Before you travel to a destination with unhealthy air pollution:

• Familiarize yourself with your company’s virtual meeting capabilities. Maybe you can avoid a trip to a city with poor air quality.
• Get to know your company’s travel policy on health and emergency plans.
• Monitor the Air Quality Index, weather websites and local media to understand if the risk is particularly high during your stay.
• Travelers with a medical history of lung or heart issues should be extra vigilant.
• Discuss your planned trip with your doctor.
• Carry appropriate medications, such as inhalers for asthma, as well as documentation. You may need a doctor’s letter to get the medicines through customs.
• Research whether the air quality in your destination improves certain times of the year, and consider postponing your trip until pollution decreases.

During your business trip to a city with poor air quality

• Exercise outdoors early in the morning to lower potential exposure to pollution.
• Avoid high-traffic areas where pollution will be worst.
• Use mass transportation and ride in enclosed cars.
• Consider wearing a personal air quality monitor to assess risks in real time.
• Opt for glasses, rather than contact lenses, to minimize eye irritation. Or pack plenty of saline solution.
• Consider wearing a pollutant-filtering mask, such as an N95 respirator.
• Watch out for repeated coughing, pain when taking a deep breath, tightness in your chest or wheezing. All can be signs that you’re overexposed to polluted air. If you have these symptoms, go indoors immediately.

Get your Travel Risk Survival Kit

Close the gaps between the safety support your business travelers want and what your corporate program provides. Our Travel Risk Survival Kit describes the hazards ahead and offers solutions for overcoming them.

Breathing easier on business trips

BCD Travel’s Inform report, Air Quality and Business Travel, educates corporate travel managers and travelers about bad air hot spots and offers practical tips for protection.

Download the full report

Start the Conversation
The reality is that many areas of the world still heavily discriminate against the LGBTQ community and criminalize expressions of sexuality. Travel and risk managers do not necessarily need to know the sexual preferences or sexual identities of their travelers to counsel them about the cultural and societal attitudes present at their destinations. Presenting a comprehensive overview in a matter-of-fact manner can side-step the need to pry into a person’s personal life while also setting up an environment conducive to deeper conversations and questions as necessary.

Understand LGBTQ Health Risks
Healthcare options may be especially limited for transgender individuals, who may need specialty medical care at their destination. These individuals may struggle to find needed medications or obtain a refill should they run out. Anti-hormone transition drugs suppress levels of testosterone to allow estrogens to take prominence but may have adverse effects on the heart. LGBTQ individuals may encounter challenges finding medical care and may be dissuaded from providing a complete medical history in areas that present a high threat for LGBTQ patients.

Most countries restrict the amount of medication travelers can enter with according to the length of the stay. In many instances, a maximum of 90 days of prescription medication may cross borders.

For expatriates, having a doctor’s note on letterhead, with the patient’s full name, medication name, dosage, and reason are required for refills and importation of prescription medication to many countries. The reason (diagnosis) may be especially challenging if traveling to a conservative country with a known low tolerance for the LGBTQ community and may present security challenges.

Surgery of any kind increases the risk of blood clots during flight. LGBTQ patients who have recently undergone surgical procedures should ensure adequate time between surgeries and flights. Some hormone therapies (especially estrogens) also place patients at risk for deep venous thromboses (DVT): blood clots that form in the legs and may become life-threatening if the clot or part of the clot travels to the lungs.

In more socially liberal countries, unconscious bias from healthcare workers may lead to substandard care. LGBTQ individuals need to be prepared to encounter these attitudes and be able to advocate for their care and proper treatment. Risk managers and travelers should research cultural tolerances and potential biases to determine if an advanced arrangement with a “preferred” treatment center is necessary.

Key Takeaways
Ensuring the safety of your LGBTQ personnel and students starts with a conversation. Transgender travelers require a duty-of-care policy that helps them prepare for the challenges they may face abroad. Ensuring the safety and health of these unique travelers is a corporate responsibility.

About WorldAware
WorldAware provides intelligence-driven, integrated risk management solutions that enable multinational organizations to operate globally with confidence. WorldAware’s end-to-end tailored solutions, integrated world-class threat intelligence, innovative technology, and response services help organizations mitigate risk and protect their people, assets, and reputations.

