COVID-19 Safety Protocols: Managing Hotel and Restaurant Suppliers

Posted by Zosi Team

Your hospitality business is once again open. Are your pandemic safety protocols far-reaching and evolving?

Just as the hospitality industry must successfully manage infection transmission amongst staff and guests, so too must they not forget managing risk associated with hotel and restaurant suppliers and third parties. These entities pose a threat to your business via the goods and services relied upon for operation.

When it comes down to it, this risk amounts to three pieces of prevention: procurement, transporting, and receiving.

Hospitality Suppliers Management: Procurement

Beyond ensuring the goods and services purchased for your hotel or restaurant come from hospitality suppliers included on your list of approved suppliers, you must verify these companies have altered working practices to reflect the new requirement for increased infectious disease prevention. Remember, this may lead to delays and restrictions on product availability and must be factored into your purchasing timeline.

Hospitality Suppliers Management: Transporting

Similarly, the transportation process needs to maintain the safety of products on their way to your facility. How can you do this? As you review the infection control measures put in place by the supplier, ensure that they include effective and hygiene and disinfection protocols for vehicles, drivers, and packaging materials.

Hospitality Suppliers Management: Receiving

At this point, the third-party or supplier will directly interact with your staff. Thus, they should maintain the same level of hygiene protocols expected of your own team. Provide drivers with instructions on what safety and hygiene procedures to follow, such as social distancing, hand washing, and mask-wearing. Where possible, design the interaction to be as contactless as possible. To do this, communicate delivery notes and invoices electronically rather than in paper form.

Conclusion

Keeping your employees, your guests and your brand safe and healthy requires buy-in at every point in your operation. By following these simple protocols for procurement, transport, and receiving, your hotel or restaurant supply is one step closer to an effective POSI management program. To learn more about developing a robust infection control program that touches all parts of your business, consider our Hospitality Management Principles course.

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