Top 11 Essential Tips for the First-Time Business Traveler

 The data released by various airlines suggest that business travel is back after the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies and startups have resumed business travel to drive lead generation and conversion activities. A surge is being noted in the number of working professionals traveling to various destinations for business purposes.

Some of these professionals engage in international business travel, while others engage in domestic business travel. Likewise, there are many working professionals who will plan business trips for the first time. First-time business travelers, like frequent business travelers, experience stress due to a variety of reasons.

First-time business travelers can avoid stress and anxiety during business trips through advanced and proper planning. They have to focus on various factors while planning and organizing business trips. Also, they can manage stress and make business trips successful by adopting a slew of tips and best practices.

11 Tips for a First-Time Business Traveler to Make Business Trips Stress-Free

1. Understand Expectations and Goals

Every business invests in travel to achieve a specific goal – generate leads, retain customers, close sales deals, or strengthen business relationships. A first-time business traveler can make a business trip successful only by understanding the goal or expectation clearly. They should spend time with the manager or supervisor to set clear goals. The preset goals will help her prepare an elaborate travel itinerary.

2. Create a Detailed Travel Itinerary

First-time business travelers visit multiple places and meet many people during a single business trip. Hence, they should gather important information related to a business trip by preparing a corporate travel itinerary. The travel itinerary must include important information about flights, hotels, car rentals, and other essential business travel products and services. At the same time, travelers need to include whom, when, and where to meet clients/suppliers/coworkers.

3. Reduce Air Travel Time

Extended flight time always makes the traveler experience more stressful. Hence, young travelers must try to reduce air travel time to remain stress-free.

Most organizations these days promote self-travel booking by implementing travel management software. The software allows users to choose from direct and connecting flights. First-time corporate travelers can easily reduce air travel time by opting for direct flights.

4. Book Comfortable and Safe Accommodations

The choice of accommodation directly impacts the productivity and creativity of work travelers. First-time travelers can unwind and get adequate sleep after meetings only when they have booked comfortable and safe accommodations. They should compare and shortlist hotels based on the facilities and amenities provided. But they should read customers’ reviews to ensure that the place is both restful and safe.

5. Make a Business Travel Packing Checklist

No business travelers can stay stress-free during business trips without making a business travel packing checklist. The checklist will ensure that the traveler carries the documents, clothing, accessories, and currency to enjoy a hassle-free stay in a foreign country. While making the business travel packing checklist, first-time business travelers must not forget to include travel documents, clothing, toiletries, medications, and other essential travel accessories.

6. Carry Useful Gadgets

Business travelers carry a variety of digital devices to carry data and stay connected. But first-time business travelers often forget to pack the accessories required for using laptops, smartphones, or tablets. They should make a checklist to ensure that no essential electronic item is left behind. The checklist should include laptop and cell phone along with laptop adapters, cell phone chargers, and USB flash drives.

7. Stay Focused

A first-time business traveler can make the business trip successful only by staying focused. They should not indulge in any activities that affect their productivity and energy level. In addition to focusing on achieving preset goals, traveling professionals should prepare adequately for meetings. They should gather information about the person and finalize the list of questions before the meeting. It is always advisable for a first-time work traveler to behave like a professional instead of a tourist during business trips.

8. Learn International Business Travel Etiquette

While engaging in international business travel, first-timers must spend some time learning international business travel etiquette. Understanding the complex network of unwritten rules will help her behave and act properly in professional settings. Also, the etiquette will help her create a good first impression and build business relationships. However, first-time corporate travelers should learn etiquette specific to a country or culture.

9. Stay Connected with Your Loved Ones

Most corporate travelers feel safe and secure after the pandemic when they stay connected with their loved ones. Digital technologies and devices enable first-time business travelers to stay connected with partners, family, and friends from various locations. Novice work travelers can remain stress-free by talking to people close to them during business trips.

10. Get Enough Sleep

Business travelers feel stressed and de-energized due to lack of sleep. But travelers often find it challenging to maintain healthy sleep patterns due to the time differences. Novice corporate travelers can get enough sleep only by eating well and staying hydrated. However, they must not forget to carry essential sleep accessories like earplugs, sleep masks, neck pillows, and comfortable travel blankets.