Here are a few stats around business travel:

• 20% loss of overall productivity due to travel
• 92% higher risk of obesity for those traveling more than 21 nights per month
• 6.9 hours of productivity lost per trip due to stress
• Strong correlation between frequent business travel and physical and behavioral health risks

Travel Stress Index: The Hidden Costs of Business Travel, CWT

Let’s talk about a few key things that you can do as a business traveler to help reduce stress:

Hydration…Yes, Again
From a personal health perspective, you already know how important staying hydrated is, but are you doing it? The typical water target of half your body weight in ounces is a great place to start, but the key is in actually implementing this so that you are drinking water throughout your day. Make sure that you are drinking purified water, as you want to help your body to detoxify. You either use a filter or you body will become the filter.

Proper Breathing
Proper breathing means that you are breathing deeply, down below your belly button (you might put your hand there as you practice), while keeping your chest relatively still. Try inhaling for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds and exhale for 4 seconds. This will help to activate the calming side of your nervous system (called the parasympathetic nervous system) and reduce stress in a big way. In fact, all of the best stress reduction systems (e.g. Tai Chi, Yoga, Qi Gong…) have deep breathing at their core.

Best Fuel Possible
Most people that own an expensive car would never think of putting the cheapest fuel in it. Your body is WAY more valuable than any car, so make sure that you are giving it the best fuel possible. I understand that there are times when it makes sense to cheat and eat the not-so-good-for-you foods, and that’s OK…as long as it’s in moderation. Shoot for the 80/20 rule (80% of the time eating as healthy as you can). 

What does that look like given our culture’s fascination with the diet trend of the month? In general, eat things that grow. My recommendation is the Mediterranean diet as it’s stood the test of time. The trick is to eat:

1. Good quality fruits and vegetables (organic where possible)
2. Whole grains (very small amounts, if any) and 
3. Healthy fats (natural ones – coconut oil, avocado, olive oil, walnuts, macadamia nuts…). Also make sure to get your Omega 3 essential fatty acids from fish, flax or other sources. Whenever you see the word essential with regard to nutrition it means that your body can’t make it on its own…you have to eat it. These particular fats are crucial to building healthy cells in your body.
4. We really don’t need as much protein as you might think (depending on your lifestyle), so add some in the form of beans, nuts, lentils (if vegetarian) and/or good quality meats (organic, grass-fed) or eggs..

Stress Management
The reality is that we cannot control what happens to us, but we do have a big say in how we respond. Your first go-to response to any major stressors should be to breathe deeply. This will go a long way in helping your body process whatever is going on. Each of us has a favorite activity (or non-activity) that helps us to release stress. Examples include yoga, cooking, running, reading, etc. The key is to make sure you have this activity scheduled on your calendar and keep the commitment, as this is a priority, especially these days!

While I list cooking and reading as possible stress reduction activities, please know that movement is a requirement for true stress reduction. While it’s great to rest your brain with these types of activities, your body really wants to move. This doesn’t mean that you have to schedule an hour at the gym (though there are definitely benefits to weight lifting, aerobic exercise…), as simply walking can be all that you need to help with stress reduction. Many events already give us this option as we are walking quite a bit!

The other factor to consider about stress is technology. Yes, there are the typical social media challenges around looking at other people’s highlight reels that can move you toward frustration with your life, but I’m talking about something else. The EMFs (Electro Magnetic Frequencies) that are invisible yet have a HUGE impact on your body. 

Our bodies are way more electrical/energetic than we know and are sensitive to the constant barrage of these waves (think Wi-Fi, cell signals, cordless phones…). Your best approach is to keep your phone away from you as much as possible, and if you must keep it in your pocket, put it in airplane mode. This especially applies at night, where you’ll want to put your phone in airplane mode and keep it at least six feet away from your head. This one thing alone can improve your sleep.

Another great way to balance EMFs and help you body to recharge is to get outside into the sun, with bare feet on the earth. I know this might sound a little strange at first, but there is significant science that shows that we need the frequencies from the planet to function at our best. Give it a try and let me know…just 15 minutes a day can go a long way in helping you balance challenges such as anxiety or inflammation. You might consider doing this at a break when you are at the event.

