Many people find business travel to be a bit of a hassle, but that’s probably because they’re not doing it right. Whether you’re a road warrior or an occasional business traveler, there are countless ways to save money and become more efficient on when you’re out of the office. Learn how to make traveling much easier and more pleasant, so you can get the most out of your business trips.
Ten Tips for Business Travelers
Make business travel as close to stress-free as possible by following these tips on your next trip:
- Download Travel Apps: Take advantage of all the helpful travel apps out there by using them and allowing technology to make your life easier. For example, TripIt works to organize all your travel reservations, appointments, confirmation numbers, and etc. into one place, so you don’t have to search through emails and carry around bulky papers to find what you’re looking for.
- Parking Lot Picture: Don’t you just hate getting into the airport after a late flight and having no idea where you parked? Solve this problem by snapping a picture of the aisle marker near your car with your phone before leaving your car. All you’ll have to do is take a quick look at the picture to see where you’re parked.
- Stay at Furnished Suites: Don’t stay at a hotel, book a furnished suite instead. You’ll avoid being cramped in a tiny hotel room, plus you’ll have a kitchen and an office area. This means you won’t have to live on take-out and do all your work at a little hotel table. Sites like Minto have great options at affordable prices.
- Double Book: While you probably won’t want to make a habit of this, consider double booking your flights when you have a very important meeting to attend. Flight cancellations and heavy delays are pretty common these days, so purchasing two fully refundable airline tickets will give you a back-up plan if your first flight doesn’t take off when planned. Make sure the flights are not on the same airline and if possible, try to book them at different departure airports.
- Pack Neutral Colors: Instead of packing a bunch of bright-colored, patterned outfits that can clearly only be worn one way and one time, bring neutral pieces that can be mixed and matched to create several different outfits. For example, if you wear a white button down twice, no one will know they’ve seen it before, whereas it will not go unnoticed if you try to pull off a bright pink skirt twice.
- Bring Headphones: When you’re trying to get work done or take a nap on an airplane, nothing is more annoying than being forced to listen to a conversation going on next to you or the baby crying in the seat in front of you. Slipping some headphones in your bag will allow you to get the peace and quiet you need.
- Wear Slip-on Shoes: No one likes waiting in TSA lines, especially when you’re rushing to catch a flight. Get through the line faster by wearing slip-on shoes instead of lace-ups. You won’t miss wasting time fumbling around, trying to untie your shoes.
- Stay Packed: If you travel frequently, keep part of your bag packed, so you won’t have to start over for each trip. While you’ll obviously need to take your clothes out and wash them, you can leave items like shoes, toiletries, make up, and business supplies in your suitcase, so they’ll be ready and waiting for your next trip.
- Join a Rental Car Loyalty Program: When you fly into your destination airport, you want to pick up your rental car and get going. Unfortunately travelers are often faced with long lines at rental car terminals, which can often take an hour or so to get through! Avoid this by joining a loyalty program through your company of choice. You’ll gain access to priority lines, with little-to-no wait. Most programs are free to join and will save you a great deal of hassle.
- Bring a Project: Whether you’re traveling by plane, train or car, you’re bound to have some down time on a business trip. Make use of this extra time by bringing a project along. Instead of wasting time being bored, you’ll be able to make yourself extra productive.
