Last month, we launched our brand new webinar series, Travel Talks. Every other month, Travel Talks discusses the latest business travel trends and topics and is delivered by our very own industry experts. Each bite-size session offers insight, how-to’s and top tips to help improve your business travel experience. Our inaugural webinar focussed on the challenge of how to build confidence in your corporate travellers.
If you missed this first Travel Talks, or just need a quick recap, then below we’ve listed the top tips shared by Operations Manager, Julie Hamstead-Wallis, and Director of Client Development, Gavin Sanderson. These handy pointers will help build your travellers’ confidence in a post-pandemic and post-Brexit world.
Julie’s Top 5 Tips to Build Traveller Confidence
- Covid-19 requirements – ensure you check the testing and entry and exit requirements for your destination. Explore our dynamic traveller toolkit, which provides a range of resources to stay up to date, including the invaluable Destination Checker.
- Brexit – check you have your entry and exit stamps for Europe and be sure you understand the Schengen Area requirements, with regards to the number of days a non-EU citizen can visit the EU in a rolling 180 day period.
- Queues and delays at airports – due to staff shortages for both airlines and airports, consider choosing arrival and departure flights at quieter, non-peak times. Just an hour either side will mean you’ll be at the airport with a far lower volume of travellers, easing the pressure for you!
- Flexibility – be flexible on times and travel dates. Our Travel Consultants can hold seat options free of charge to have cost effective solutions for you.
- Duty of care – check your travel policy includes the mandatory elements you need for your journey, such as car transfers, to ensure a safe and seamless journey. Discover more about our traveller safety services here to learn how we can support your duty of care obligations.
Gavin’s Top Tips on Adjusting Your Travel Policy
- Update your travel policy to reflect any changes in either post-Brexit or duty of care considerations. For example, organisations that travel to repeat destinations should have destination-specific employee education facts in their policy, such as including information on local health care providers.
- Ensure all travel partners and providers have been vetted for safety.
- Highlight what your emergency protocols are to all your employees.
- Make it easy for your travellers to find your organisation’s updated travel policy.
- Check all travellers have read your company travel policy and are aware of your Travel Management Company contact details.
- Understand how your Travel Management Company manages your policy going forward.
- Ensure your business travel insurance covers the current landscape.
- Be flexible and patient.
To help you navigate the changes of business travel, we’ve created the brand-new Traveller Toolkit. This invaluable online resource is packed full of easy-to-use guides and checklists for every stage of every journey. We detail exactly what you need to know and do before, during and after your trip in a post-pandemic, post Brexit world.
You can even check the travel restrictions and health status of your destination with our comprehensive COVID-19 Country Tracker, updated five times daily to ensure you have the very latest information to help keep you and your travellers safe.
Travel is changing. With common sense and a good TMC behind you, travellers can have the confidence to once again take to the skies. It’ll soon be back business as (un)usual.