6 Key Elements оf Рlаnning А Stress-Free Business Travel Trip

Business traveling has always been hard.

There are multiple things to be considered. From budget to comfort to experience, aligning all can look like an ordeal. More so, if you are a frequent traveler.

Done wrong and your whole agenda for the business travel trip can fall flat. You wouldn’t want to undergo that experience now, would you?

So the big question here is how to turn the tables in your favor.

In one line, at the core of an experience-rich, seamless business travel trip lies one element: strategic planning. Proper planning can ensure you get the most of your travel investments.

In this blog post, we address this same issue. We take a deep dive into the six core elements that can make your business trips successful.

6 hacks for planning a stress-free business trip in 2021

Planning for a business travel trip has some typical characteristics that make it stand out.

Unlike leisure travels, business travels are more serious. You have got jobs to do. This means you need to create a travel plan that not only is rich in experience but is efficient and cost-effective. You would always like to save money running your business, won’t you?

This makes time management a core task while planning a business travel trip.

1. Рlаn your trip

Planning your trip is a crucial element that determines the efficient last-minute success of the goals that you set for your business.

There is no doubt traveling is a stressful activity. With an array of commuting vehicles and chances of delays in flights and commutes, there is always the vulnerability to miss out on critical areas. The worst part? Last-minute bookings can cost you a significant amount of money. Thus, creating a productivity-focused plan can streamline your process and save you money. But that is not all. You can do so much more.

Here are a few suggestions.

Book your stays at hotels that are near your meeting areas. For example, Austin hotels are near almost every important building so keep that in mind when traveling to Texas. It is even better if you can book it in the same hotel as you are to have your business event. This will save you valuable time. You wouldn’t want to get late for your events.

Further, by saving commuting time you can invest that for higher quality work like preparing for the event or even a quick nap to be the best version of yourself.

Yet another critical part is to ensure that the prospective hotel is catered to the needs of business travels. If they are more tourist-centric, their services and offers might not be the best fit for your needs. You must check their wi-fi policy, room service policy, and breakfast timings. Ask them if they can serve an early breakfast if needed.

This will give you clarity and plan better ahead of time.

2.  Live by smart trаvel apps

One of the best strategies to plan an efficient and smooth business travel trip is to use smart travel apps in your planning task. They not only declutter your workstation but enable you to complete an efficient travel package in much less time. Reportedly, travel apps can lower down your travel anxiety by a significant 30%.

There are so many powerful tools that the travel SaaS ecosystem has to offer. Tools like Yelр аnd Tripadvisor can easily help you find the best deals on hotels and win heavy discounts on bookings. They can easily give you an overview of the facilities that you might enjoy in the prospective hotel. But that is not all.

The best help comes with the travel mаnаgement system. These tools not only help you plan better but also keep a check on your business travel trip costs per employee. The best part? They do not dampen the travel experience.

3.  Mаintаin а heаlthy diet

Maintaining a proper diet is an essential element of having a memorable experience.

Although it may not occur as the best possible advice for planning a smooth trip at first but take a pause. Look deeper. It is the first ritual you should maintain while traveling for business.

You wouldn’t want to fall sick at your important meeting. Would you? Here’s what you can stick to as a general rule of thumb.

You can always carry some packaged snacks with you. Also, avoid eating non-veg or spicy food. Try to stick to proper restaurants instead of junk food or street food. A pro tip would be to keep a personal aid kit with you handy for extreme cases of emergency.

4.  Do not cheсk in all your luggage

One of the most critical issues that you might face during your business travel trip is if you lose your luggage in transit. This can take a complete toll on your complete business trip.

Thus, it is always a good practice to not load all your luggage at the shipping counter of the flight. Usually, business trips are lightweight. So, you can always carry the essentials, the ones that you carry for the business event with you as hand luggage.

But in some cases, there may be exceptions. If you are traveling for a significantly longer period of time, you can keep the essentials handy while shipping the other luggage to the luggage counter of the flight.

There are lots of versatile hardshell suitcases today that are both lightweight and have the capacity to pack all your essential things. Besides, it’s important to choose the suitcases that have the highest quality locks to keep your items safe while traveling. Another thing you should pay attention to is the quality of the wheels. When choosing the suitcase, make sure you won’t have to carry it because the wheels were poor quality and broke halfway.

5.  Keep a dedicated preparation time for yourself

Organizing and planning your trip is just the opening section of the trip. The central section comes after you get settled in your booked hotel.

If you have to rush to your event just after checking in, the quality of your event is undoubtedly going to suffer. No matter how much recce you have done before or how much acquainted you are with the people of the forthcoming event, preparation is critical. This gets you in the right mood and sets your expectations from the event.

Start by making a list of core goals you want to hit during this business stay. It will give you a better idea of the scope of work at hand.

Collect as much information as you can about the profiles of the people whom you are going to connect to in this business event. Study them. Study the location. Be thorough about all the prerequisites. Double-check if required. Does the event have a dress code? If yes, has it undergone any last-minute alterations? Having access to updated information is critical here.

If there is someone whom you want to meet in particular, shoot them an email before the event commences. This will keep the conversations smooth and efficient keeping all misaligned communications at bay.

6.  Schedule some leisure time

While a business travel trip may look like all work and no play if you do not keep room for recuperating and leisure it can actually deteriorate your work quality.

Keeping room for some free time can ensure you can deliver the best performance at your meetings and events without fatigue. But to do so, you do not really have to go for a full day trip.

Casual walks and sightseeing trips that can be covered in a couple of hours can give you enough creative energy for the day. In fact, if you have onboarded with colleagues, tag them along. Go for a short trip with them. Keep things casual and engaged in fun conversations. Remember, the goal is to keep work off the table here. The best part?

This can improve your work relationships in the long run.

Bonus tips

The above tips are sure to give the very foundations of your next business trip. But if you have to take it to the next level, here are a few handy hacks.

• Book early and in bulk: No matter what you are reserving for, whether your stay or flight tickets, the earlier you book the more you save. This deal gets even sweeter when you do the same in bulk. Booking them prior together can save you significant money.
• Keep your travel policy updated: Having a travel policy deployed at your business ensures that you can distribute your travel resources amongst your employees in the most optimized way. It can both create more opportunities while saving you money.
• Integrate travel insurance: Travel insurance might just look like a waste of money at first. But look harder. It can safeguard you from many unforeseen situations like misplaced luggage, sudden financial losses, and many more.

Conclusion

Business travel is both a perk and a pang. But if you can plan well ahead of time and keep things organized you can easily keep most of the pangs at bay. Timeshare may be good if you visit a destination more often. Just take note that timeshare maintenance fees increase so it’s better to be aware of the fees.

All you have to do is be a little strategic. Having a handy checklist with dates can be of huge help here.

The above-mentioned elements are sure to bring cosmos to chaotic travel events but to truly enjoy an experience, you need to consider your unique situations and plan accordingly.

So, now the only question left to answer is one. When do you plan to change the approach of your business travel trip and what elements would you consider while planning for your next trip.

Read Also:

• How to Find the Best Profitable Businesses for Sale in UAE
• Saudi Arabia Business Travel Tips you should know about