Why One-Size-Fits-All Travel Programmes Fail
As organizations expand their DE&I initiatives, travel managers must align corporate policies with inclusive workplace standards. A standard, one-size-fits-all strategy often compromises employee wellbeing. To effectively safeguard your workforce, your corporate travel management strategy must prioritize personalisation and inclusivity
At Maiden Voyage, we create travel programmes that truly support everybody in your company.
By its very nature, a travel programme that treats all travellers the same is the antithesis of an inclusive travel programme.
To be effective, a corporate travel safety programme must have elements of personalisation. Small adjustments to travel safety can make a huge difference to the mental and physical wellbeing of your business travellers.
Key Risks Facing Diverse Business Travellers
Our research shows that diverse travellers face a wide range of risks.
These might include women travelling to destinations which are culturally diverse and so have to adhere to local laws or dress codes, women travelling whilst pregnant to areas impacted by the Zika Virus, or menopausal women suffering from side effects such as chronic fatigue.
Today, over 70 countries still criminalise same-sex acts, while some countries still operate the death sentence for anyone found guilty of homosexuality. The transgender community faces further challenges still due to global inconsistencies in gender identity documentation, carrying hormone medication and being subjected to inappropriate airport pat-downs.
Travellers from various ethnicities regularly encounter discrimination and excessive screening at airports and by airline staff.
And many traveller assistance programmes fail to meet the needs of passengers travelling with a disability. Breakdowns in passenger assistance programmes can be undignifying to anyone left without their pre-booked wheelchair assistance. Some hotels still fail to provide a flashing fire alarm for deaf guests, which puts their lives at risk. While, neuro-diverse travellers often become overwhelmed by the hubbub of a busy airport or when navigating unfamiliar territory.
Many travel managers find themselves wondering how to get started. At Maiden Voyage, we’re often asked for advice on what you can include within travel policies to cater for women, LGBTQ+ travellers or those with disabilities.
To help, we have outlined several simple steps below to make your travel programme more inclusive.
However, we believe that the travel policy is not the place to make these changes. Travel policies are long documents typically read once, if at all, by employees, usually early on in their employment. Employee’s circumstances and characteristics can change over time. By calling out some minority groups in a policy document, others may be forgotten.
10 Steps to Build an Inclusive Travel Programme
Here we recommend a 10-point approach to make your travel programme fully inclusive:
1. Poll your business travellers.
Take a ‘temperature check’ to understand your employees’ business travel challenges. Dig deep, ask open questions and collect diversity data. However, keep responses anonymous to protect individual privacy. You want to collect specifics related to gender, sexual orientation, health and disability, age, and race to help make improvements in your travel programmes. Offer multiple-choice responses as nobody is one-dimensional.
2. Engage Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
Learn about the people they represent and their unique travel needs or concerns. Consider running travel safety deep-dives and focus groups. Adopt a ‘never about us without us’ approach, and allow different minority groups to tell you what they need, rather than you designing for them.
3. Audit current travel safety information resources
Source and share all relevant content such as the ILGA map on state-sponsored homophobia and the CDC List of Countries and Territories at risk for Zika to see in which ountries the zika virus is present. At the same time, make this content widely available for all employees without the need for logging in or providing personal data. This avoids anyone having to give information about their personal circumstances.
4. Conduct pre-travel risk assessments for all trips
These should be a combination of generic risks such as hotel fires or road traffic accidents, as well as some personal ones. Even relatively safe, local destinations could be complex for certain demographics. Aim to build flexibility for travellers rather than create rigid policies so you can meet everybody’s unique needs.
5. Respect employees’ right to privacy.
It’s not OK to ask employees about personal issues such as sexuality or health matters. Instead, ask these two ‘magic questions’
- Are you comfortable and feel able to take this trip?
- What adjustments can we make to better support you on this trip?
6. Implement a Confidential ‘No Justification’ Opt-Out Policy
Provide a confidential ‘no justification, no travel policy’ which allows employees to decline a trip without having to justify their reasons why.
