WARRINGTON’S Park Royal Hotel is one of just six Cheshire hotels to make the Safe to Trade Scheme Approved list, to take their place among the safest 175 hotels in the UK.
With the number of August bank holiday overnight stays at UK hotels reported to be down from 8.6m last year to 4.8m this year, a list of 175 fully Covid-compliant UK hotels has been released by the hospitality industry’s Safe to Trade Scheme.
The newly-launched Safe to Trade Scheme helps holidaymakers to identify which hotels, bars, restaurants and cinemas are going the extra mile to ensure the safety of both their staff and guests.
The Scheme, has been launched by top-ranking hospitality safety experts, including the former CEO of the Health and Safety Executive and Food Standards Agency and the ex-Head of Local Delivery at Food Standards Agency, and is an independently verified safety standard for hospitality businesses that are not only compliant with, but also implementing measures that go above and beyond the government’s guidelines for trading during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The six Cheshire hotels that feature in the Top 175 Approved Safe to Trade Hotels in the UK, which includes the Park Royal Hotel in Warrington, have been independently audited by the Safe to Trade Scheme’s team of expert Environmental Health Practitioners and have had to pass a strict approval process, as well as adhere to stringent health and safety guidance.
The hotels will now work with the experts at the Scheme on an ongoing basis, who will audit their safety practices against its Safety Charter to ensure that they are running a Covid compliant operation, with this information made available to the public, so that they can make informed choices about where they patronise.
Each of the 175 establishments now feature on a national register, that holidaymakers can consult to find a safe to trade venue, which is regularly updated following honest feedback – both good and bad – from staff and customers. The register is also made available to local and national safety regulators, to assist with their requirement to risk rate businesses and a full list of current approved venues can be found at: https://safetotrade.org.uk/safe-to-trade/search/
Mark Flanagan who chairs the Safe to Trade Scheme governance board comments: “We are delighted to announce the first 175 UK hotels to meet our stringent standards and be deemed as Safe to Trade. For those customers looking to make the most of what’s left of the summer with a UK staycation but who want to do so as safely as possible, the Safe to Trade Scheme provides peace of mind. Customers who consult our register of approved venues at safetotrade.org.uk can search for a hotel by name or location and be confident that every approved hotel that features on the list complies fully with the law.”
The Safe to Trade Scheme is spearheaded by Shield Safety Group, alongside a Governance Board of top-ranking industry experts, including John Barnes, the ex-Head of Local Delivery at Food Standards Agency; Geoffrey Podger, the former CEO of the Health and Safety Executive and Food Standards Agency; Dr John Holah, the ex-Head of Food Hygiene Department at Camden BRI; Sterling Crew, the ex-Technical Director at manufacturers Peter Black and Kolak Snack Foods, Selvarani Elahi, the UK Deputy Government Chemist and Executive Director of the Food Authenticity Network and Mark Flanagan, CEO of Shield Safety Group (SSG).
Flanagan added: “If a customer sees something concerning at a venue or wants to share a positive experience, then they can simply scan the QR code on the venue’s Safe to Trade window sticker, or visit the Safe to Trade Scheme website, search for the business to feedback anonymously as well as rate the business. This is then fed back to the hotel, and outlet managers and owners are encouraged to adjust and adapt their practices to ensure that their business stays COVID compliant and safe.”
The Scheme’s register of approved venues is continuously evolving as hundreds of hotels have already signed up to be audited, and many more continue to do so on a daily basis. To find out more about the Safe to Trade Scheme visit: www.safetotrade.org.uk.