Business trips are often unavoidable, even with more professionals relying on video conference for work. There are things that you cannot do remotely over video, which is why traveling for business is still a very common thing to do. Unfortunately, traveling for business is often more complicated than traveling for fun.
However, you can make business trips more convenient – and even enjoyable – the more you do it. You’ll start picking up travel habits that work for you and you will begin traveling like a seasoned professional. To help you get to that point sooner, here are the business travel hacks you can use immediately.
Pack Like a Pro
When traveling for business, traveling light is the way to go. You want to keep your personal items as manageable as possible, just so you don’t end up spending more time waiting for your luggage or carrying around large bags on your business trips. This is something you can do without sacrificing convenience.
Many business travelers I know travel only with their carry-on bag. They fit everything into a small backpack or cabin-sized luggage for maximum convenience. Smarter packing means not leaving behind the essentials and still having everything you need to have a fruitful and enjoyable business trip.
You can make packing easier by setting aside extra essentials and keeping them packed in a small container. The next time you have to prepare for a trip, you can simply pick up the container and have all of your travel essentials ready to go. You can learn how to limit the number of clothes and accessories you bring and further reduce your load while traveling.
Get Pre-Screened
The more you do it, the better you’ll be at getting through airports. Security checkpoints and baggage check-ins are not always easy to get through, but that doesn’t mean you cannot take steps to simplify these things and make traveling for business more convenient. One of the best things you can do if you travel often is getting pre-screened.
Prescreening is something that the TSA now offers to domestic and international travelers. When you are pre-screened, you no longer have to wait in line for security checks. This alone saves you a lot of time at the airport. International airports now offer similar services online.
Getting pre-screened is actually handy if you often find yourself in a rush to catch your flight since you can just walk past the security checkpoint. Prescreening is also handy for when you spend most of your time traveling to different cities in the country.
You also want to dress for the checkpoints you’ll have to go through when traveling. Remember that you have to remove metal items from your person; you’ll have to wear those items back after completing the security check too. Plastic or carbon belts, pants with an elasticated waist, and slip-on shoes are great investments to make.
Time Your Trips
Rather than going back and forth when visiting multiple cities, you can now time your trips – and chain them together – with the help of online flight search tools. You will find searching for connecting flights and scheduling multiple flights together to be much easier now that there are online search tools and other resources at your disposal.
Timing your trips is everything. You can save more by traveling early in the day or late at night. Avoid busy schedules so you don’t end up spending more time in airports. Even your timing when booking flights (and hotels) matters since you will find different deals at different times.
Leave enough room between connecting flights and make sure you have some time to spare, especially when you are using different airlines. Alternatively, you can choose connecting flights from the same airline to avoid additional risks such as missing the connecting flight or having to claim your bags and check them back in during transit.
Use Apps
Speaking of using online search tools and resources, you now have plenty of tools and apps to use for business trips. You can, for example, find corporate deals and the best flights to take using apps like Skyscanner. Hotel chains and online travel agents also have apps and deals for business users.
Apps can help you deal with emergencies. If your hotel room suddenly gets canceled, for instance, you can immediately search for a nearby hotel or an Airbnb using nothing but your phone. Since you’ll be connected to the internet most of the time, you always have the information you need at any point in the trip.
The next time you need to buy a new shirt after spilling coffee on the only one you have with you, open Google Maps and search for department stores. In some countries, there are delivery services for food and groceries. Everything else is a couple of taps away when you have the right apps installed on your smartphone.
Take Advantage of VIP Facilities
Airport lounges, business centers, and even helicopter rides and private jets may seem like expensive – and unnecessary – at first, but they (along with other VIP services) are actually very useful if you are a business traveler.
Instead of booking multiple seats on a commercial flight, you can save more money by chartering a private jet for the entire team. Rather than waiting for a morning flight, that charter jet can get you home in the evening. You certainly save on hotel and other business travel expenses, which makes chartering the private jet even more rewarding.
The same can be said for lounges. Rather than waiting near the gate, you can get more things done when waiting in a VIP lounge. You can open your laptop and get some work done, have your meals, and even take a shower before longer flights.
All of these tips and tricks have one thing in common: they are easy to apply. You’ll be surprised by how much more convenient – and fun – business trips can be when you know how to deal with every situation. As mentioned before, business travel is something you get better at the more you do it. You may even start developing your own travel hacks and secrets before you know it.
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