Clean Your Filters
Your body is designed to filter out the toxins that you encounter in your everyday world. However, your body was NEVER designed to deal with the unbelievable amount of toxicity on our planet today. The main sources of toxicity are from:

1. The food we eat – pesticides, herbicides, GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms), heavy metals, additives, preservatives, etc.
2. The air we breathe – pollution, huge increase in pollen, mold, artificial scents (think plug-ins, candles…), etc.
3. The water we drink – prescription drug residues, heavy metals, chlorine, fluoride, etc.
4. Prescription drugs – these are often stored in your body for longer than you know

Your body is always trying to cleanse itself, but when it gets overloaded, it can result in issues with your organs of detox (liver, kidneys, colon…). 

Consider working with a natural health practitioner to begin a detox program to get things started on the road to better wellness.

Travel
Travel adds a new level of stress to what we’ve already covered and requires a few more healthy choices. You must plan ahead to reduce as many travel stressors as possible. Some examples include:

1. Bring food/water with you if you can – especially when driving. This helps with the inevitable roadside stops that can result in unhealthy snacks.
2. Be sure to pack some “just in case” supplements that you might need to help with issues around sleep, illness and digestive challenges.
3. If you are driving, consider getting a bottle of good quality peppermint essential oil. This can be very helpful to smell if you start to feel drowsy when driving.

Your body is always trying to heal itself…all the time! Our mission is to make life choices that will support this and give it what it needs (nutrition, air, water, movement…) and take away things that are hurting it (low quality foods, shallow breathing, sitting all day, dehydration). 

When you care for yourself, you are not only looking out for your own health, but you’re also putting yourself in a position to perform best for your team, customers and the overall event success.

SAFETY AND SECURITY
Global Business travelers may enjoy the fact that the hotel provides a complimentary breakfast and reliable Wi-Fi, but what they value most is a better sense of security when they travel on behalf on their organizations, according to a joint survey conducted by American Global Business Travel and the Association for Corporate Travel Executives. Security and safety concerns are growing at a significantly faster rate than worries about other topics including work-life balance issues, traveler-centric technologies and alternative suppliers.

DUTY OF CARE
There is also a growing awareness on the part of organizations in the United States of the legal, moral and ethical obligations they owe their employees under the complex and sometimes vague principles of Duty of Care. Corporate security, travel managers, human resources, and other key stakeholders must understand the notion of Duty of Care in the context of business travel in order to ensure that their companies are making reasonably informed, good faith, rational efforts to protect their employees as they travel.

The elements of a comprehensive traveler safety program that meets Duty of Care best practices will vary among organizations, depending on size, number of traveling employees, destination risk ratings, medical concerns and a variety of other topics. However, there are elements of a successful program that apply to every organization.

BEST PRACTICES
Key stakeholders within the organization must meet on a regularly-scheduled basis to examine existing travel polices to determine if any improvements need to be made. A thorough examination of the plans may reveal vulnerabilities, including resource gaps. In some cases, plans may need to be expanded. Other companies may lack any substantial travel safety procedures, and entirely new plans must be developed. Plans and policies should cover both routine travel and emergency incidents, including accidents, medical emergencies, natural disasters, emergency evacuations, and violent incidents.

The ability to track personnel as they travel is another vital component of the traveler safety program. Many travel management programs rely on multiple third-party Company Managed Travel Providers (CMTP) to book travel and provide situational awareness of employees. A common problem with this system is that it only tells the company where the employee is supposed to be, not where they are. Travelers are often forced to make last-minute changes to their itinerary, and will often book their own travel, without notifying the CMTPs of the changes. Providing the traveler with a GPS-based personnel tracking system may be an option for those companies looking for a more effective way to maintain accountability of their travelers.

A risk assessment should be conducted prior to every trip, regardless of destination. The assessment should not focus solely on the country’s Risk Rating. As attacks in the UK, Belgium, France, Canada and the United States have shown, all countries are susceptible to acts of violence, not just those with a High or Elevated Risk Rating. Additionally, definitively assigning a Risk Rating can be difficult, as risk is largely based on individual perspective and context. Employees should be encouraged to take an active role in the risk assessment and travel planning process so that they fully understand any known or suspected risks associated with their destination. Providing education and training to employees is another critical component of the system.

