Published by Programme B
Travel can be a wonderful experience, or it can be a giant pain; it all depends on how well you prepare. Traveling for business is often unavoidable and occasionally stressful. Stick to the following travel tips to ensure your next business trip goes off without a hitch.
Stick to Cabin Bags
Depending on where you are going to be traveling to, and for how long, you might need to bring a reasonable amount of stuff with you. However, you should do as much as you can to ensure that you keep the amount of stuff that you have to carry around with you to a minimum. In particular, you don’t want to have to haul a heavy suitcase around with you everywhere you go.
Sure, you can always leave your luggage in your hotel once you get there. But the more stuff you bring with you, the more you will have to remember and worry about on top of all the items you need for your business appointments. You should aim to be able to fit everything you will need for your trip into cabin bags only.
Keep a Bag of Essentials Ready to Go
This is a simple trick that is a mainstay of any seasoned traveler’s repertoire. Instead of packing your toothbrush, razor, shaving cream, toothpaste, and all the other toiletries that you need for each trip every time you go, it is a much simpler idea to have a bag of travel toiletries already packed and ready to go.
It isn’t just toiletries either. Many business travelers have a whole suitcase of travel clothes that are in a perpetual state of readiness. This reduces a big part of the stress that is usually inherent in any trip. Of course, if your travel takes you to a variety of climates and environments, you might need to have a few regional variations all on standby.
Remember Your Casual Clothes
If you are going to be traveling with the intention of conducting business, you will want to present yourself appropriately. This means that you need to wear smart clothes and make sure that you bring everything you need to make yourself look neat and presentable. However, it is also important that you pack some more casual clothes with you.
In some cases, your business partners might prefer a more laid-back attitude. It’s also possible that after the formal business meetings take place, you then find yourself in a more casual social setting with your hosts. If you do decide to seal the deal with a night on the town, you will want to have something casual and comfortable to wear.
Stay in Style
Your choice of accommodation will have a considerable impact on what your travel experience is like. If you book yourself into the cheapest hotel room that you can find then you will surely save yourself some money, but you will also have to make do with the most basic facilities available to you.
Even if you are only going to be traveling for a relatively short amount of time, that doesn’t mean that you can’t or shouldn’t stay in style. For example, let’s say that you’re traveling to the beautiful city of Chicago, Illinois and staying there for a month. A one or two-bedroom apartment from Blueground offers a level of comfort and luxury that you would usually struggle to find outside of an upmarket hotel, plus you have more room and a sense of home from home. Blueground offers superior furnished apartments in many major cities, including New York and San Francisco.
Join Rewards Programs
Whether it’s with the airline that you travel with, the sandwich shop you buy your lunch at, or the hotel chain that you like to stay with, signing up for a rewards program can save you a tremendous amount of money. Most reward programs take some time to save you an appreciable amount of money, but most of them are also completely free to join, meaning that you can take advantage of them whenever you choose.
Charge Before You Leave
Most of us can no longer envisage making even a short trip without access to all of our electronic devices. But nothing is more annoying than getting to your destination, only to either find all your devices are out of charge or that you don’t have easy access to a power socket. If you have children back home waiting to hear from you as soon as you land, that phone call can be very important.
Avoid running the risk of arriving with a backpack full of depleted devices by ensuring you charge them fully before you leave. It is also worth investing in some travel chargers for your devices.
Write Down Important Information
Another thing that many of us have gotten used to is using our electronic devices to remember things for us. If you are someone who is dependent upon their devices to remember important information, including emergency phone numbers, you should keep this information written down somewhere where you can get at it if your devices are lost or damaged.
With the right preparation, traveling for business should be a fun experience and an opportunity to experience new places and things. Make sure that you plan your trip carefully to ensure it is as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.