Traveler Safety | How-to Guides for running your business from Business.com

As a business traveler, you pay a lot of attention to growing your company. You’re out there finding new markets, expanding your distribution network, improving the quality of your widgets and learning all that you can at industry seminars. Chances are the one thing you DON’T pay attention to when you’re traveling is safety. And that’s a big oversight.

If it makes you feel better, you’re not alone. Business travelers by the tens of thousands make appointments with complete strangers in unfamiliar destinations, board airplanes hauling technology worth thousands of dollars, settle in to hotel rooms as they would their own living room, drape laptops and handbags on conference hall chairs while they go through a buffet line, and at night, head out to restaurants in unfamiliar neighborhoods still dressed in business attire.

If this describes you, it’s time to rethink your habits and up your awareness.

   1.      Tune in to what’s happening at your destination.
   2.      Keep your guard up, even if you’ve been there before.
   3.      Protect your technology and travel documents.
   4.      Protect yourself.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Know your destination

Pre-trip preparation should include more than just knowing the location of your hotel, your client’s office and the best restaurants in town. Before you travel to a destination for the first time, review current local news. It will help you get the lay of the land and be alert to potential trouble hot spots. But don’t stop there! Do this again before making a return visit, to update yourself on what conditions might have improved or, more importantly, worsened.

I recommend: You’ll find links to almost all major newspapers in the world at Kidon Media-Link. If your company is heavily involved in international travel, consider signing on to one of the travel intelligence services for destination information and pre-trip briefings. International SOS, iJET, and Global Options all provide fee-based services. If you’re traveling abroad to a political hot spot, check in with your embassy when you arrive.

Protect valuable data and electronics

Business travelers are notorious for hauling along thousands of dollars worth of equipment crammed with critical information, then doing little or nothing to protect the data from roving eyes or the equipment from theft.

I recommend: Check out a notebook/LCD privacy filter. It will make your laptop screen invisible to the person next to or behind you when you’re crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in a seminar session, and it protects the LCD display from fingerprints, scratches and abrasions. You can protect your laptop from theft too, or, better yet, leave your laptop at home. Download critical data to a removable flash drive no bigger than your house key and access a computer at a business center at your hotel or office center such as FedExKinko’s.

Use gadgets to protect your travel documents, cash and plastic

Petty crime (think pick-pocketing) is a bigger threat than headline-grabbing assaults. Business travelers, especially those who travel frequently, often neglect to consider the importance of safeguarding credit cards, travel documents and ID. There are plenty of easy-to-tote gadgets that will keep critical items safe.

I recommend: Secure money and vital documents in specially-designed pouches. If you’re a woman, look into a tote bag with slash-proof shoulder straps and tamper-proof zippers.

Protect yourself, especially if you’ve been there before

The risk of being a frequent traveler to the same destination is that you begin to feel comfortable. And you let down your guard. That’s when you’re the most vulnerable.

I recommend: Carry a door alarm to protect against hotel room intrusions. If you’ll be walking in unsafe areas, carry a high-decibel alarm. Carry a small flashlight for those times when you have to unlock your rental car, hunt for a room key or find your way in a dimly lit area.

Guard against health risks

The Internet is a valuable resource for information on health risks around the world.

I recommend: Worldwide health risks and alerts are reported at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

Before you leave home, scan copies of critical documents (first three pages of your passport, drivers license, airline itinerary, hotel and rental car information, vital phone numbers) and e-mail them to yourself and your office/home. That way you’ll be able to access them if disaster strikes.
Be extra alert when going through security checkpoints. This is where laptops are most often stolen “on the other side” by thieves who snatch them as they come off the x-ray conveyor belt.
Don’t walk back to your hotel carrying convention center totes filled with meeting materials. It screams, “I’m a target!”
Don’t wear “label” items (i.e. your favorite sports team’s logo) that identify you as an outsider.
Leave the heavy jewelry in the hotel safe, or better yet, don’t bring it with you.
Ask the hotel concierge or manager for restaurant recommendations in safe areas of town.
Be alert when parking your car in unfamiliar ramps or on side streets, especially at night.
Be cautious when hailing a taxi on the street, especially in a foreign country. Know in advance which companies are licensed and reputable and how to identify them.
Don’t leave valuables (briefcase, laptop, purse, small electronics) at a meeting room table when you head to the rest room or buffet line. If you must do so, ask someone you know to keep an eye on them for you.

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