The purpose of the training program is to develop the employee’s skills and knowledge, so they can perform their duties with minimal or no interruptions because of risk, security or medical-related issues. Providing training to employees empowers them to make informed decisions regarding their personal security and safety, helping keep them safe while adding another layer of liability reduction for the company. Elements of a successful training program include general traveler safety and security information, conflict avoidance and response, emergency planning, and worst-case scenario procedures.

Should all mitigation efforts prove unsuccessful, and a traveler is involved in a critical incident, a comprehensive safety system helps ensure that they are provided with timely support and realistic options that work to minimize harm and distress, provide critical support, and brings the employee home safely. The ability of the organization’s Crisis Management Team to move quickly to provide support such as personnel accountability, crisis notifications, and the activation of emergency response systems such as medical support and evacuation cannot be overstated.

GLOBAL GUARDIAN SERVICES OVERVIEW
MEMBERSHIP OVERVIEW
Global Guardian utilizes a subscription-based pricing model. Clients pay an annual membership fee to have Global Guardian as their designated travel security and duty-of-care provider and to access its 24-hour Operations Center, team of security advisors and intelligence analysts, global tracking and monitoring platform, network of highly-vetted security providers, and comprehensive suite of security, medical, and aviation services. This subscription also includes all of Global Guardian’s non-custom and basic travel intelligence products and emergency incident notifications.

GLOBAL TRACKING AND MONITORING
Global Guardian tracks and precisely locates clients anywhere in the world. The company uses special purpose cellular and satellite tracking beacons and smartphone applications that provide real-time GPS position information for clients, allowing them to call for immediate assistance in the event of an emergency. Linked to an extensive network of highly skilled in-country security teams, Global Guardian’s 24-hour Operations Center monitors clients as they travel and can direct security assets to respond as needed in real-time. Global Guardian also monitors local and regional current events and provides clients with information about their security and safety situation while they travel.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE
Global Guardian maintains emergency security response teams in over 91 countries. These teams are notified to the presence of client travelers in their area and stand by to respond immediately to address client emergencies. All support is coordinated and closely directed by Global Guardian’s 24-hour Operations team to ensure rapid and high-quality response to a wide range of potential situations.

INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT
Global Guardian provides its clients with detailed travel intelligence products, real-time security alerts, and highly customized intelligence and due diligence products in support of any unique information requirement. Non-customized support and security incident alerts are included in the proposed package.

GLOBAL GUARDIAN AIR AMBULANCE – AIR MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION AND REMOTE MEDICAL SUPPORT
Global Guardian Air Ambulance, a division of Global Guardian, provides its clients with best-in-class air medical transportation
membership programs. These programs provide true no-cost air medical transportation to members who are injured or become ill while traveling. Unlike insurance, members have no deductibles or no claims forms, are not subject to complex restrictions for use and choose their US or Canadian destination hospital.

Global Guardian also provides emergency medical support through board certified, US-based emergency physicians that are available around-the-clock to travelers through the Global Guardian Operations Center. These physicians conduct remote diagnosis and ongoing treatment management of travelers’ injuries or illnesses, and direct patients to vetted local medical facilities as needed.

GLOBAL TRANSPORTATION AND SECURITY SERVICES
Global Guardian offers a full range of personnel-based security support to its clients. Such support includes secure transportation, security agents, full-scale executive protection details, and event and facility security management. All services are fully customizable to meet client need and are closely coordinated by Global Guardian’s 24-hour Operations Center at-all-times.

EMERGENCY AND CUSTOM AVIATION
Global Guardian supports its clients with comprehensive customized aviation capabilities. Be it for emergencies or customized specialty aviation needs, Global Guardian’s aviation team can access a wide range of aircraft operating around the globe to ensure the right assets are available when needed.

PHYSICAL, CYBER SECURITY, COUNTER INDUSTRIAL ESPIONAGE ASSESSMENTS, POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING
Global Guardian provides detailed physical and cyber security and vulnerability assessments, security and travel safety policy
development, and highly customized training programs for its clients.

Facility assessments are conducted domestically and abroad and are aimed at helping clients identify threats to their employees and operations. Such assessments are often paired with cyber evaluations of client site network security. Following an on-site assessment, Global Guardian prepares comprehensive deliverables detailing its findings and makes recommendations for how best to strengthen the security culture and physical and cyber infrastructure on site. Global Guardian can then assist in implementation of those recommendations.

