Conflict of Interest
1. Purpose
An assessment result is only worth trusting if the person reaching it has no personal stake in the outcome. This policy exists to catch that risk before it affects a decision, not after.
2. Who this applies to
Any ASF Tourism Surveyor, Coordinator, or Monitor conducting or reviewing an assessment; any member of ASF staff or leadership involved in an accreditation decision; and any member of a local partner organisation acting on ASF’s behalf in that role.
3. What counts as a conflict
A conflict exists, whether financial or otherwise, whenever an assessor’s objectivity about a specific facility could reasonably be questioned. This includes, without limitation:
- A financial interest in the facility being assessed, or in its parent company, ownership group, or management company
- Current or recent (within 24 months) paid consulting, training, or advisory work for the facility
- A close family relationship with the facility’s owner, general manager, or a senior staff member
- Prior employment at the facility, or at a directly competing property the assessor has a stake in
- Any gift, hospitality, or benefit offered by the facility beyond what is reasonable and incidental to the visit itself
4. Declaration requirement
Every person covered by this policy completes a written conflict-of-interest declaration before being assigned to a specific facility, and again annually regardless of assignment. A declaration is not optional and is not satisfied by a verbal assurance — it is a dated, signed document retained in ASF’s records.
5. Severity review and management
A declared interest is reviewed for severity, not automatically disqualifying in every case:
| Severity | Example | Management |
|---|---|---|
| Low | Assessor stayed at the facility once, years ago, as a paying guest | Declared and logged; assessment proceeds |
| Moderate | Former colleague, not a close relationship, now works there | Reviewed by a second person; assessor may proceed with oversight |
| High | Financial interest, close family, recent paid consulting | Assessor reassigned; cannot conduct or review this assessment |
6. Consequence of non-disclosure
An assessor who fails to declare a known conflict, discovered after the fact, has their involved assessments voided and re-conducted by an unconflicted assessor, and is subject to removal from ASF’s assessor roster. This is treated as a serious integrity matter, not an administrative oversight.
7. Applies equally across roles
The same declaration is required of anyone involved in a Standards-development decision (what the criteria say) and anyone involved in an accreditation decision (who passes) — one policy, applied consistently, because a conflict in either role undermines trust in the result the same way.