COVID-19’s impact on the hospitality industry has significantly changed the way hotel businesses function and manage their operations worldwide. In one of its kind initiative, to familiarise hotels and hospitality professionals with dynamic changes of operating a hotel in a post COVID world and equipping them with the sanitization guidelines, FICCI & OYO have joined forces by launching an Online Training and Certification Course specifically for the hospitality industry. With a focus on redesigning the sanitisation protocols of hotels and minimising person keeping in line with the SOP announced by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India; OYO & FICCI’s certification course shall help thousands of individual budget, mid-segment, boutique hotels and homestays in India as well as hospitality professionals to maintain and improve their safety and hygiene standards in line with government and industry benchmarks and best practices. The course has been made available in Hindi and English.
The certification course comprises a set of nine training modules built to help hotels and hospitality professionals implement key safety guidelines. These modules include hotel, staff, guest, front-office, F & B service, housekeeping, guest room cleaning and food production advisories. This will also include an advisory on how to handle suspected COVID or COVID-positive guests.
The online certification course can be accessed at https://bit.ly/2WFFEAr
As part of this partnership, FICCI will enable and support the implementation of Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and online delivery platform for the Online Certification Course. The Federation will also be responsible for creating awareness about the program in the hospitality industry and providing the certificates on course completion. We at OYO have developed and designed course materials for this program. The partnership is envisaged to create an avenue for hotels and hospitality professionals to meet the challenges of operating a hotel/property in the present circumstances and also evolve with relevant solutions to address the same.
Upon completion and after due evaluation, successful candidates shall receive a course completion certificate which will enable them to implement key safety guidelines, boost customer confidence and help in demand creation as travel resumes in a post-COVID world. The course shall open avenues for successful candidates helping them to build a strong career in the hospitality world.
Ritesh Agarwal, Founder & Group CEO, OYO Hotels & Homes on the announcement said, “We have spent considerable time and effort in understanding the requirements of customers and hotels in a post-COVID world. The certification course will enable hospitality professionals and hotels across the country to determine new ways of working, fully understand local and central government’s guidelines, align with best practices and reimagine operations in a manner that helps both customers and employees feel safe, secure and comfortable. As a global hospitality chain, we are committed to driving best practices across the hospitality industry, sharing our learnings and co-creating a successful future of hospitality in India and beyond. Our collaboration with FICCI is a step in that direction and we are thankful for their support.”
Commenting on the development, Mr Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General FICCI said, “The hospitality industry in India has both thousands of unorganised and organised players who are vital contributors to both economic opportunities as well as local tourism. The COVID-19 has forced changes in operating procedures for all kinds of businesses across the globe and the hospitality industry is also no exception to it, hence any support to this large set of professionals and hotels will not only help them navigate the uncertainties better but also drive business and revitalise the tourism potential. This course has been designed to help develop a uniform set of self-regulating guidelines and create supporting mechanisms and frameworks for our industry so that they can benefit from systematic guidelines and sanitation protocols in the post COVID world.”
Sharing his thoughts on the initiative, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Honorable Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism & Culture, Govt of India said, “We welcome the initiative of FICCI & OYO to harness technology to develop a certification course that can provide guidance to small and medium hotel enterprises as well as professionals in maintaining high standards of hygiene, sanitation and operational effectiveness. India has immense tourism potential and any initiative that can help ensure our guests feel comfortable and confident in their travel journeys across the country will go a long way in contributing to the twin visions of Dekho Apna Desh and Incredible India.”
FICCI and OYO are committed to strengthening the support mechanisms in the hospitality industry, promote and participate in the government’s efforts for attracting domestic and foreign tourists and contribute to the future of hospitality in the country.
We care about the experiences of all our guests who place their trust in us and one of our core competencies includes constantly innovating to become more effective and efficient by building a safe ecosystem for all our guests and partners. Reiterating our strong commitment to providing a safe and pleasant hospitality experience to our guests, we recently launched the ‘Sanitised Stays’ and partnered with Unilever to enhance this initiative further. This course with FICCI is yet another step in the direction of building a holistic framework to address the post-COVID requirements.
