Traveling for work often garters one of two reactions: it’s either looked forward to or dreaded. While many professionals see work-related travel as a perk because of the free flights, time spent out of the office, and (almost) every expense charged to the company card. What person wouldn’t enjoy that?
Yet, those that frequently travel for business know that there is another side to the perfect-looking picture. Between the back-to-back flights, hybrid working and darting from meeting to meeting – traveling for work can be inconvenient and sometimes uncomfortable. With 25% of employees who travel for work experiencing significant or extreme symptoms of jet lag, it’s understandable why many dread the countdown until their next business trip.
However, providing that you’re a savvy traveler, you can easily combine business and leisure with the proper time management, trip planning, and efficient packing without missing a single flight, meeting, or event. On this list, you’ll find several practical tips when traveling for business that will help your next experience be less stressful and allow you to have fun simultaneously – keep reading to find out more.
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Review Your Company’s Travel Policy
If you frequently travel for business, you should already know your company’s travel policy like the back of your hand. However, if you’re preparing for your first work trip, being familiar with your company’s travel policy is recommended for several reasons.
- If you don’t know what is allowed, you could miss out on some severe travel perks.
- If you don’t know what isn’t allowed, you could be in for a nasty shock when you come to check your next paycheck next month and find an unexpected deduction.
To avoid any deductions in your salary, before you start planning or booking your trip, ensure that you double-check your company’s travel procedures, do’s and don’ts, and rules. A good understanding of corporate travel policies will help you decide where to book your trip, what expenses you can claim back from the company, how the refund process works, who needs to approve the trip, and much more.
If your company’s travel policy isn’t clear enough, we recommend scheduling some time with someone in HR or your boss so that you can address any concerns you may have about the policy and ask any questions. Ensuring you memorize your company’s travel policy will help you avoid any nasty surprises during, after, or before your trip and make you feel more relaxed about the days ahead.
Download Helpful Travel-Related Apps
Living in our technologically geared world can be both a blessing and a curse, but it is undoubtedly the former when traveling for work! Nowadays, you can find a range of travel-related applications for iOS and Android systems that can make it easier for you to plan and book your next business trip, from your company’s travel and expense management software to airline flight path tracking.
Other helpful travel-related applications include hotel or rental car providers, rideshare apps like Uber or Lyft, meeting or conference room booking apps. There are even parking apps that allow you to prebook your next parking spot at Denver Airport or a range of other locations.
Apps like those mentioned earlier are especially recommended, as we’ve all experienced the struggle of trying to park at Denver Airport. The last thing you want is to waste precious time circling the parking lot searching for a space when you could pre-book it is using an app and guarantee yourself a place to park.
Eliminate the obstacle of finding costly, unsafe, or sold-out parking by using Parkway Parking’s application, which enables travelers and eventgoers affordable and convenient parking in dozens of locations throughout the United States. From parking at Denver Airport to the Port of Miami Cruise Parking, you can guarantee a parking spot almost anywhere. Consider trialing their app today or visit ParkwayParking.com for more information and see how their services could help make for a better business trip experience.
Book The Right Hotel
Providing that you haven’t got to jump straight into a taxi and head to your next meeting, the first thing you want to do upon arriving at Denver Airport or your destination of choice is to get to your hotel room and catch up on some much-needed sleep. All you have to do is visit sites like trivago.com or Booking.com, put in the duration of your stay, select your price range, pick your filters, and press search – sounds easy enough, right?
Wrong. When you travel for work, depending on your company’s travel policy, other filters may come into the equation that you have no control over. Your company may have negotiated a special rate with a hotel chain or other hotel, meaning that you won’t be able to decide where you stay. On the other hand, if your company doesn’t have rules surrounding accommodation, ensure that you find the best hotel deals using reputable hotel booking sites.
The last thing you want to do is end up in a hotel miles away from where the meeting, event, or conference will be or in an unsafe part of town. To prevent this, ensure you use Google Maps to familiarize yourself with the area and its surroundings, then try to book your accommodation as close as possible to your work obligations.
Choose Direct Flights
Whether traveling for business or pleasure, you need to expect the unexpected. Various unexpected scenarios could crop up and threaten your stress-free work trip, from delayed or canceled flights to the airline losing your baggage during transit. Although these scenarios are entirely out of your control, you can minimize the chance of delays, cancellations, or work-related issues by choosing direct flights.
Although choosing direct flights won’t completely erase the chance of these issues happening, it will undoubtedly give you more time to react and rectify the situation as best as you can. Avoiding lay-over flights also boasts other benefits, such as less time spent traveling, and you’ll arrive feeling more well-rested.