7. Provide Engaging Diversity-Focused Travel Safety Training
Good Diverse Travel Safety Training Courses should incorporate specific diversity elements and be available for everybody. Whilst we all know how to navigate life as our authentic selves, educating our colleagues, managers and those who could become allies is priceless. This in turn helps to mitigate otherwise dangerous and risky situations. Training material should be engaging and not too long. Consider using rich media such as animation and videos. Work with travel professionals and safety experts who have a deep understanding of the diverse travel risk landscape.
8. Leverage Creative Channels to Engage Travellers
The corporate travel safety landscape is constantly evolving due to world events and changes in global legislation, so business travellers must keep up to date with the latest advice. Provide inventive ways to give your business travellers access to resources, perhaps through creating apps and alerts or adding links to booking information.
9. Establish Post-Trip Feedback Loops & Vetting
Develop an easy post-travel feedback mechanism that goes far deeper than a travel survey. Educate suppliers from your travel programmes who don’t reflect your DE&I values or policies or who have put your travellers at avoidable risk, or remove them altogether. Specifically, you will find lots of helpful information in our Guide to Hotel Safety for Corporate Travel Managers.
10. Partner with Diversity-Focused TMCs
A good travel management company will have already thought about inclusivity and have a set of DE&I best practices, ideally already implemented internally for their own employees, and offer a range of support services to support your diverse workforce. If they don’t, consider making support for diverse travellers part of your next RFP criteria. Here’s our list of certified Travel Management Company partners who have taken demonstrable steps to support diverse business travellers.
Inclusive Travel Mangement Bonus Point – Repeat!
Make this process a continuous loop of learning and improvement, and make sure all new employees get the information as soon as they join your organisation.
How Maiden Voyage Can Support Your DE&I Travel Goals
At Maiden Voyage, we can help you on your inclusive travel journey. From simply auditing your current processes to providing engaging traveller safety training resources or doing all the heavy lifting for you, we can support you or build your entire inclusive traveller programme from the ground up.
If you’re looking for a helping-hand to get started, take a look at our Inclusive Traveller Safety Starter Pack, a personalised experience designed to meet you where you are.
Discover our ‘Creating an Inclusive Travel Safety Programme‘ training course, ideal for senior leaders looking to intersect DE&I best practice into their travel programmes.
If you’re currently reviewing hotel safety within your organsation, take a look at our Corporate Travel Managers Guide to hotel safety.
Talk to us now about where you are on your journey and how you would like us to help you.
Further Reading
Hotel Safety: What Travel Managers Need to Know
Hotel safety incidents are currently dominating the media, with a number of serious, high-profile cases being reported worldwide.
In the UK alone, it has been reported that between January 2023 and January 2026 there were more than 4,000 cases of sexual assault occurring in hotels and other lodging accommodation1. Many more incidents are subsequently reported and shared online because guests receive no response or an inadequate response from hotel staff, customer service departments or hotel brand headquarters.
Alarmingly, around 50% of travellers report having experienced a room intrusion by another guest, or having themselves entered a hotel room that was already occupied. In many cases, this is linked to weaknesses in hotel security processes and systems.
The results from the GuestSafe Index Survey, currently being conducted by Maiden Voyage, are also telling. Approximately 33% of guests surveyed say that their room number has been communicated verbally by hotel front-desk staff, compromising guest privacy in busy hotel lobbies.
Even more concerning, more than 50% of hotel rooms reported through the survey do not have a secondary locking mechanism.
This means that a guest who has inadvertently been issued an incorrect but valid room key or someone who has access to a master key, whether for legitimate or malicious reasons could gain access to a guest’s room.
In many cases, a secondary locking mechanism could provide an additional and important layer of protection against hotel safety and room-intrusion incidents.
Secondary hotel door lock and deadbolt mechanism for room security
Hotel safety is a growing concern for business travel
Increasingly, Travel Managers are working with their travel management providers to identify accommodation providers with stronger security measures, removing properties where incidents have occurred, and in some cases entire hotel brand from their travel programmes.
Travel Management Companies (TMCs) are also developing enhanced processes and client support to help reduce the risks associated with hotel accommodation.
Hotel safety isn’t just about locks and key cards. Physical security measures are important, but so are the processes and people behind them. How does a hotel respond when a guest reports an incident? Is there a clear escalation process? Are front-desk staff trained to protect guest privacy? And does the property have appropriate procedures for dealing with vulnerable or at-risk travellers?
