Think you’re doing enough to keep your travelers safe? Think again.

When it comes to safety and security, some travel buyers believe that if they have systems in place to track travelers, their work is done. However, consider the various situations that happen during travel, and ask yourself whether you’re equipped to help — 24/7.

Traveler tracking and alert content, although essential, is reactive and represents only the foundation of a comprehensive safety and security program. In today’s world, travel buyers must do even more — proactively — to keep their travelers (and all of their employees) safe and connected.

Do your travelers have a trusted resource to call — at any time — in any of these situations?

Anwar, a corporate trainer, is caught in the middle of a political crisis on his trip. Do you have the knowledge and ability to provide innovative, real-time security assistance and get Anwar to safety immediately?

While traveling internationally, your company’s sales rep Alison realizes she has forgotten a crucial prescription medication at home. Are you prepared to help Alison get her medication while she’s on the road?

Vice President Raul is planning travel to a country known for high crime rates, and he wants advice and information to help him stay safe — both before he books his trip and while he’s on the ground in the high-risk location. Can you support him with the crucial information he needs before and during his trip?

How can you keep up?

Aside from your organization’s moral and ethical obligations to your travelers and other employees, there has recently been an increased emphasis on legal, financial and reputational obligations. More and more often, companies are being held legally accountable for negligence because courts determine they failed to provide their employees with ample care or information. Companies need to communicate better across functions to ensure a universal commitment to compliance and employee safety and security. By putting health, safety, security and legal protections in place — and by ensuring your processes are fully documented and auditable — you will help set your organization up for success in the years to come.

How does your company benefit from a strong safety and security offering?

• Improves morale, well-being and productivity
• Drives positive return on investment through business resiliency
• Meets Corporate Social Responsibility obligations
• Decreases legal and financial risk
• Protects your organization’s reputation

3 tips to build a leading safety and security program

If you haven’t already implemented these elements, consider working with your safety and security provider to implement the following aspects of a mature safety and security program. If you do not have a safety and security provider, CWT will work with you to offer recommendations for a provider that will meet your needs.

1.Provide destination information and keep travelers connected

To manage traveler safety and security proactively, you need information that helps you anticipate potential issues. Depending on the destination, you may need to provide travelers special training or additional security. For high-risk destinations, you may need an escalated approval process, with potential involvement from your organization’s security and human resources teams, among others. Safety and security intelligence is the brain behind your communications. By providing travelers with personalized, contextual information based on their itineraries, you’ll keep them safe and connected and give them the peace of mind knowing you are watching out for them. It’s important to work with a leader in security intelligence that can vet potential crises and incidents to determine what is driving safety and security concerns locally, nationally, regionally and globally — and help you understand how your travelers and operations will be affected.

2. Provide medical and security assistance

There is a common misconception that medical and security assistance is only needed during an emergency. However, by providing travelers everything from high-touch evacuation support during a coup to the basic prescriptions they need while they are on the road, you help them stay safe and healthy. Thus, your organization not only meets its obligations but also gains a competitive edge: Demonstrating the value you place on keeping employees safe and well on the road can help you hire and retain the best talent in your industry.

You might also consider providing an innovative two-way communication mechanism that allows travelers to respond with their safety status when a security threat occurs. When looking at communication options, make sure you choose a solution that is trackable and fully auditable to protect your organization as well as your travelers.

3. Educate travelers

Educating your travelers will contribute to their overall safety and well-being during business trips—while also driving traveler satisfaction. Working with a safety and security provider that is a leader in risk management education for travel managers positions your program for success. But travel managers having access to information isn’t enough. Be sure you and your provider share travel tips and advice with your travelers to keep them connected, including encouraging them to be aware of their surroundings and potential risks while on the road to help keep them safe.

What kind of information should you share with travelers?

Medical

• Recommended vaccinations
• Food and water precautions
• Healthcare standards

Security

• Country background
• Potential terrorism and violent crime
• Natural disasters
• Driving rules
• Specific laws

Travel

• Voltage and plugs
• Currency and exchange rates
• Cultural tips

Occupancy rates and prices should maintain ationary spiral across all segments, as demand is expected to exceed supply until 2010. At that time, additional hotel rooms will be available, particularly in emerging markets. ” markets such as New York; Washington, D.C.; and London, as well as Moscow, India, China and several cities in Asia that are experiencing double-digit price increases. Those corporations that have a hotel policy in place stand the greatest chance of minimizing the impact of rising hotel costs.

The hotel industry has introduced various rate structures, often favoring a dynamic pricing model(i.e., the best available rate as determined by supply and demand) over the traditional rates negotiated by travel management companies and/or their clients. Best available rates can sometimes be lower than negotiated rates and should be taken advantage of when appropriate. Nevertheless, it xed rates to set a limit on prices in key locations. This will help maximize control over hotel spend during peak demand periods. When this is not possible cient volume, negotiating a xed discount on the best available rate is recommended.

CWT statistics indicate that on average, only 50 percent of hotel bookings are made through an organization’s online booking tool or travel management company. This means a significant portion of all bookings are not leveraged during supplier negotiations. Furthermore, non-compliance with the hotel program increases by 15 percent when bookings are made through alternative channels. Traveler tracking and security are also compromised when hotel bookings are made outside of prescribed channels.

Companies who are successfully managing their hotel program tend to adhere to the following best practices:

• Consolidate data for optimized hotel sourcing.Consolidating global hotel data from travel management companies, corporate card providers and hotel suppliers is the first step to assessing overall volume and improving negotiating power.
• Carefully orchestrate negotiations with a limited number of suppliers. For best results, companies should coordinate a request for proposal process with hotel chains and independent properties alike. Building strong local relationships with chains and independents is essential for negotiations, as most pricing decisions depend on the number of room nights booked annually at each individual property (including chain hotels). This is in stark contrast to airlines, whose discounts are based on overall volumes. It is also important to remember that working with a limited number of suppliers in each city results in greater volume per property and larger discounts. According to a CWT survey, consolidation of hotel sourcing allows companies to save on average 6.5 percent and up to 12 percent after one year.
• Monitor negotiated fare-loading in GDSs (global distribution systems). There is an increasing incidence of GDS “rate squatting” that compromises compliance and savings. This occurs whenever a hotel uploads rates before it actually signs an agreement with a company or after a contract has expired. There are several ways to address this problem: conductregular hotelrate audits to ensure that preferred properties have correctly loaded their clients’ negotiated rates into a GDS, integrate clear GDS rate-loading instructions in the requests for proposal, reinforce travelers’ awareness of the preferred hotel program, and integrate a filtering capability into the online booking tool.
• Have travelers book hotels through the corporate online booking tool or the travel management company for increased compliance, enhanced security and the best price. According to CWT research, travelers cite practicality (i.e., a hotel’s proximity to their business destination), availability and the ability to obtain better prices elsewhere—a misperception, as indicated in Figure 6—as their main reasons for booking outside of their travel policy. Furthermore, they bypass preferred booking channels and tend to make reservations with the hotel directly. CWT data also indicates that travelers use preferred suppliers more often and are less likely to use deluxe hotels when they book through the travel management company. In addition, they are more effectively tracked in the event of an emergency. There are several ways to address non-compliant behavior: internal communications and training about the travel policy, targeted actions toward non-compliant travelers, non-reimbursement, automatic routing to hotel content when an air booking with an overnight stay is made online, and redirection at the point of sale.
• Adjust the preferred hotel program to increase traveler compliance. Unusually low compliance with preferred hotels may imply that travelers’ needs are not being adequately met and that corrective action is needed. Key factors to consider include the range of cities covered, the convenience of locations, and the scope and quality of traveler services.