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Sol Melia´ Prepares its Hotels in Mexico for Swine Flu
Prevention Protocol is Put Into Action Redirecting Some Bookings at No Extra Cost to Other Caribbean Destinations
Palma
de Mallorca, Spain, 27 April 2009 - The Spanish hotel
company Sol Meliá has shared its concern on a humanitarian level
with the situation in Mexico, but has also been quick to deny rumours
of a major impact of the virus on company performance. According to
Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Sol Meliá, the impact is expected to be mild given that “the problem has come about in what is the
now the low season in the region, with the revenues from Mexican hotels
in May and June making up only 1.04% of the total”. Sol Meliá
manages 9 hotels in México, 5 of them owned by the company and
the others under management agreements. In total they provide 3,441
rooms which contribute 9% of company EBITDA over the year and 7% of
total revenues. While still
awaiting a full assessment of the impact of the flu virus on bookings –
basically from travellers and tour operators from the North America -
Sol Meliá expects to redirect part of the Mexican demand to
other Caribbean destinations in which it operates such as Costa Rica,
Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic, at no extra cost to guests or
intermediaries. Although the situation requires a great deal of caution
at the present time, both individual guests and tour operators are
giving a positive response to a possible change in their destination or
the postponement of their vacations or meetings rather than their
cancellation. Sol Meliá is working very closely with the Mexican authorities, as they are accustomed to crisis management and close cooperation with hotels. PROTOCOL AND BEST PRACTICES Sol Meliá
has experience in emergency situations similar to the swine flu
outbreak in México. During the bird flu epidemic in Asia, for
example, hotels in Bali, Banten, The protocol is
built around best practises in the hotel industry to protect staff and
guests and to keep up a certain level of business activity during the
crisis, ensuring that service continues to be provided to guests and
that there is a means of isolating guests in hotel interiors if
required. The most
important actions involve information and training (hygiene education)
to raise awareness amongst guests and staff, personal hygiene,
cleanliness in hotel facilities, heightened supervision and strict
compliance with the most rigorous food handling regulations, together
with measures for isolation and disinfection if any case were to arise
in the hotel. The company also
wishes it to be known that there have been no cases to date amongst
staff or guests in the hotels in Los Cabos, Vallarta, Ixtapa or About
Sol Meliá Founded in 1956 in
Palma de Mallorca ( |