7 Practical Steps Travel Managers Can Take
1. Crowdsource hotel safety information from your employees
With limited resources and budgets, it isn’t always practical to physically inspect hotel properties for safety features such as secondary door locks, key-card lift access, room allocation above ground level or discreet check-in processes.
However, engaging your traveller community to report back on key security features can provide valuable insight into what on-property security is actually like and help you make better-informed decisions about which hotels to book.
If you don’t have the capacity to run your own hotel review process, travellers can complete the Maiden Voyage GuestSafe Index. The results of hotel safety reviews will be made available to corporate travel departments and TMCs at no cost, with traveller details anonymised to protect their privacy.
Importantly, this provides an opportunity to understand the difference between what a property says it provides and what travellers actually experience when they stay there. A hotel may confirm that a particular security feature or process is in place, but traveller feedback can help validate what happens in practice. For example, some hotels do have the technical ability to enable key-card lift access but some choose to switch this feature off.
2. Partner with your TMC for Rigorgous Screening
As part of accommodation RFPs TMCs do have a part to play in ensuring that accommodation providers are adequately screened against comprehensive hotel security checklists. A good TMC should go beyond simply asking properties to tick binary Yes/No boxes. They should ask accommodation providers to explain how security requirements are fulfilled and have the knowledge and expertise to determine what good looks like.
3. Audit Properties Continuously
Supporting a safe hotel programme cannot be a ‘one-and-done’ exercise.
Properties, processes and physical security measures change. Something as simple as the removal of secondary door locks during a refurbishment programme could fundamentally alter the security of a property.
Regular review and monitoring are therefore essential.
4. Roll-out Targeted Traveller Safety Training
Simple, memorable hotel safety tips can be invaluable to travellers, whether they are travelling for business, bleisure or leisure.
This can form part of a broader travel safety training programme or be delivered as targeted training in response to current concerns around hotel safety.
At Maiden Voyage, we’ve developed a Hotel Safety Training e-Learning module, available on both individual and corporate-wide licences. The module covers:
- Selecting an appropriately safe hotel
- Making safety requests before arrival
- Safe check-in protocols
- In-room safety
- Staying safe in hotel public areas
Women in particular frequently report concerns about hotel safety. Our Female Traveller Safety Awareness Training includes a comprehensive section dedicated to hotel safety.
5. Provide Portable Hotel Safety Devices
We recommend always sourcing hotels that provide two independent locking mechanisms. However, some preferred hotel brands or locations do not offer rooms with this level of protection.
Travellers commonly resort to placing a chair against the door or creating their own solution to secure their room and give themselves greater peace of mind.
A more proactive solution for employers is to offer travellers with a simple portable door wedge or, for something more robust, a DoorJammer to provide hotel room intrusion protection. The newly released DoorJammer 5 includes an alarm that activates if movement is detected against the hotel door.
DoorJammer has kindly extended a 10% discount to the Maiden Voyage community.
DoorJammer Portable Door Lock
6. Address Diverse Traveller Security Needs
Safety isn’t one-size-fits-all. The right accommodation for one traveller may not necessarily be appropriate for another.
Travel programmes should consider the individual needs and circumstances of travellers as part of their inclusive traveller safety policies when assessing accommodation particularly for those who may face additional risks because of their gender, identity, accessibility requirements or other personal circumstances.
A hotel that feels perfectly safe to one employee may present very different risks or concerns for another. Understanding these differences is an important part of creating a genuinely inclusive travel programme.
Note: if your travel and event policies are not yet optimised for inclusive travel safety, well can help you with our Inclusive Traveller Safety Starter Pack.
7. Establish Clear Incident Reporting and Escalation Protocols
Hotel safety doesn’t end when something goes wrong. Travel managers should also consider what happens after an incident is reported.
Travellers should know who to contact at the hotel, who to contact within their organisation or TMC, what support is available outside normal working hours and when an incident should be escalated.
Hotels should also be able to demonstrate that they have appropriate procedures for responding to incidents and supporting affected guests. The quality and speed of the response can be just as important as the security measures that were in place beforehand.
