By Dr. John Rose, Chief Risk Advisor, ALTOUR
For years, corporate travel policy was built to control cost, drive compliance, and create consistency. Those goals still matter, but the standard for a strong travel program has become broader. Increasingly, organizations are being judged on how effectively they meet their Duty of Care obligations: the responsibility to safeguard the health, safety, and well-being of employees while they travel for work.
That was one of the clearest messages from ALTOUR’s recent webinar with the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) on the State of Corporate Travel Policies, as well as the findings in the accompanying report. Many organizations have policies in place, yet far fewer have built programs that are truly prepared to support travelers in real-world conditions.
Recent headlines have made that gap impossible to ignore. In one case, a hotel guest in the U.K. was sexually assaulted after a man was given access to her room under false pretenses. In another, a young traveler with muscular dystrophy died after falling from an unsafe wheelchair while boarding a flight, according to a wrongful death lawsuit. Different circumstances, but both incidents illustrate the same hard reality: when the systems responsible for traveler protection fail, the consequences are immediate, deeply human, and often permanent.
For that reason, Duty of Care should be understood as a core operational function within the travel program, supported by clear processes, strong visibility, and decisions that hold up under real-world pressure.
Visibility Is the First Requirement of Traveler Protection
No organization can protect travelers it cannot see.
Yet incomplete visibility remains one of the most persistent weaknesses in corporate travel, especially when travelers book outside approved channels. As discussed during the GBTA webinar, recent disruptions made that gap clear: many organizations assumed they had control over travel activity, only to discover in a crisis that they did not know where their people were, particularly on the lodging side.
We have seen the consequences firsthand. At the start of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, ALTOUR helped coordinate evacuation and rerouting efforts amid airspace closures, limited flight options, and rapidly shifting security conditions. In moments like that, knowing exactly where travelers are is essential to acting quickly and effectively.
From a Duty of Care perspective, visibility is foundational. When a traveler’s location is unknown, support becomes reactive and risk management gives way to damage control.
This is one of the most important ways a Travel Management Company can support clients. A well-managed travel program should provide clear visibility across air, hotel, and ground transportation so action can be taken as soon as conditions change.
Lodging Security Is Still One of Corporate Travel’s Biggest Blind Spots
In my view, lodging remains one of the most under-managed risks in the travel industry.
Business travelers spend approximately 35 percent of their travel time in their lodging facility, which makes it a major concentration of risk. Yet hotels are still too often evaluated on rate, brand familiarity, or convenience rather than on the practical security realities that shape traveler safety: neighborhood conditions, access controls, staffing, property layout, and incident response readiness.
The Travelodge case is a painful illustration of what can happen when those controls break down. It also reinforces a broader lesson for corporate travel programs: a recognizable brand name is not the same as a verified safe environment.
At ALTOUR, we address this through more rigorous hotel screening, risk-informed property assessment, and traveler guidance that goes beyond the booking itself. That matters because safe travel is rarely the result of one good decision. It is usually the result of many small, disciplined decisions made in advance.
Accessibility Must Be Treated as a Core Duty of Care Issue
Another area where many organizations remain underprepared is accessibility.
The GBTA research showed that relatively few travel policies strongly address this topic, despite the fact that accessibility needs are far more common than many programs acknowledge. The Allegiant case is an especially stark reminder that accessibility failures are not administrative oversights; they can become life-altering or life-ending events.
A mature Duty of Care program should not wait for a traveler to encounter a breakdown in service before acting. It should establish clear support pathways, work with suppliers that understand the operational requirements of accessible travel, and ensure that those needs can be identified and supported without unnecessary friction or confusion.
This is an area where TMCs can add real value by helping clients translate broad policy language into practical, traveler-specific support.
Sound Risk Management Requires a Better Cost Conversation
In many organizations, decisions that appear prudent in a budget review can introduce significant exposure in practice.
Ground transportation is a good example. I often strongly recommend that organizations authorize Uber Black for certain travelers rather than a standard UberX ride. The reason is not luxury; it is control, safety, and the added reassurance that comes with a more vetted service model. The added cost may be modest, but the reduction in risk can be quite meaningful.
The same principle applies elsewhere. A safer hotel in a better location may cost more. A more realistic meal allowance may prevent a traveler from wandering into an unfamiliar area late at night in search of a cheaper option. A slightly more flexible booking approach may support better choices and stronger compliance.
These are not indulgences. They are examples of a travel program understanding that modest investments in safety upfront can help prevent far more serious human, operational, and financial consequences later.
Duty of Care Must Become More Practical, Dynamic, and Traveler-Centered
If there is a broader lesson in both the GBTA findings and recent events, it is that the old model of the static travel policy is no longer enough. Long documents do not create safer behavior on their own. Travelers need guidance that is clear, accessible, timely, and relevant to the realities they face on the road.
That is where TMCs must continue to evolve.
At ALTOUR, we see our role not simply as facilitating bookings, but as helping clients build programs that are visible, responsive, and resilient. That means combining traveler tracking, risk intelligence, supplier scrutiny, accessibility support, and practical policy guidance into a program that works in real conditions, not just in theory.
Because in the end, Duty of Care is defined by the traveler’s experience when something goes wrong. If that moment comes, and it often does, your program should not be relying on luck. It should be ready.