One of the most common recommendations is the improvement or whole-cloth development of security and travel safety policies in support of a client’s workforce. If requested, Global Guardian’s team will work closely with to determine its objectives in policy work, and craft highly customized products that exactly mirror its requirements and corporate culture.

Lastly, no facility security plan nor safety policy is complete without some measure of training on how that plan and policy are implemented. As with its policy development work, Global Guardian prepares and executes highly customized training programs closely tailored to client objective and culture. Such courses include general travel safety, active shooter preparedness, and policy specific training.

GLOBAL GUARDIAN SENTRY – VIDEO SURVEILLANCE MONITORING
Global Guardian Sentry, a division of Global Guardian provides video monitoring and Virtual Guard services in support of client facilities, operations and residences. Global Guardian’s 24-hour Operations Center is staffed with highly trained surveillance analysts who can assess potential threats and respond in real-time to minimize unauthorized activity at client sites. Specific services include event driven, interactive video monitoring, active threat emergency response monitoring, and virtual guard tours. On request, Global Guardian will conduct no-cost testing of any existing camera systems to ensure compatibility and then provide facility specific service options and pricing.

This article is part of our Conference Materials Library and has a PowerPoint counterpart that can be accessed in the Resource Libary.

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Vaccinations and Herd Immunity
While vaccinations are important to protect individual human capital, they are critical for broader, continued corporate productivity. Vaccinations have a direct effect on individuals by providing them with a defense, or immunity, against disease. Yet, vaccinations also have an indirect protective effect on other individuals in the corporate setting. For example, when a high proportion of employees are vaccinated, they potentially prevent the spread of disease within the workplace by establishing a protective barrier around those who are not vaccinated and/or have not built up sufficient defenses against disease. In the science community, we call this concept herd immunity.

The modern corporate workplace is threatened by local and international infectious diseases. Local disease outbreaks have the potential to expose a high proportion of employees to an infectious disease; therefore, herd immunity is extremely important for maintaining a corporate protective barrier against outbreaks. Corporate health is equally jeopardized by international disease threats when unprotected individual employees travel abroad. Upon return, those employees can threaten productivity by exposing others to the imported infectious agent.

International Travelers & Recommended Vaccinations
International travelers regardless of their destination should ensure that they are up to date on the vaccines listed below. It is important to note that healthcare providers will likely add additional vaccinations to those listed below, such as yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis, if these vaccines are required by the traveler’s host country and/or if the disease is endemic in the destination country. Furthermore, employers should encourage all international travelers to contact a physician who has expertise in travel medicine four to six weeks prior to travel. This will allow enough time for the traveler to complete any vaccine series as well as give their body time to build up immunity.

• Chickenpox (Varicella): Recommended for travelers without a history of chickenpox or evidence of immunity to chickenpox by blood test. This vaccine is administered as a two-dose series.
• Hepatitis A: This vaccine is included in routine children’s immunizations. The Hepatitis A vaccination is most important for travelers who are traveling to countries with an intermediate to high prevalence of Hepatitis A. This vaccine is administered as a two-dose series. A Hepatitis A/Hepatitis B combined vaccine is also available.
• Hepatitis B: Recommended for all unvaccinated persons who might be exposed to blood or body fluids, have sexual contact with the local population, or be exposed through medical treatment, such as for an accident, even in developed countries, and for all adults requesting protection from HBV infection. The Hepatitis B vaccination is most important for travelers who are traveling to countries with an intermediate-to-high prevalence of Hepatitis B. This vaccine is administered as a three-dose series. A Hepatitis A/ Hepatitis B combined vaccine is also available.
• Influenza: Recommended for all travelers over the age 50, very young children, and/or travelers of all ages who have a chronic disease such as diabetes or emphysema. This vaccination is administered annually.
• Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR): Recommended for travelers born after 1957, and those who did not have these diseases as children. People born before 1957 generally acquired immunity to these diseases in childhood. This vaccine is administered as a two-dose series.
• Pertussis (Whooping Cough): This vaccine is included in routine children’s immunizations with tetanus and diphtheria (see below). It is also now available for adults in combination with the tetanus/ diphtheria booster.
• Pneumococcal pneumonia: Recommended for all adults over age 65, and anyone with chronic disease. Physicians in the US also recommend this vaccination for smokers and anyone with asthma.
• Tetanus and diphtheria: A booster is recommended every 10 years after initial immunization series.

