While the safety of all of your employees traveling for business is of the utmost importance and should be addressed in your duty of care plan, some extra thought should be given to the additional dangers that women may encounter when on the road. Communicating this to your female travelers along with recommendations for managing potentially vulnerable situations is crucial if you want to have a comprehensive duty-of-care plan. As you begin to think about this you’ll discover that some guidance will be general in nature, i.e., applicable in any situation, while some recommendations may be pertinent when traveling to a specific country or region of the world. Your company’s travel patterns will determine what you should include. Read on for some ideas to get your discussion started.
When it comes to lodging, always make sure to never stay on the ground floor of the hotel, as it provides the easiest access for would-be intruders from both outside the property and inside. It’s better to request a room at least on the third floor because even a second floor room with a balcony can provide relatively easy access for an outside intruder. Also, when you’re checking in, remember that hotel employees should always write your room number down without announcing it to you – you don’t know who could be listening in. If your room number is announced, simply ask for another room and that it be written down for you, not broadcast to those around you.
Winding down at the hotel bar after a long day and chatting with other hotel guests is a common routine for many business travelers. People let their guards down during these times, but women, in particular, should always keep a close eye on their beverages in these instances. Unfortunately, it’s not unheard of for someone to secretly place a confusion-inducing narcotic in another’s drink for the purpose of taking advantage of them.
International travel is another area to think about. Make sure that you know what the local social norms are for men and women in the countries and cities you visit. They may be vastly different from what one is used to in their home country and crossing social norm boundaries in a foreign country can lead to unforeseen consequences. For example, the idea of women socializing with men, consuming alcohol, or even driving is considered taboo in some countries of the world and the penalties for crossing those lines can be severe. Securing transportation when traveling abroad should be addressed in your travel policy. For many companies, a best practice around this topic is to have transportation to and from the airport, as well as within cities, be pre-booked. It’s not recommended to hail cabs in unfamiliar countries.
There’s much more to consider around this important topic, but hopefully, this has generated some ideas for you to get started with thinking about how you can empower your female travelers with some tips for being safer on the road. If you’d like help with including female business travel safety in your travel policy or duty-of-care plan, please contact Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited.