In recent years business travel have become more frequent. To get the most out of your trips you need to learn how to travel efficiently. It is important to take advantage of stays and optimize time and resources. The golden rule is: plan in advance. Because these trips are very different from holidays if planning properly you will avoid unforeseen or you can solve it more easily. Whether you’re a novice or an experienced business traveler we want to share you 10 Tips for More Efficient Business Travel.
10 Tips for More Efficient Business Travel
- Prepare important documents in advance: Passport, tickets, driving license, etc. The pace of corporate travel tends to be quite chaotic, so the best is to prepare the documentation in advance and take it all printed. In addition, we recommend to have a digital copy, either in the cloud (Google Drive, Dropbox for example), send it to your mail or have stored on a USB. If you like technology we recommend using Tripcase: Organize your travel plans in one App.
- Learn more about the destination: The lack of knowledge of the culture of the place can be a problem for your business. Get informed about cultural aspects as dress codes, protocol and courtesy rules and customs of the place, etc.
- Choose and correctly make the luggage so you can travel quiet and lightweight: On this specific post we share you 20 Tips for executives: tips to make the luggage.
- Be careful with travel time: To avoid arriving late for your meeting, check previously the time you will need to go from one place to another.
- Anticipate expenses: Before you go, test the limits of your credit cards and find out if they are used in the place that you are going. You can also request an advance for expenses in your company.
- Choose the right hotel: You can save not only much money but a lot of time for meetings with clients and colleagues. The location of the hotel is one of the most important criteria that you should keep in mind when booking one or the other, it will be the place from which you move to assist your work commitments. You can also make use of the Day Use in some hotels. To read more about the benefits of Day Use we recommend reading this post.
- Planning business: Contact potential customers before the trip, tell them of your arrival and intentions to start commercial activities, will allow you to make an appointment previously. Study the company with which you will do business, inquiry history and how to make deals with it. Also keep some flexibility on the agenda, because there may be some lunch unexpected to close a business or another interesting event.
- Give yourself time to relax: On a business trip a time of rest is also necessary. If you’re used to a training routine many hotels already have gym or spa or if you prefer to leave your accommodation you should choose a hotel close to a green area so you can walk a while outdoors. We tell you about some workout routines for Hotel gyms in this post.
- Keep in touch (online): To work and communicate with your company or family make sure you have wifi or hire an internet plan. An alternative is HolaSim, the chip prepaid for trips abroad. It is essential to have a notebook, smartphone, tablet or any electronic device with possibility of connection to Internet to be able to work during your business trip.
- Take into account the pos-trip: Once back, thank the people contacted for the meetings, manage and promote new meetings. You can also share your experience and suggestions with other colleagues from your company.
Business planning is more important than trip planning but remember both aspects are key for business trips!