Infectious diseases have the potential to greatly impact business productivity by eroding and diminishing human capital on an individual and corporate level. Since infectious diseases are a constant threat to the bottom line of every business, it is imperative that businesses monitor local and international disease threats, and adopt proactive healthcare measures. For that reason, thoughtful proactive disease prevention protocols are key to eliminating threats posed by local and international infectious diseases.

To learn more about how health inelligence can help protect your corporate workplace and global travelers from disease threats, download a copy of our white paper, The Value of Health Intelligence.

Here are five pointers for businesses who believe they are on the brink of a lawsuit:

1. Immediately Contact Legal Counsel.Contact your legal counsel immediately and ensure that you have litigation counsel with expertise in the area. In-house counsel or your regular business attorney may not have the skill set needed for specialized litigation, such as patent infringement disputes, securities suits, or governmental claims/investigations. Other than garden-variety litigation common to all businesses (e.g., vendor disputes, employment/labor issues, etc.), management should seek out legal counsel with the reputation and experience in handling the type of suit you’re anticipating. The sooner your legal team is in place, the better informed management can be about its options and strategies in the expected litigation.
2. Establish a “Litigation Hold.”Once suit is anticipated, consult with your company’s IT manager to suspend all automatic data (i.e., email) purge protocols. Companies have an obligation, once a claim is made or is reasonably anticipated, to preserve all relevant data. Claims of “spoliation of evidence” (the willful destruction of evidence) are becoming more common, where a business fails to ensure that its routine data purging protocols are suspended pending resolution of the dispute. The scope of the Litigation Hold can be tailored to the demands of the case with the assistance of litigation counsel.
3. Establish a Litigation Committee or a Management Liaison for the Litigation.This serves the dual purposes of ensuring a single point of contact for your company (thus avoiding inconsistent messages from the company) and allowing the rest of the company to continue to tend to business without the daily distraction of the litigation buzz. Make sure all company personnel knows to refer all outside inquiries to the management liaison.
4. Determine the Scope of the Expected Suit and Notify Your Insurers.In conjunction with litigation counsel, an early assessment should be made of the potential consequence of the suit and its impact on the company. Also, put all company insurers on notice of the claim. Oftentimes management is swept up in the tumult of litigation and forgets to examine whether it has insurance coverage for the dispute. Promptly notifying your company’s insurers of the claim or suit will avoid later disputes over the timeliness of notice and the company’s entitlement to coverage (payment of defense costs and any future settlement/judgment of the case).
5. Have a Communication Plan.Communicate with company personnel to prepare them for news of the anticipated suit and to assure them that management has a litigation team prepared to protect the company’s best interests. Not only can publicity from a lawsuit damage a company’s brand, it has the potential to drag down morale among company employees. Failure by management to acknowledge the suit or to communicate with your employees can make matters worse. Simply acknowledging the anticipated suit will assure employees that management – rather than sweeping problems under the rug – is being proactive in sharing information affecting the company. In cases where the anticipated suit is likely to become a media story, management should consider whether to consult/retain a public relations advisor to help manage the company’s message about the suit. Litigation counsel often has experience in dealing with “crisis PR consultants” and may be able to provide management with recommendations.

Joe Arellano’s five tips originally appeared in an article titled, “What to do when you’re about to get sued,”in the October 13, 2017, edition of the Portland Business Journal.

This may seem obvious, but when you leave your home country you’re subject to the laws and regulations of the country you’re visiting – from the moment you enter the front door. A security concern that not everyone thinks about can occur at border crossings. Depending on where you are traveling to, electronic devices such as smartphones, laptops, tablets and digital cameras may be subject to official government review as well as, in some cases, duplication of your hard drives and other storage media. Privacy concerns don’t end at the border, however. Depending on what country you’re in you may also expose your devices to viruses, activity tracking and other software simply by being in the country and connecting to its networks.

We talk a lot about data security for travelers on this site and all of that information should apply here as well. Check out a few of them here:

• 6 ways to protect yourself against data breach
• So what the heck’s a chip card anyway?
• Don’t throw away that old boarding pass! Here’s why.

While there’s no specific list (at least that we could find) of countries that can take a look at and potentially snoop, seize or copy data from your devices, there are reports that it can and does happen all over the world.

