4 Tips on Business Travel Safety in a Post-Pandemic World

With vaccine distribution on the rise and COVID cases trending downward, people are starting to consider travel again for business and pleasure. For businesses especially, questions are arising about how best to reintroduce travel while keeping employees safe.

We had the pleasure of hosting Regina Young of Wright Lindsey Jennings, Margaret Kemp, CEO of Poe Travel, and Cathy Tuggle, owner and principal of Apartment Hunters to give their expert advice on how to approach the coming months when it comes to flights, housing, and international travel as well as insight on the industry as it stands today.

Read our highlights below, or watch a recording of the #VCWorkshop.

1. The top priority is always going to be employee safety.

Always consider employee safety first when making decisions about travel. This is particularly important for your older and at-risk workers.

Be very careful about returning those employees to work at this point. Incentivizing vaccinations is a great way to get your employees safely traveling again.

The CDC has comprehensive guidelines on travel that are updated regularly. It is a great resource for everyone!

2. Research the safety measures in place at hotels.

The quarantine and testing requirements differ from state to state for travelers. Be sure to understand the parameters at your destination.

Many hotels are offering on-site testing. Operating at 50% occupancy is still the norm, as is the implementation of the latest tools like electro-static spraying, ozone technology for air purification, and UV technology for HVAC systems.

Public areas in many hotels are cleaned hourly and hotels have started hiring Hygiene Managers to make sure the implementation of these systems goes smoothly.

Hotel restaurants are typically for guests only now, operating at reduced capacity. Contactless room service has also been widely implemented.

If you’re staying longer, think about renting or corporate housing that has less turnover traffic. If you’re coming to our hometown, Little Rock, Apartment Hunters has got you covered.

While risk can’t be reduced to zero, chances are you can find housing whose COVID policies help you and your employees feel safe.

Doing all this research can be overwhelming, especially as things are changing so quickly. Travel agencies will be well-versed in all the latest safety information.

3. Travel probably won’t reach pre-COVID levels until 2024.

While some projections are predicting travel picking up significantly this fall, the industry probably won’t recover to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2024. If you’re waiting until things return to “normal,” you’ll want to devise workarounds in the meantime.

4. Ask if travel is truly necessary

The pandemic forced everyone to get creative and work around the limitations on movement and travel. Many are reevaluating the assumptions that led to travel decisions in the past. Perhaps instead of returning to normal, your business can create a new normal when it comes to travel, flexibility, and safety.

Here’s a good resource for travel considerations from a business perspective.

Thanks again to our friends from Wright Lindsey Jennings, Poe Travel, and Little Rock Apartment Hunters, and for joining us! Be sure to watch the full session for more information on the above tips, more insights, and questions from the audience.