Building a Proactive Culture of Hotel Safety
We know that there is no single, failsafe solution to ensuring guest safety. Processes fail, systems fail and determined bad actors will continue to look for opportunities to commit crimes.
However, there are simple and practical steps that travel managers, TMCs and employers can take to reduce risk and give travellers greater protection when they are away from home.
Hotel safety shouldn’t be an afterthought. It should be part of your accommodation programme from the moment a property is selected and continuously reviewed thereafter as part of your company’s corporate travel duty of care protocols.
Source
1 I was in the shower when he entered’: Shocking figures expose women’s safety risks in UK hotels, Metro
Further Reading
The Business Traveller’s Guide to Urban Air Pollution: Protection Strategies and Recovery Tips
When you’re travelling for business, staying active feels like an uphill battle. You walk between meetings, take the stairs instead of lifts, or power-walk to venues to rack up your daily steps. But there’s one crucial factor most travellers completely overlook: the air they’re breathing.
Business trips often take us to bustling urban centres—exactly where air pollution hits hardest. What many don’t realise is that even a short visit to a polluted city can impact your health faster than you might expect.
People walking through the busy intersection at 5th Avenue and 23rd Street in New York City on a summer day with sunset flare behind the background buildings. Credit:deberarr
Why Should Business Travellers Care About Air Quality?
The numbers paint a concerning picture. Air pollution is the second leading cause of death globally after high blood pressure, contributing to 8.1 million deaths annually according to the latest State of Global Air 2024 Report and costing the global economy $8 trillion according to World Bank estimates. Meanwhile, WHO data shows that 9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants.
But what does this mean for your three-day business trip to Delhi or your week-long conference in Los Angeles? Research from the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2019) found that even healthy adults experienced a 6.5% drop in lung function after short visits to polluted cities. That’s not just a statistic—it’s your energy, focus, and performance taking a hit when you need them most.
Even brief exposure to high pollution can trigger respiratory discomfort, fatigue, headaches, and decreased cognitive function—exactly what you don’t need during important meetings or presentations. For employers, this means business travel impacts extend far beyond carbon footprints to include employee wellbeing, productivity, and healthcare costs.
Woman in the city. Credit:kieferpix
What’s Actually in That City Air You’re Breathing?
Air pollution isn’t just the hazy skyline you see from your hotel window. We’re talking about microscopic particles that slip past your body’s natural defences and impact your system. Urban air pollution consists primarily of:
PM2.5 (Fine Particulate Matter): Microscopic particles that penetrate deep into your lungs and bloodstream, linked to cardiovascular issues and reduced energy levels. WHO guidelines recommend staying below 15 micrograms per cubic metre daily.
NO2 (Nitrogen Dioxide): A gas that causes airway inflammation and can worsen respiratory symptoms, particularly problematic near busy roads and traffic intersections. WHO recommends limiting exposure to 25 micrograms per cubic metre daily.
These pollutants are invisible but accumulate in your system with each exposure. Think of it like compound interest—small exposures add up over time, potentially impacting your health and performance.
Who Needs to Pay Extra Attention to Air Pollution?