Whether you’re entering a country by air or traveling between countries by car, boat, train, foot, skis (in the unlikely event that James Bond is reading this), hoverboard (in the less likely event that a 12 year-old is reading this), winged horse, TARDIS, trained dolphin team or Uber, it’s a good idea to take some steps before you arrive to ensure that your personal and corporate data is protected from the minute you arrive to the minute you leave. Here are some tips on how to do that:

Encrypt
Encrypt the information on your laptop to ensure that your data remains hidden to unauthorized access. Both Microsoft and Apple offer tools to accomplish this. Just don’t forget your password! You might already have this activated if you use a company device. If so, be sure to check with your IT or corporate security department to get more information before traveling internationally.

Back up
Did you spend your flight crafting the perfect presentation? Make sure you’re able back it up to the cloud while in the air or as soon as you land – just in case your laptop is seized and searched. How about all those photos on your smartphone? Have you backed those up? There are services like Apple iCloud and Google Photos that make it easy. Run that backup before you leave home and again in every country you visit – but then pay attention to the next section!

Sign out
Clear your browser history and delete cookies from your web browsers that may still be signed into email, social media sites, etc.

Sign out of apps on your smartphone and tablet that might contain personally identifiable or sensitive information. This might include social media apps, email apps, notes apps like Evernote and Notes, storage sites like Google Drive and Dropbox, calendars and more. You might just delete the apps altogether. You can get them back when you return.

Do you have a fingerprint reader on your device? Temporarily disable that or reboot your phone prior to arriving at the border so that a password/PIN is required. Here’s how to disable Touch ID on the iPhone or iPad.

Consider alternate devices
If you can manage, don’t take your brand new expensive Macbook or Surface Pro tablet along with you on the trip. Bring along a cheaper device instead such as a low cost Windows laptop or a Chromebook that won’t make you shed tears if it disappears. Make sure it’s new or has been wiped (erased and reloaded like new) before you go. That will limit exposure to to only the time period with which you’re traveling.

The same thing goes for your phone. Do you have an old phone you can take along rather than your primary device? Maybe go old school and consider a “dumb phone” for your trip – just pretend that it’s 2006 again! Yeah, I know that’s no fun and could be terribly inconvenient. It’s just something to consider depending on where you’re traveling.

If you’re carrying corporate devices, keep the number of your travel department, corporate security, or IT department handy (and not on your phone) so that devices can be remotely locked or even wiped should they be taken and accessed by government officials – or anyone else for that matter.

Whatever devices you bring, be sure they have the latest updates and security patches installed. When you return home, have your devices wiped and reset to ensure that no viruses or otherwise nefarious software has been installed.

This article was originally published by Travel & Transport. The original article can be read here.

This week’s GSB OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending June 23, 2017 is below.  A variety of stories this week.

Time to Take French Legislative Prohibitions Seriously [OTA/PARITY]
(“Expedia fined in France over hotel price parity clauses”, Mlex, June 23, 2017)
Expedia learned first-hand this past week that France’s Loi Macron legislation is indeed the “law of the land” – at least for now. Last week, a French Court of Appeals ruled that Expedia’s rate parity provisions violated the legislation’s ban on rate parity and fined Expedia one million euros. Recall that France was one of three EU countries whose competition authorities agreed in 2015 to Booking.com’s proposed “narrow” (direct channel only) approach to rate parity, but then soon thereafter passed legislation banning rate parity altogether. Many have questioned the effect of the French legislation given the inconsistent prior administrative resolution. For now, we have a sense as to how French courts might view rate parity.

Airbnb Rolls Out Hotel-Like Services [SHORT-TERM RENTALS]
(“Airbnb is reportedly creating a fancier service for people who prefer hotels,” Bloomberg, June 23, 2017)
In a move targeting more traditional, higher-paying (historically, non-Airbnb) hotel guests, Airbnb quietly launched this past week a beta test of its new “select” program for hosts that satisfy a pre-determined set of quality standards (e.g. matching bed linens, lush towels and single use toiletries). Hosts who are invited to be part of this distinct program will be subject to physical inspections by Airbnb representatives. Those passing the inspection can expect preferred and distinct placement on the Airbnb website and a variety of “preferred perks” – use of a professional photographer, interior decorator, contracted “hotel like” cleaning services, etc. According to a report last week in Seattle’s weekly business publication, Puget Sound Business Journal, Seattle has been identified as a test market for this new “select” program and a well-known local cleaning service has been retained by Airbnb to clean hosts’ homes and apartments.

