How Does Duty of Care Fit Into Your Travel Risk Management Plan?

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How Does Duty of Care Fit Into Your Travel Risk Management PlanBoth corporate and leisure travel can be unpredictable–inclement weather, canceled flights and hotel reservations, and serious events like terror attacks, natural disasters and civil unrest may all throw a wrench in the most carefully-laid plans. Being unprepared for unexpected events can pose avoidable risks to your employees and your business, and expose your organization to unnecessary scrutiny and liability. These circumstances are just a few of the reasons why it is vital to have an effective travel risk management plan in place.

What is Duty of Care?

Duty of care is a business’ moral and legal responsibility for its employees’ welfare. It is an important aspect to take into consideration when it comes to making policies that affect your employees’ well-being not only when traveling, but when they’re working at the office or at home as well.

Travel Risk Management

With advances in technology and an increasingly mobile workforce, the world of corporate travel is constantly changing. Travel risk management is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to effectively practicing duty of care. Being prepared and having solid policies and procedures in place for mishaps, pitfalls and dangerous situations can help your company avoid serious liability issues and keep employees safe, healthy and happy. Many business travel agencies not only help organizations with travel arrangements, they provide business travel services that include advice and assistance with developing travel risk management plans that address duty of care as well.

Corporate travel agents can also help when there are disruptions in travel plans due to global events or disasters. Knowing that there are dedicated agents available 24/7 can enable your employees stay calm in the face of disaster, and help them adhere to your company’s travel expense policy guidelines more easily, which cuts down on stress and saves your organization money. For example, if flights are delayed due to a terror attack, corporate travel agents will call your business travelers and offer valuable information, reassurance, and assistance that can make travelers feel safe and let them know that your company’s got their back.

Designing Your Corporate Travel Policy

Your organization’s corporate travel policy goes hand-in-hand with how your company practices duty of care. Identifying at-risk areas and ensuring that business travelers are informed about any specific or foreseeable dangers as part of the policy will help to ensure that your organization is practicing effective duty of care, and can lead to increased employee satisfaction and cost savings. Frequently reviewing and updating policies is also vital to keep up with unpredictable events or new threats that pop up and to reassure employees that you are looking out for their best interests.

The elements that go into practicing duty of care can be complex, and developing travel risk management strategies and policies that work takes patience and time. Corporate travel agencies have the global connections, knowledge and technology to help your company effectively identify risks, monitor threats, respond to incidents as they arise, and properly prepare travelers for whatever lies ahead.

 

Fraud in the Travel Industry – Things you Need to Look Out for

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Travel scams are on the rise, so it is vital to do your homework when booking all aspects of business travel. Travel risk management is an essential part of ensuring that employees stay safe, happy and healthy when they’re on the road, and these tips can help make sure that any business travel arrangements you make are legit.

Types of Business Travel Scams

Fraud in the Travel Industry - Things you Need to Look Out forThree of the most common types of travel fraud are –

  1. Shady sellers offering tickets that have been purchased with stolen credit card information,
  2. Sale of nonexistent airline tickets and
  3. Fake travel websites that steal corporate travelers’ financial and personal information.

Buyers of fraudulently acquired airline tickets are often turned away at the airport and left stranded or scrambling to find a way to get to their destination. When business travelers are fooled by fake travel websites, they not only fail to receive legitimate tickets, they run the risk of their personal and financial information being stolen as well.

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of finding a great deal–and it’s easier than you may think to be taken in by fraudulent travel websites. Working with legitimate business travel agencies that have direct relationships with airlines, hotels and other companies that provide business travel services can help you avoid losing your time, money and peace of mind on fraudulent reservations or tickets.

Beware of Mirror Sites

Online hotel booking fraud is growing, and one of the most prevalent hotel reservation scams is “mirror site” deception. These rogue sites present themselves as official booking websites of hotel and resort companies. They can be tough to identify when you’re looking for reservations because they often use the hotel name in the web address, list legitimate-looking addresses and phone numbers, and use real photos of the hotel and its logo on the website.

Seeking the services of well-established corporate travel agents who have already done due diligence on the companies they use ensures that you won’t be taken in by fake travel agencies or rogue sites. If you are booking reservations on your own, confirm that the website is secure by checking for a lock symbol in the web address and a URL starting with “https.” Call the number listed on the site and ask specific questions about the amenities the hotel offers and what’s nearby. If they can’t come up with answers right away, you may be dealing with a fraudulent site.

Always Pay with a Credit Card

Credit cards offer much more fraud protection than debit cards, cash and other payment methods. Using a debit card can give a thief access to all the money in your bank account and lead to disastrous financial consequences. Your company should have travel expense policy guidelines that outline which forms of payment to use when making corporate travel arrangements. Using a dedicated corporate travel agency that has all payment information on file can streamline the process so employees don’t have to worry about using their own methods of payment and being reimbursed later.

Knowing which types of scams are out there is half the battle–with a little research, you can avoid being taken for a ride.