The suppliers agreed it was down to hoteliers to take a firm stand against bribes and ensure appropriate security and regulations are in place to prevent individuals abusing the purchasing system for personal gain.
“I think it’s up to the chains of hotels and the GMs to put an end to it – and you can quote me on that,” said Thomas Haller, food business manager, Nestle Professional.
“They are the ones that have the power to do a strict non-bribe policy and go out to the suppliers and say ‘if anyone at our hotel is asking anything you call me’.
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I’ve been a GM of Marriott and I was working in Pakistan and my policy was very clear. Every year you negotiate with your suppliers for various things and my speech was clear — ‘if anyone in this hotel is asking you for any favour you say no. but the next day you come and see me’.”
Suppliers must be equally strict, however: “We work with distributors; if we find out that they are bribing, they’re gone. It’s very clear. There are no two ways about it. We are against it and even if a Nestle employee would bribe anyone, he is gone,” asserted Haller.
Atlantis The Palm director of procurement Bhanu Pratap Singh — Hotelier Middle East’s Procurement Person of the Year in 2012 — said hotels had to take control of the process and suggested technology could help.
“It is the responsibility of the hotel that is procuring to demonstrate procurement maturity and isolate undue influences on their decision making. This is only possible if a hotel places a particular emphasis on using the best available electronic tools and technology to improve speed, efficiency and effectiveness of buying decisions, and continues to innovate the process to adapt to the ever changing business environment,” said Singh.
“Of course, it is also imperative for a company to demonstrate deterrents to such unsolicited activities to highlight the fact they will not be tolerated and to minimise such activities within the entire hotel industry.”
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