Are you looking to lubricate your business trips as much as possible? Would you like some top tips for business travel that you can apply to your own traveling?
Then step forth as we explore 12 top tips for business travel you can use in your own travels for work.
1. Travel Policy
Before you go ahead and plan any kind of business trip, one of the most essential tips for business travel to follow is to ensure that you have checked your company's policy.
This will be a whole bunch of procedural do's and don'ts that, if followed properly, could save you a heck of a lot of trouble in the future.
This usually consists of a series of instructions on how to book your trip and where, who in your company needs to approve it, what expenses can be claimed later down the line, and how the expense refund process works.
2. Carry-on Only
Unless you are staying somewhere for a long time, business trips are rendered a whole lot easier by simply taking a leather duffle bag and eschewing any other type of bag.
Business travelers will lose an average of 30 minutes at the baggage claim area alone - this is not even including the amount of time you might lose if your suitcase ends up lost. Indeed, acts such as this can take days (if not the entire trip).
Frequent business travelers are likely to be smart on their next business trip and keep it simple, only carrying forth what is absolutely necessary for a business meeting, etc.
3. Ready to Go
A successful business trip is naught without holding fast to the ideology of having your essentials to hand at any given time. This works both ways, too.
So, if you are often called upon to travel with your work, then keep a specific set of essential toiletries and a Dopp kit more or less packed and ready to go. Likewise, you are best advised to keep these same toiletries and medicines ready to go in your hotel room while you are away, in a bag that you only use for such trips.
4. Essentials
In a similar way, you would be best advised to keep your essentials to hand when you are on the road and/or traveling. This kind of thing makes international travel a breeze as you will never be caught unprepared without those essentials.
Such essentials can include boarding passes, identification, your phone, agenda, credit card, debit card, wallet, and other important documents.
For a smooth business trip, pack these bits close to hand while you are on the move, though not in so obvious a place that passers-by can easily see them and pickpocket you. This can be a real issue in foreign countries where thieves are attuned to tourists and those otherwise less accustomed to a place.
5. Smart Casual
Even if you are going to be in business meetings for the entirety of your trip and even if these meetings are strictly business, you never know when you might need a change of clothes to something a little more casual.
Who knows, maybe you will get invited to the hotel pool during the middle of the day - hey, even airport lounges can be casual as well as smart. Casual clothes can be a dress code in and of themselves. Pack light but pack smart and bring a change of clothes.
6. Security Checks
When you are packing your bags, make sure that you are mindful of the kinds of security checks that go on at your preferred airline. If you know this airline well enough, then you will be able to pack specifically for their relative quirks. If not though, you will want to do a little research.
Points of contention will usually include liquids, electronics, and sometimes even chargers. Thus, to ensure that you can make it through security checks as quickly as possible, keep your own items in check with security guidelines.
7. Comfort
To make business trips easier on the body, then you are going to want to make comfort a top priority. This might seem new to a first-time business traveler, but if this is not your first rodeo then you will no doubt be accustomed to ensuring that you are as comfortable as possible.
This can include anything from the types of bags you are using to the clothes you are wearing inside and outside of meeting times, the meals you are eating, the amount of sleep you are getting, and even your skincare routine.
8. Rewards Programs
For global entry to almost anywhere over time, why not sign yourself up for a loyalty program? This will be especially useful for those who are flying or traveling abroad for work a lot. Heck, even local business trips or nationwide ones will warrant their own type of loyalty program, perhaps offering cheaper train or bus tickets for repeated journeys.
Not only will some of your journeys be supplicated by the reward scheme, but you can also sometimes be the recipient of some interesting extra perks that you can keep for yourself. This is what makes Flyer Miles so popular.
9. Charging
Nowadays, this should go without saying, but it is of the utmost importance that you charge all the electronic devices you are going to need on the journey, lest you be left without power.
It is quite common to have a digital ticket as opposed to a physical one these days, whether for flying or getting the train. So, needless to say, it is incredibly vital that the device carrying the ticket has sufficient charge to make it all the way there.
If your device is one that quickly runs out of power, then take a power bank with you for the journey (and do not forget a travel adapter if your destination uses different plug sockets).
10. Flying Non-Stop
When you are booking flights, try to ensure that you are booking direct flights as often as possible. Perhaps this is not always the cheapest option, but you have to think about whether it is worth the extra money just to be rid of the notion of staying on a layover.
With a direct flight, you will spend less time traveling and, overall, you will arrive better rested, avoiding delays, cancellations, overbookings, and lost baggage far more than with connected flight delays.
11. Airport Lounges
If indeed you are getting a flight, then it can be easy to neglect to make good use of the facilities. Often, we might simply arrive at the airport with barely enough time to even go to the toilet before the flight.
However, if you make enough time to get to the airport early, you might even be able to make use of these facilities, catching up on some extra work or even just relaxing a little before the flight. There will almost always be Wifi as well as food, drink, and sometimes even showers.
12. Suit Bag
Finally, what better way to show all those colleagues arrayed in the meeting that you mean business than to arrive in a fresh and crisp suit even though you are abroad?
Often, the crispness of a suit is one of the first things to fall by the wayside when traveling abroad, but it really does not have to be this way. Indeed, all you need to do is buy a suit bag and your suit will then be protected from the harsh range of elements that it might meet on the way.
Final Tones
So, there you have it! Hopefully, you are now feeling ready and able to travel for work without any of the fussing and fighting of before.
FAQs Tips for Business Travel
WHAT ARE THE THREE NEEDS OF THE BUSINESS TRAVELER?
Though each business traveler is likely to be a little different with different needs and desires, the principal needs and wants of a business traveler can include - connectivity, privacy, space, efficiency, comfort, and reliability. If provided with all of these things, a business traveler cannot help but be provided for and get their job done without much of a hitch. While it is incredibly valuable to be able to connect with fellow colleagues on such trips, it is also equally valuable to be able to flee from socializing sometimes for some alone time.
HOW CAN I MAKE MY BUSINESS TRAVEL BETTER?
There are plenty of things you can do to ensure that your business travel is more frequently to your liking - fly with the same airline as often as possible; keep a separate set of toiletries for business; do not pack prohibited items; keep your electronic devices charged and ready to go; bring at least 1 pair of casual clothes so that you can more easily blend in.
