How to make business travel a (profitable) breeze

Travelling for business, especially when you’re heading off to a fresh destination can be both exciting and stressful.

Here are ten ways to make it both successful and easy.

1: Plan ahead and give yourself time
The key to successful business travel is planning ahead and getting everything booked in and diarised.

This means ensuring you have all your ducks in a row in terms of your bookings your tickets, accommodation, travel and transfers, arrivals, departures, travel and timings for meetings and also your meeting follow up time and use of your downtime.

The more you have everything in place and time-planned; the less stressful you’ll find the whole thing.

You can then focus on getting a profitable return on your investment and enjoying it.

2: Be clear about what you want to achieve
Being very clear about the outcome you want will make it easier for you to structure everything, to ensure you do come away at the end, having achieved it.

3: Go with the flow
Once you have everything in place and you’re travelling, it is important to let the process unfold in front of you.

Naturally, you will have allowed spare time for potential problems such as delayed trains, traffic jams on the way to the airport, delays in finding taxis, and much more. Basically, all the things that should not go wrong, but just may do!

If you allow plenty of extra time, you’ll be able to adapt to any changes, without getting stressed.

What’s more, you will also be able to recognise what you can change and influence and what you cannot change; and then respond accordingly.

4: Use your downtime well
Do you expect to be waiting in a departure lounge or in a railway station for a couple of hours?

Plan how you can best use that time.

Will you be checking emails and updating work or will you read a book or enjoy listening to some relaxing music on your headphones?

Deciding in advance how you’ll use each section of time that you have, all add up to a more relaxed experience.

5: You don’t always need to be in ‘business mode’
Do you need to travel in full business attire such as suits and smart (but perhaps less comfortable) business/dress shoes?

With the right planning you can travel in more relaxed and comfortable clothing and then freshen up and change into business mode at your hotel.

You’ll then head off to your meetings feeling relaxed and confident.

6: Little things make a big difference
Don’t forget little things such as having the right music or movie on your phone or other mobile device.

Would a neck-rest pillow make a big difference to a four or eight-hour flight?

Would a break for a nice meal (rather than a sandwich and a coffee in a lay-by) make all the difference to a long car journey?

It may not cost a lot to change how you feel.

7: Keep yourself well
Don’t fill every minute with work.

If you simply go from departure lounge, to flight, to hotel, to meeting and then repeat – you will not be in the best frame of mind when you do get to your meetings.

Ensure therefore, that you have time to eat well, to exercise, to get some fresh air and take in the sights.

It’s all about allowing yourself to do what you need to do, to be mentally and physically comfortable and ready.

A key here is ensuring that you manage any jet lag and get enough sleep.

8: Build in follow up time
Building in enough time so that you follow up from your visits and meetings is business critical.

As above, if you simply run from meeting to meeting, when will you be able to capitalise on the work you’ve done?

And if you’re trying to follow up on trains, on planes and in waiting rooms, you’re likely to find this challenging. You may for example, need to ensure that your hotel room has an appropriate desk and workspace environment.

9: Be curious
Going to a new country, a new city or even just an unknown part of the UK?

This is a fantastic opportunity for discovery, so why not spend some time reading up on the location, finding out about local history and seeing if there are interesting buildings, museums or galleries you can visit?

Try to get as much as you can from your experience.

10: Enjoy it
Finally, the most important thing is to enjoy it.

Plan everything out and be curious, and you’ll not only meet your business aims; you’ll also have a positive and enjoyable time – and come back with a great story to tell.

Discover arrangeMY
arrangeMY is a UK travel and accommodation agent that delivers business account management.

We support all types of businesses with a complete travel, accommodation and venue finding solution.

It is a 24/7 ‘all in one place and all taken care of’ contracted service, which you pay for on a monthly account.

To find out more call our highly experienced team today on 01905 610016 or ping an email to bookings@arrangemy.com

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