How to Handle Business Travel in a Crisis
expert insights from James Challis, Operations Manager at Gray DawesWe Spoke to James Challis, Operations Manager at Gray Dawes, to tell us all about how to manage business travel when things don’t go to plan…
In a perfect world, business travel plans would unfold exactly as they’re supposed to – flights depart on time, meetings go off without a hitch, and travellers return home feeling inspired. Reality, however, is far less predictable and crises such as natural disasters, political unrest, or sudden logistical changes can flip a business trip on its head.
Managing a trip when something goes wrong requires a combination of preparation, mental flexibility, and strong communication skills, something that James Challis, experienced Operations Manager at Gray Dawes, knows more than anyone.
In this article, we speak to James about the importance of keeping travellers informed, the benefits of having a well-oiled response strategy, and the power of our TripSure app in keeping travellers safe.
James Challis, Operations Manager
My background is in crisis management, specifically for the business travel industry…
The recent fires at Heathrow, and the huge logisitical failures that followed, proved just how important it is for a TMC to be able to handle travel plans when the unexpected happens.
The Operations model that we have in place at Gray Dawes is hugely beneficial, boosted by our ability to have “boots on the ground” across the globe. We are ‘Always On’, meaning that no matter where someone is in the world, they can benefit from the expertise of an Operations Manager with a clear plan of what to do and when as a crisis unfolds.
I created a document which gives an overview of first steps, next steps, and what to do at every stage when a disaster or emergency affects a client’s travel plans.
It’s a great way of keeping our service consistent across borders. It aims to answer questions such as: What are the most important things to ensure when a disaster first arises? How do we identify our VIPs? How do we know who’s travelling and to where? It sounds straightforward, but it requires years of expertise to pull off smoothly.
Once we get a good view of the crisis our travellers are facing, we can start pooling our resources to help.
Before we do anything else, we identify any travellers affected by a disaster or unexpected obstacle and make sure that they are safe and not feeling any kind of distress. Then we work out what they need and work through them methodically.
The beauty of having teams across the world, from Australia to the US, is that an Ops Team is always awake and in an office – you’re not ringing somebody up and getting them out of bed, there is a dedicated team who can provide a unified and consistent service. Put simply, our clients don’t have to phone a third party out-of-hours team who don’t know them or their account – it’s Gray Dawes staff using Gray Dawes technology, 24/7.
Once we have got contact, everyone across all levels of the team work hard to provide support. Nobody has to wait for anything – there’s a clear and structured plan that keeps us on course.
It probably doesn’t get mentioned enough, but one of our biggest advantages as a TMC in these difficult situations is the bucketloads of experience that our Operations staff have between them. Some people have been here a long time and travel crisis management is ingrained into them. They already understand what to do when that call comes in.
It’s important to keep on our toes and testing our crisis management abilities.
We’ve recently applied to achieve an ISO accreditation in crisis management, something which Gray Dawes values highly – we have already acquired a few others, including ISO 27701, so this will add another string to our bow. We also encourage our clients to consider ISO 31030 – an international standard that provides guidance for organisations on how to manage travel-related risks.
Having a formal accreditation behind our already stellar service will be fundamentally huge for our business. It will instil trust in our current travellers and potential client base that we know how to do things in a crisis and we can be trusted to do those things in the right way.
We refuse to get complacent, though. We undertake tests on our crisis management processes to ensure that every part of the Operations Team, regardless of their seniority, is aware of what they need to do and when. I’m planning to write up a few tests where we’ll simulate being ringing in with an incident and go tthough the whole motion of dealing with it from start to finish.
Keep Track of Your Travellers with TripSure
Our fully-interactive TripSure app allows organisations keep track of their travellers, monitor risk alerts, and provides them with all of the information they need to make informed business decisions about their travel.
Working in perfect harmony with our online booking tool, YourTrip, TripSure can be customised with dashboards that monitor the travel insights that matter to you. For those on the move, the easy-to-use app is the perfect travel companion, offering up-to-the-minute flight updates, risk alerts, and a GPS check-in to let their organisation know that they’re safe in an emergency.
Handling travel crises requires a lot of teamwork and collaboration.
We’ve got great relationships with third parties, both in terms of suppliers who have the tools to bring people home and those that can provide us with data on the fly.
We can report on exactly where anybody is in the world at any one time – be it at an airport or on the ground in a foreign country – and determine what is necessary at the time. Our ability to react quickly is brilliant. We can literally find out who’s where and what we need to do in 5 minutes, that’s how quick the reports run. No time is lost.
I’m going to reiterate our ‘Always On’ global service because I think it’s such a key differentiator. It doesn’t matter where somebody is in the world, if you call Gray Dawes you will always get through to somebody. For example, if a client rings Gray Dawes’ Australian telephone line when the Australians are asleep, that line will divert to somebody in the UK who can support.
In a nutshell, having the technology to support travellers, a robust plan, and enough experienced travel consultants to act on it is the key to a TMC being able to handle anything that comes its way.
When it Comes to Traveller Safety, TripSure is a Phenomenal Tool
As a travel manager at an organisation that travels frequently for business, being able to go into the TripSure app and see where anybody is on a given moment is is really beneficial.
Having a tool which they can use whenever they like, on top of our Always On service, is a really good way of planning for and getting out of a difficult situation. It’s not really something I’ve seen anywhere else – it really empowers travel managers and travel bookers to better prepare for any obstacles they might encounter. And if they still feel like they need extra support, we’re one phone call or email away.
It’s phenomenal tool. Everyone’s got access. Also, the fact that TripSure is seamlessly integrated with our online booking tool, YourTrip, makes it so easy to understand and use. It could be something like a national train strike. They’ll get the alert and they can then go into their booking and amend the tickets themselves – it’s priceless.
As a tool, it allows my team the time to focus on the people that might need help with more complex situations that require more bespoke solutions. If someone is already stuck somewhere, for example, the technology might not be enough to get them unstuck. The difference in those final hour situations is having a calm and friendly person to call upon.
Related Articles
A New Era of Personalised Air Travel
Travel is becoming more individual and personal than ever before. Discover Lufthansa Allegris, the new intercontinental onboard travel experience from Lufthansa. Across all travel classes, Lufthansa Allegris is characterised by greater comfort, more freedom of choice, and even more personal service.
Everything You Need to Know About Electronic Device Searches at US Borders
Electronics searches can be carried out by officers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) without a warrant or any suspicion. In this article, we give an overview of how business travellers can navigate the potential risks and ensure that they are compliant with any legal implications or procedures.
Artificial Intelligence in Business Travel
From intuitive chatbots to predictive analytics, AI offers businesses significant efficiencies and raises important questions around data privacy, ethics, and sustainability. At Gray Dawes Travel, we’re embracing AI, but understand that it needs to be done responsibly. In this article, we explore the negative impact of AI, how we, as an organisation, can mitigate these impacts, and look to the future of the technology and how it might enhance travel.
LET'S TALK
Fill in the form below and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.