Well the Bee Gees had it right. Staying alive is one side of the travel spectrum that the trade needs to sing about but to date tends to shy away from. Then suddenly we are facing outbreaks of diseases such as Ebola, ferry fires, shipborne viruses, downed and lost aircraft and travel dreams gone wrong. Of course you cannot change what you have no control over, but you can affect the outcome when you do have some control and it all starts right there in your agency under the heading of travel insurance, travel safety and travel apps.
It cannot be emphasized enough that as a travel agent today versus yesteryear, you must know the mobile phone numbers of your staff and of your clientele. You must know their email addresses and every other social media contact they have. Having this data on record allows for fast communication when time is of the essence. It is now your role to do everything you can to forewarn your clients and to encourage them to take control of their own safety when travelling. You can only do so much of course and 80 percent of your effort is to give your clients the information on which they should act.
As your ongoing success is directly related to the health and welfare of your client list, take note of the following five ideas for how you, your entire agency team and your clients can travel safely on vacation and during a fam trip:
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1. Download an SOS app to your smartphone: Free apps only send an email to a friend. The pro SOS apps send your GPS location to a control center that then dispatches first responders. This works worldwide.
2. Suggest that your clients invest in a survival responder such as Nautilus which requires the red button to be pushed to alert ships in the area where you are located in the ocean. This is great for your cruise clients and also air travelers who survive a downed aircraft.
3. Using the Where’s My Phone, Where’s my Droid and Location apps in your smartphone allows friends and relatives and the authorities, when they have the information, to track someone’s current and most recent position/location on the planet. Make sure your clients know about this option/app and advise them to advise their family and friends to release this information (ID, passwords, codes) when required. For this tracking option to work, your smartphone should be “on” – as some airlines allow mobile phones to be operated in-flight. At other times, your clients need to know they must break the rule and switch on so they can be tracked. Yes, there are many ifs, ands and buts… but, err to the idea that it is a chance to be found.
4. Advise your clients about the Deck Director app – which gives your cruise clients a map of their ship. They can tap in an A to B request and the app will show them how to get from where they are to where they wish to be – such as cabin to lifeboat. Think: ship is listing, lights are out – smartphone can be used as a flashlight and map to safety.
5. Last but not least is to advise your clients to learn Morse code (yes there’s an app for that – it uses the flashlight function) and to also learn the basics of sign language – at least enough to communicate Help, Sick, Hostage and at the very least their name. Morse code can be transmitted by light and sound.
So sing it loud and sing it proud… Staying Alive, Staying Alive. The world has not finished with its terror, climatic, political and natural disasters. Be prepared. Expect the unexpected and use all your digital and techno prowess to assist yourself, your team, your clients and your business.
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