Arnie Weissmann
The father of modern risk management was James Reason, who imagined the layers of defensive measures that one puts into place as slices of Swiss cheese: Each is mostly solid but has holes. Problems occur when the holes line up and something gets through all the layers.
There is a travel agency in London, MB Private Clients, whose area of expertise is to ensure, to the extent possible, that the holes don't line up for their customers.
One of their clients, attorney Robert Amsterdam, wrote a cover story for Travel Weekly in 2017 about how MB Private Clients literally saved his life and got him out of a very dangerous situation in Russia. He is one of "five or six people" who the agency's CEO, Michael Beagelman, said "wouldn't be alive today if I weren't born."
Only a tiny percentage of the trips Beagleman's company handles end in drama, but his staff takes extraordinary care in trip planning to minimize potential issues. I used him myself when traveling into a potentially dangerous area to ensure that I was staying in a secure hotel and that my guide had been thoroughly vetted.
These are especially fraught times for travelers. As the geopolitical landscape is being reshaped, governments are looking more closely at who is coming into their country, and are more likely to detain or refuse entry to a traveler if everything isn't in order. There have been several recent high-profile cases of detention and repatriation of inbound travelers to the U.S., and many American travelers are worried about a reciprocal type of reception when they travel abroad.
I spoke last week with Beagelman and his son, Joshua, who is the agency's managing director, about what travel advisors can do to minimize risks for their traveling clients.
The first area of potential concern is immigration. Regarding the officers who decide whether to admit a traveler into their country, Michael said, "They have full authority. If they make the wrong decision, it's the right decision. Their decisions are final."
So, similar to the help desk technician who, upon hearing your computer won't turn on, first asks, "Is it plugged in?" the Beagelmans' first step is to look closely at their clients' passports and visas.
Many countries require a passport to be valid six months beyond the date of entry and may send a traveler back if it's not. And although some countries will put their stamp over a previous country's stamp, they're not supposed to, so making sure there are enough blank pages in a passport is critical.
Likewise, ensuring that the visa type matches the traveler's reason for going is crucial; immigration officers are on the lookout for visitors who may try to stay or work illegally in their country.
And "work" is often interpreted broadly. Michael recalled one instance when someone escorting a group of 80 travelers was turned back because, even though she wouldn't be paid until after she returned home, she would nonetheless be working.
Similarly, a big red flag to immigration officers occurs when a family is traveling with a nanny; the nanny, in the eyes of the officers, will be working while in their country.
And if someone is getting free accommodations in exchange for house- or pet-sitting, they, too, may be turned back for entering without a visa that would allow them to work.
The repercussions for being turned away may cause future problems, as well. "If you're deported out of a country, you're on every watch list in the world," Michael said. "You just don't want that to happen."
Even though many countries issue visas upon arrival, the Beagelmans always prefer that clients get them in advance when possible to minimize potential issues.
One point that can work in a traveler's favor, should questions come up, is to carry documentation of return or onward travel, which supports a traveler's declarations of a limited-time visit.
It's often difficult to help travelers who are encountering entry issues, because if they are detained, they may be held incommunicado, unable to ask for assistance. In many countries (though not the U.S.), it's possible to arrange a VIP service that meets the client at the jet bridge and accompanies them through immigration. If there's a problem, they know who to call.
When that's not possible, Joshua said, their agency will have someone waiting at the other side of customs; if the client doesn't show up when they're supposed to, the post-customs escort can alert their agency, who will begin making inquiries.
Finally, because immigration formalities may be more thorough than in the past, it's important to leave more time for connecting flights. "Missing a flight can have a knock-on effect that can ruin a holiday," Joshua said.
"As much as you can, you should be looking at the worst-case scenario," Michael concluded. "You need layers of defense. But there's tremendous amount of preventative actions you can take."