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10 Business travel risks: What they are and how to manage them
Learn the top business travel risks and how to manage them.
Travel drives business, but every trip carries some risk, from a canceled flight to a data breach on hotel WiFi.
This guide contains:
- The 10 most common business travel risks
- How traveling employees can protect themselves
- How to build a travel risk management strategy
None of this works if your team can’t stay online once they land, which is where Holafly for Business comes in.
Business travel made easy
The 10 most common business travel risks
Most business travel risks fall into several broad categories.
Let’s examine how they break down:
| Risk | What it means |
|---|---|
| Travel disruptions | Strikes, staff shortages, and cancellations delay trips, and inflation pressure can push companies toward riskier bookings in less secure areas |
| Geopolitical instability and civil unrest | Conflict zones, protests, and sudden border or visa changes can strand traveling employees |
| Natural disasters and severe weather | Hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes cause the most damage, but even a minor storm can endanger business travelers |
| Cybersecurity threats | Unsecured hotel and airport WiFi, device theft, and phishing can expose company data |
| Health risks and medical emergencies | Illness, food and water safety issues, and limited local medical access can turn manageable problems into emergencies |
| Crime and personal safety | Theft, assault, and pickpocketing rates vary by destination, and driving on unfamiliar roads can raise accident risk |
It’s also useful to know about individual risks, which are as follows:
- Female traveler safety: Women traveling for work feel work trips are less safe for them than for their male colleagues.
- LGBTQ+ traveler safety: Same-sex relationships aren’t received in the same way across every country.
- Cultural misunderstandings: A gesture that reads as friendly at home (e.g., a thumbs-up) can be seen as offensive elsewhere.
- Food and water sensitivity: Unfamiliar hygiene standards make street food and untreated water common sources of illness.
How traveling employees can protect themselves
A few habits can keep you safe from the moment a trip is booked until you’re back in the (home) office.
Before you go
- Share your itinerary and contact details with your company and a trusted contact.
- Check destination advisories and local laws.
- Copy your passport, visa, and other documents, and store the copies separately.
- Secure your devices with updated software and multi-factor authentication.
During the trip
- Avoid public WiFi and USB charging stations at airports and hotels. A personal hotspot is safer, and a VPN for travel adds another layer of protection.
- Keep your laptop, passport, and valuables in a hotel safe.
- Stay alert at night, and avoid walking alone in unfamiliar areas.
- Use licensed taxis or well-known ride-hailing apps.
Health on the road
- Manage jet lag by shifting your sleep schedule before departure and staying hydrated.
- Choose safer food and drinks (e.g., well-cooked meals and sealed bottled water in unfamiliar destinations).
- Pack a health kit with your prescriptions and any over-the-counter medicine.
After you’re back
- Reset your passwords, in case any device or account was compromised.
- Review your bank and card statements for odd charges.
- Report anything unusual to your company, whether it’s a lost device or a health concern.
Building a travel risk management strategy
A travel risk strategy doesn’t need a big budget or a dedicated department, just an owner and a good process.
Here’s what it should cover:
- Ownership: Someone needs to own travel risk, even part-time, alongside HR or operations. Companies without that person in-house can hand it to a travel management company. To compare options, check our guide on the best corporate travel agencies.
- Risk assessment: Run one before each trip, as risk changes by destination and season.
- Traveler tracking: A shared spreadsheet works for a small team, but dedicated travel risk management companies offer live tracking for higher-risk travel.
- Training: Destination-specific advice matters more than generic/broad safety tips.
- Communication: Keep more than one channel open (e.g., email, Slack, a phone line).
- Crisis response: Write a basic process so everyone knows whom to contact and what happens next.
- Review: After each trip or incident, explore what worked and what didn’t, and update the policy accordingly.
Companies that want a formal, audited approach can build around ISO 31030, the international standard for travel risk management.
For more actionable advice, see our guides to travel risk management, how to manage corporate travel, corporate travel security, and building a compliant global mobility policy.
How Holafly for Business helps manage travel risk
When your team is traveling to unfamiliar destinations, secure mobile data is key.
Holafly for Business is an eSIM provider available in 160+ destinations that activates on your team’s devices, so they don’t have to worry about sourcing local SIM cards or unexpected roaming charges. You also get access to our centralized management platform, the Holafly Business Center, where you can manage individual eSIMs, invoices, and data usage.
Holafly Plans for Business come in four tiers, all featuring hotspot, 4G/5G, and 24/7 multilingual support:
- Daily: Unlimited data with pay-per-day flexibility, built for short business trips under 16 days a month.
- Monthly: Unlimited data for teams traveling more than 16 days a month, a fit for frequent travelers and long-term remote staff.
- Annual: Unlimited data for ultra-frequent travelers, suited to long-term global operations and predictable annual budgets.
- Enterprise: Bespoke plans for companies managing travel for 20+ employees a year, with volume discounts, a dedicated account manager, priority support, and custom integrations, built to optimize costs, streamline operations, and ensure seamless global connectivity across teams.
Not sure which plan is right for your team? Book a demo!
Business travel made easy
FAQ
Your legal exposure without a travel risk policy comes mainly from OSHA’s general duty clause, which requires employers to keep employees free from recognized hazards (a duty that extends to business travel), and ordinary negligence claims if you knew about a risk and didn’t act on it.
You don’t need a travel management company if you’re a small company. A single owner, a Google Sheet for tracking trips, and a response plan should cover the basics. You can add a TMC or dedicated software later, once trip volume or destination risk grows enough to justify it.
Tools for tracking business travelers range from a shared Google Sheet for a small team to dedicated travel risk management software that tracks itineraries and sends alerts. Choose based on how many employees travel, how often they travel, and whether any of your destinations carry elevated risk.
I’m a writer with over eight years of experience in digital content. My work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Forbes, Business Insider, and the BBC. At Holafly, I write clear, practical guides to help travelers stay connected with eSIM technology. In my spare time, I enjoy car detailing, biking around Warsaw, and capturing portraits.
