Business travel is an integral part of many professionals' lives. Whether flying to another city for a meeting or going to an international conference, work-related travel can be both exciting and stressful.
According to Deloitte's survey, 53% of US companies said they expect their travel spending to top three-quarters of 2019 levels by the end of 2023, while these numbers get even better by the end of 2024.
Of all the business travel tips, one of the very important tips is to prepare well in advance. For a moment, imagine flying into a conference next week. You have made your flight, hotel, and car rental bookings on the day before your trip. And now, your flight has been delayed, plus the hotel is fully booked. Those could have easily been avoided with proper preparation.
To stay organized, at least every week, make sure you have a flight booked, accommodation, and transportation.
Today, this technology can help make certain aspects of travel smoother and a bit more efficient. Visualize being able to access all your files from any point in the world using the cloud service of Google Drive. Booking your travel through apps, such as Kayak or TripIt, allows users to organize flight schedules and hotel and rental car bookings with ease.
Technology also makes tracking easier. You can utilize apps like Expensify or Concur to log your receipts and manage business expenses efficiently.
Packing for a business trip turns out to be one of its trickiest aspects. Several times, you either over-cloth yourself or forget some simple yet very important things. How many times does it happen that you have an urgently important meeting with a client for which you forgot your dress shoes, and now you seem like an idiot?
To avoid these, create a packing list for work trip. Categorize your items: clothing, tech, and documents, so you don't forget anything.
Packing light is a real game-changer. Imagine being at the airport, waiting in line to check in, only to be told that the flight is overbooked. Because you have only a carry-on, you get bumped into a higher class of seating. But if you had checked in with a big suitcase, it would have been a headache to recheck your luggage and wait for it later.
Get a good-quality travel laptop bag in which you can fit your essentials like your laptop, chargers, business cards, and important documents.
Now, think about all those things that could be indispensable on your journey. You are sitting in a conference room, and a speaker asks you to pull up a presentation; you realize your laptop battery has only 10% charge left in it.
Essential items like portable chargers, noise-canceling headphones, and a proper laptop will make all the difference. Other key stuff: business cards, some work-related documents, and a spare charger for your phone.
When you're out for work, your laptop becomes your lifeline. Choose the right travel laptop bags to keep up with emails, presentations, and documents without it. But now, imagine carrying it in some ill-fitting bag that does not protect it enough. You may end up with a broken screen or damaged hard drive.
To avoid these, you may want to invest in one of the best laptop bags for business travel. Make sure the bag has adequate protection and enough compartments for organizing your cables, and it also fits comfortably.
The toiletries are a pain to deal with at the time of travel. This sometimes is like when one runs through security, the size exceeds the shampoo bottle limit, toothpaste, or something. It can easily be avoided, by not traveling heavily with them in the first place.
Lend a hand with travel-sized bottles and a see-through ziplock bag to carry the essentials in. Pack toiletries into one easy carry-on bag for seamless airport navigation.
Efficiency is key when it comes to traveling for work. For instance, you may have an early flight, and you need to attend a meeting shortly after landing. If you are not well prepared or late, you may miss the meeting, which may affect your professional reputation.
Travel in a lean manner by always allowing extra time for airport security, customs, and transportation. Research your destination in advance so you know the local routes and where delays may occur.
Long plane flights are rather draining on both your body and productivity. Imagine having to land in a new city after a long 12-hour flight when you may feel very tired. You have to be sharp for your meetings, but fatigue will not let that happen.
Bring along travel accessories such as neck pillows, eye masks, and blankets to keep you comfortable; these will help you rest on long flights and arrive fresh.
Airport lounges can become oases for business travelers. Picture this: you have been traveling on a long flight, and you then have a couple of hours before your connecting flight. You could sit at a busy gate, or you could retreat to a quiet lounge where you can relax and even get some snacks while you catch up on emails.
Most of the lounges have free Wi-Fi, comfortable seating, food, and drinks.
Time zone change can have quite a lot of havoc on your body and schedule. Imagine being in a country that has been ahead of your home country by a great time difference, staying jet-lagged, and hence not being able to follow the schedule in the place.
Start adapting to your destination time a few days before traveling to minimize jet lag. Immediately after arrival, if it were night, stay awake until night and start drinking plenty of water to re-tune with local timing.
Taking some neat gadgets along can make all the difference in business travel. It will be that you are out for a meeting in a full-of-life hotel lobby, and there's a compulsion to attend a conference using the video link, but everything starts going out of hand or grain because one does not use facilitator gadgets that ensure a truly smooth experience.
Other important gadgets are universal adapters for international travel, wireless mice for easy navigation, and power banks for emergency charging.
Packing light means a little more than just reducing the amount of luggage. Just imagine arriving at a busy airport, having to hurry to catch your next flight, while this big suitcase holds you back from doing so. Packing light can get you through airports a lot quicker and avoid all the frustration with checked luggage.
Pack versatile clothes that can be worn in several ways, and try to avoid anything too bulky.
Preparation is key in the case of a business trip. Imagine turning up for an important meeting only to realize some of the important documents had been left behind or you had forgotten to confirm your hotel reservation. Proper preparation is what will prevent these and similar scenarios from happening.
Make a checklist for each trip, including important meetings, documents, and confirmation.
It is rather difficult to keep up a healthy lifestyle working and traveling all the time- you end up eating out more often than one would like, sleeping late, or missing workouts since the schedules may be very tight.
First of all, on the road to staying healthy: plan for your meals, take in fluids, and incorporate at least a bit of exercise into the daily routine. Look for hotels with exercise rooms, or toss some resistance bands into the bag for quick room workouts. The key to making healthy choices regarding eating well and keeping active is being prepared in order to keep yourself energized and focused.
Business travel usually means a proper balancing act between work and leisure. The other day, on tour, you were compelled to stay in one of the cities where you had adequate layover time. You would not like to fritter away that time when you could spend browsing through emails, going over your presentation, or sitting and brainstorming some new ideas for your forthcoming projects.
Maximize your productivity by achieving a perfect balance between work and time to unwind during your travel. Stay organized, and you'll be able to make the most of every minute of your trip.
Mistakes dealing with business travel can be costly, everything from missing big meetings to overpaying for meals. You show up in a new city only to find that your hotel reservation was lost or an incorrect type of room was reserved.
To avoid these types of mistakes, always double-check your bookings and confirmations.
Business travel is at once both rewarding and challenging. You can keep these travel tips in mind to make your working trips far more efficient and productive. From packing light to leveraging technology and living healthy, the right strategy will get you through making your business trip a complete success. Stay prepared, stay flexible, and most importantly, enjoy your journey!
For even smoother travel, consider Everki's premium travel bags and small accessories that blend functionality with style. With Everki, you'll stay organized, comfortable, and prepared for every journey. Check out their collection and elevate your business travel experience today!
Take only the essentials, wear clothing that is versatile, and travel with a set of travel-sized toiletries. Use a carry-on big enough to fit all the above items in it and refrain from taking any checked luggage.
Essential items would be a portable charger, business cards, a good laptop, and noise-canceling headphones; these would ensure that you are connected on the go and productive.
Use travel downtime wisely: catch up on emails, prepare presentations, or review meetings. Keep yourself organized with apps like TripIt or Evernote.