Adequacy of OTA Disclosures Questioned Again [OTA]
(“Frustrated United customers say they didn’t realize they were purchasing ‘basic economy’ tickets (UAL, EXPE, PCLN), Business Insider, June 21, 2017)
Those of you who have been frustrated by OTAs’ general reluctance to conspicuously post certain disclosures, disclaimers or other important information (e.g. resort fees or other mandatory charges, tax inclusive rates, etc.) prior to booking will appreciate the challenges that United Airlines is apparently now experiencing with OTAs and the adequacy (or inadequacy) of disclosures around United’s basic economy fairs. An interesting read.

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Other news:

Airbnb Is Testing a Feature That Would Let You Split the Cost With Friends
Fortune Magazine, June 23, 2017
One less hassle?

TRVL is the best travel platform you’re not using (yet)
The Next Web, June 23, 2017
From the moment I saw it, I was instantly enamored with TRVL. The brainchild of Dutch entrepreneur Jochem Wijnands, TRVL is a sort of mashup that turns each user into a travel agent with the potential to earn money for their recommendations. Think of it as TripAdvisor meets Airbnb and Skyscanner.

Taking the steps listed below will help you determine if the person sitting next to you in the airport or on your flight is possibly a victim or participant in human trafficking.

Airline Ambassadors International provides the following indicators that may indicate an individual is being trafficked:

• Has few personal items when checking in or boarding a flight
• Is accompanied by someone who is much more nicely dressed
• Avoids eye contact or exhibits paranoia
• Is unusually submissive to the person(s) accompanying them
• Is not allowed to speak for themselves if directly addressed, with someone else insisting on answering or translating for them
• Does not appear to know where they are or where they are going
• Does not have the freedom to separate themselves from the person or people accompanying them
• Exhibits signs of physical abuse
• Appears to be malnourished or ravenously eats in-flight food
• Exhibits fear of uniformed security personnel
• Speaks of a “modeling” job or similar without knowing who will be meeting them.

Read more in Airline Ambassadors International’s Human Trafficking Brochure. 

Click here for the original article and to read more.

Now if your holiday travel is occurring on a big red sleigh lead by an animal with a bright red nose, you can feel free to move on.  However, if you are like me and the other 99% of the population, budget friendly travel is a must!  Feel free to use Google Flights to you hearts content, but there are some tips and tricks to getting cheaper flights if you know which priorities you value most and are willing to give a little to get a little.  We all know by now that not all flights are equal.

The likes of Spirit, Allegiant and Frontier have grown immensely over the last few years.  The evolution of budget friendly (ala carte’) airfare has seen such a rapid progression that even the big boys have caught on.   Chicago based United Airlines recently announced the launch of a new fare situated to compete against the ‘Spirit’s’ of the world.  I of course, as your travel guru, dug in deeper to learn what you get with the new airfare!

With the launch of the new basic economy, the competitive fares of traveling with my hometown Houston carrier shocked me.  United customers will see the lowest available price on the market – but the runway has some strict ground rules on this new adventure into the budget friendly skies.

When you begin to peel back the onion, you realize this type of airfare suits a single, backpacking, within 2hr flight time traveler…essentially you have to pack light and fly flexible.   Basic Economy fliers will not have a guaranteed seat assignment, available seat upgrades, and are only allowed one personal item that must fit under the seat – no overhead compartment for you!  If boarding early is your #1, Basic Economy travelers are also the last to board.   Although, United claims this will smooth out the boarding process as the last people on the plane typically don’t have room for their carry ons in overhead bins.

The competition for cost-conscious travelers has begun to take off as Delta began offering a similar line in 2015.  I can imagine the market moving from the likes of Allegiant and Spirit over to United as they have given you (fare) warning on what to expect.  As mentioned before, depending on your priorities, this might be an option for you!

There are still a few kinks to be worked out – a close friend recently flew on a budget friendly flight to Tampa and to say her travel went smooth would be a punch line at your local comedy club – but I personally am anxious to see how this pans out with a down economy.

Until next time my friends…Carry-on! 

Click here for the original article.