While pollution affects everyone, certain travellers face higher risks:
- People with respiratory or cardiovascular conditions may experience immediate symptom flare-ups
- Pregnant travellers face additional risks to fetal development
- Frequent business travellers accumulate more exposure over time, compounding health risks
Business traveler pulling suitcase on airport.Business travel. Credit:Sanja85
How Can Business Travellers Protect Themselves from Air Pollution? Practical Protection Strategies During Your Trip
Here’s how to minimise pollution exposure while maintaining your activity levels during business travel:
Smart Route Planning
- Use air quality apps like IQAir and PurpleAir for general city-wide pollution levels, or apps like AirTrack for personalised street-level exposure during your walks to check pollution levels before stepping outside
- Avoid main roads and busy intersections when walking between venues—even a slight detour can significantly reduce exposure
- Choose tree-lined streets and parks where possible, as vegetation helps filter air pollutants
- Walk on the upwind side of streets to avoid concentrated exhaust fumes from traffic
Strategic Timing
- Schedule outdoor walking for early morning hours (typically 6-8 AM) when traffic is lighter and air is cleaner
- Avoid rush hour outdoor activities (typically 7-9 AM and 5-7 PM) when pollution peaks
- Check weather patterns—windy days help disperse pollutants, while still, humid days trap them closer to ground level
- Monitor daily air quality forecasts and plan indoor alternatives during high pollution alerts
Protective Measures
- Wear N95 or P2 masks during unavoidable high-exposure situations like walking along busy roads
- Keep exposure time short—if you must walk in polluted areas, take the most direct route
- Use indoor alternatives like hotel gyms, covered walkways, or underground passages when air quality is poor
- Close windows in taxis and hotel rooms when in heavily trafficked areas
Activity Modifications
- Opt for indoor venues for breakfast meetings or casual discussions when air quality is poor
- Use building-to-building connections like skywalks or underground passages in city centres
- Take public transport during peak pollution hours rather than walking
- Schedule phone calls indoors rather than walking outside during poor air quality periods
. Female standing on the bridge enjoying cityscape at evening. Credit:Biserka Stojanovic
Recovery Strategies: Helping Your Body After Air Pollution Exposure
The good news is that your body has remarkable recovery capabilities. Here are evidence-based strategies to help minimise the impact of pollution exposure once you return home:
Nature-Based Recovery
- Spend time by the sea—coastal areas typically have cleaner air, and sea breezes can help clear your respiratory system
- Take countryside hikes—research shows that time in natural environments with clean air supports respiratory recovery
- Visit parks and green spaces—even urban parks can provide cleaner air and help your lungs recover
- Plan weekend getaways to low-pollution areas after heavy business travel periods
Nutritional Support
- Increase antioxidant intake through berries, leafy greens, nuts, and citrus fruits to combat oxidative stress from pollution
- Add anti-inflammatory foods like fatty fish, turmeric, and green tea to support your body’s natural healing processes
- Stay well-hydrated to help your body’s detoxification systems function optimally
- Consider vitamin C and E supplements (consult your healthcare provider first) as these may help counter pollution damage
Physical Recovery Activities
- Practice deep breathing exercises in clean air environments to help expand lung capacity and clear pollutants
- Engage in light exercise in low-pollution areas like parks or coastal paths to promote circulation and lung function
- Try swimming in clean pools or natural bodies of water—the breathing patterns can help clear your respiratory system
- Use steam rooms or saunas (if you have no health contraindications) as heat therapy may help eliminate toxins through sweating
Lifestyle Adjustments
- Prioritise quality sleep to allow your immune system time to recover and repair
- Reduce additional pollutant exposure at home by using air purifiers and avoiding smoking or harsh chemicals
- Monitor your symptoms and consult healthcare providers if respiratory issues persist after travel
- Plan recovery time between high-pollution business trips when possible
Can You Actually Undo Air Pollution Damage?
While you cannot completely reverse pollution exposure, research suggests your body can significantly recover from short-term exposure effects. Studies show that lung function can improve within days to weeks of returning to cleaner air, particularly if you support recovery through the strategies mentioned above.
The key is consistency—regular exposure to clean air, proper nutrition, adequate hydration, and appropriate physical activity all contribute to your body’s ability to recover from and resist pollution damage.
A businessman in a suit walks outside while checking his smartphone. He carries a coffee cup and a leather bag, enjoying a sunny day. Credit:Sanja85
Making Business Travel Healthier
Business travel will continue to be part of professional life, but you can significantly reduce its health impact through informed decisions. The goal isn’t to avoid all outdoor activity—it’s to be strategic about when, where, and how you stay active during your trips.
Small changes like checking air quality before that morning walk to your client meeting, choosing quieter streets for your daily steps, or scheduling recovery time in nature after returning home can make a meaningful difference to your long-term health and immediate performance.
By understanding urban air pollution patterns and taking proactive steps both during and after your travels, you can maintain your professional commitments while protecting your health—ensuring you’re performing at your best both on the road and back home.
This article was powered by Air Aware Labs. We believe clean air is essential for healthy communities and thriving businesses. We’re dedicated to helping individuals and organisations access cleaner air through practical, data-driven strategies that promote sustainability and better health for all. Our AirTrack app provides personalised air quality insights for travellers and businesses. Want to learn more? Contact us at hello@airawarelabs.com or visit www.airawarelabs.com
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