What can be observed in Sharing Economy providers
In reaction to the worldwide growth in the use of sharing economy providers for transport and accommodations (e.g. Airbnb, Uber), International SOS has published a report, looking at amongst other things, the risks and legal framework for business travelers.
In the meantime, good value offers from Uber, Airbnb and Co entice many business travelers to use these services when traveling abroad (approx. 40% of those questioned). 75% of those companies surveyed admitted that they have not put any travel guidelines in place for using these providers. Also, the legal status of these service providers in the particular country -whether they are legal or not- is generally unknown. To guarantee the duty of care for employees who are traveling, it is recommended that you consider the following factors when sharing economy providers are used, and to specify them in your own travel guidelines:
- Safety standards: Do the safety standards comply with the actual risks in the destination country?
- Emergency response: In the property, is there access to alternative systems for electricity and telecommunications?
- Assistance: Is access available to multilingual service staff or providers of medical services?
- Screened providers: Has there been formal verification of drivers and/or hosts?
- Reputation: Is the provider well-regarded in the region?
Also included in the research are other considerations such as travel security check lists and recommendations for guidelines. >>>about the research