sufficient number of people (i.e., staff, regular visitors to the facility) to carry out a full assessment and ensure the assessment is collectively accepted. Risk assessments must be documented.

Five-Step Risk Assessment

  1. Identify hazards: Identifying potential hazards is fundamental to risk management. Walk through the facility to review structures, activities, processes, and substances that could cause injury or health damage. Review manufacturer instructions, accident and illness records, and routine activities.
  2. Identify who might be harmed and how: Consult with employees to identify hidden hazards and consider groups with special needs (children, disabled persons, new staff).
  3. Evaluate the risk: Assess the likelihood and severity of harm from hazards. Review existing controls and explore ways to reduce risk. Ensure compliance with local health, safety, and hygiene regulations.
  4. Record findings: Document hazards, ways harm could occur, and existing controls. Records should be simple and up to date, demonstrating that risks are managed and appropriate people are involved.
  5. Review the risk assessment: Update risk assessments regularly and when changes occur (accidents, legal changes, new activities, changes in customer profile, new equipment). Conduct daily or weekly facility inspections, use checklists, and keep records.

Other Considerations

Accident and incident reporting is important for identifying trends and preventing recurring accidents. Employees should monitor safety issues and report them to managers. Reported issues should be investigated, resolved, and recorded.

Staff health and safety training should be provided at induction and regularly thereafter. Training should be documented.

Record Keeping

To support the risk management system, documents should be stored securely and be easily accessible. Documents can be in printed or digital form.

Documents related to the risk management system may include (but are not limited to):

  • Risk assessments
  • Safety checklists
  • Employee training records and competency certificates
  • Accident or incident report forms