The third part of the blog gets more interesting as we discuss another key parameter that will have a huge bearing on the how business or corporate travel will be conducted in the near future. Did we mention safety hygiene? Hygiene, both personal and communal, and in everything we do, has turned out to be a life-saving virtue throughout the pandemic, in addition to maintaining social distancing and equipping ourselves with a proper safety gear. Not surprisingly, customers will display a greater sense of loyalty towards hotel and restaurant brands that practise hygiene religiously, in line with the already existing safety standards and protocols.

Duty-of-care policy:
Now, if you are a corporate or business travel manager, you are in for a spot of bother. The duty-of-care policy adopted by a company is traditionally a documentation of the safety protocols required to protect the welfare and well-being of the employees and staff during business travel. The company has a moral responsibility to safeguard their employees against COVID-19 and other impending virus infections in the future via the duty-of-care policy, and more importantly ensure the employees are fully compliant with the guidelines prescribed. 

The travel manager, therefore, has to ensure that majorly hygiene does the talking in the selection of travel vendors including hotels, restaurants , cabs, etc. No longer will cost control alone dictate terms in the selection criteria, but also safety, in addition to other factors such as risk assessment and compliance. It goes without saying that traveller safety, along with comfort, can directly impact productivity at the end of the day. This also includes avoiding travelling in jam-packed planes and overcrowded airports. The firm should also guarantee medical response and security of the employee in the wake of an emergency, well aware of the potential risks. All said and done these are tough times if you are a business owner, and both caution and care must be exercised in order to protect the safety interests of your travelling employees.