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Business Travel In The Age Of The Sharing Economy: New Paper from International SOS

World’s largest medical and travel security company reveals businesses may be unprepared when it comes to sending employees abroad.

International SOS has released a report on the benefits, risks and legal considerations of using shared transport and accommodation services during business travel.

"Share Economy for Business Travel" includes interviews with travel, legal and security experts about the implications of services like Uber and Airbnb as suitable options in an organization's travel policy. Both Airbnb and Uber have dedicated business travel solutions.

Tim Daniel, Executive Vice President at International SOS, said: "While there are many benefits to using these types of services, it's important that organizations realize that using sharing economy services for business-related travel creates new risks and challenges that need to be managed and mitigated. The goal of the report is to guide organizations in building a travel policy that is appropriate, clear, and considered."

To understand the current use of the sharing economy in business travel, International SOS conducted a survey amongst business travelers and travel managers. The survey exposed the lack of clear guidance from organizations on how, when and if the services were appropriate to be used while abroad.

While 40% of respondents reported using services like Uber and Airbnb when traveling abroad for business, 75% of organizations lack policies or procedures for how to use these services during international business travel.

In addition, more than half of the respondents didn't know whether their organization had considered the legality of sharing services in certain countries.

Leading international law firm, Herbert Smith Freehills, contributed the legal considerations of using such services abroad, including whether the service itself was actually lawful in certain countries and jurisdictions.

Steve Bell, Partner Herbert Smith Freehills, said: "Local law will struggle to keep pace with developments in social and economic services. Employers sending workers overseas should understand the laws in their destination country, the relative risk profile of sharing economy services compared with traditional services, and above all be guided by their duty of care to their workers. In all, this requires a sophisticated risk management approach."

Travel security considerations were provided by security experts from International SOS and Control Risks.

Rob Walker of International SOS and Control Risks said: "The use of share economy services may be appropriate in some locations but not in others. You need to consider a range of factors when evaluating the suitability of the services: a one-size-fits-all policy is unlikely to meet your organization's Duty of Care obligations to your travelers."

Travelers should consider the following factors when determining whether the use of shared accommodation and transport services are appropriate when they are abroad:

  • Security standards. Are the security standards appropriate to the risks in the destination?
  • Emergency response. Does the property have alternative power or telecommunication systems?
  • Support services. Do you have access to multilingual staff or medical assistance?
  • Vetting of staff. Are there formal background checks for the driver and/ or host?
  • Reputation. Is the provider considered reputable in the region?
News Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | + Posts

Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.

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