11. Blend Business and Leisure Travel

Most organizations keep work travelers motivated and stress-free by supporting bleisure travel. They allow employees to add sightseeing trips to business trips. First-time business travelers can enjoy the business trip by visiting some of the popular tourist attractions in the city. The leisure activities will refresh and energize them before business meetings.

Conclusion

Most organizations these days improve the business travel experience by implementing the best travel management software. The software enables first-time business travelers to choose and book the right business travel products by supporting managed travel booking.

At the same time, it ensures that employees do not violate organizational travel policies while buying business travel products. The best corporate travel management software keeps professionals traveling for work purposes relaxed by delivering the latest travel rules and tracking their real-time location.

Work travelers can contact the software provider’s customer support team to manage emerging travel risks by getting relevant assistance on time. Hence, first-time business travelers should spend some time understanding the features and tools provided by the travel management software implemented by their employer.

7 Tips to Balance Personal Wellness with Business Travel

In the USA, 1.3 million professionals travel daily for various work purposes. Also, 30% of professionals choose low-paying jobs to get opportunities to travel for work. These statistics suggest that a significant percentage of working professionals these days engage in domestic and international business trips.

First-time business travelers often associate business trips with flying first class, staying in luxurious hotels, negotiating with international clients, and making high-value deals. On the other hand, frequent business travelers sometimes find business trips stressful.

But two in five business travelers find it challenging to maintain regular routines during business trips. In addition to causing stress, business travel affects the physical, mental, and emotional health of professionals traveling for work.

That is why; both first-time and frequent travelers must focus on boosting personal wellness along with making business trips successful. Seasoned business travelers balance personal wellness with business travel by adopting several best practices. Inexperienced business travelers adopt these best practices to protect their physical and psychological wellness despite traveling regularly for work.

7 Best Practices for Frequent Business Travelers to Boost Personal Wellness

1. Make a Trip-Specific Packing List

The inability to access the right business travel accessory at the right time makes work travelers experience stress and anxiety. Experienced work travelers keep essential business travel accessories handy by making an extensive travel packing checklist.

They always include clothing, toiletries, travel documents, foreign currencies, electronic devices, and medication in the business travel packing checklist. Many travelers mitigate the risk of COVID-19 infections by including masks and hand sanitizers on the checklist.

However, it is always important for business travelers to customize the business travel checklist according to travel destinations. Also, they can remain stress-free by keeping essential and expensive belongings in their hand luggage.

2. Reduce Air Travel Time

An increase in air travel time makes both leisure and business travelers experience travel fatigue and stress. Business travelers can improve physical and mental wellness only by reducing air travel time. Most organizations these days facilitate self-booking and managed travel booking by implementing travel management software.

Business travelers can use the software to reduce air travel time by booking non-stop flights. However, the non-stop flights will escalate business travel costs. Employees can get approval to book direct flights as part of the business trip approval process.

3. Stay Comfortable and Safe in the Hotel

Working professionals can choose from several hotels using travel management software. In addition to allowing users to choose from many hotels, the software makes personalized recommendations based on their past booking data.

But they can remain relaxed and safe during the business trip only by booking the right hotel. Most business travelers compare hotels based on the facilities and amenities. But they can boost the work travel experience by choosing a hotel based on customer reviews. Also, they should consider booking a hotel based on the recommendation of coworkers.

4. Eat Healthy and Stay Hydrated

Business travel creates opportunities for working professionals to explore a city’s distinct food culture. But a large percentage of business travelers impact personal wellness by indulging in unhealthy foods. Also, they commit common mistakes like overeating, skipping breakfasts, and drinking alcoholic beverages.

No business travel can ensure personal wellness without eating healthy without controlling calorie intake. They should eat healthy snacks and avoid overeating. At the same time, business travelers must drink plenty of water regularly and monitor their water intake throughout the business trip.

5. Find Time to Work Out

As noted earlier, professionals fail to maintain their regular routines while traveling for work. But they must explore ways to stay fit and active during business trips to boost physical wellness. Many hotels these days allow guests to access gyms. Business travelers can work out by accessing the hotel gym.

Likewise, they can stay active by exploring the city by walking or jogging during work downtime. But work travelers must wake up early and carry workout clothes to get in good workouts. Also, they should start exercising only after getting fully over jet lag.

6. Get Enough Sleep

Lack of sleep is one of the major factors affecting business travelers’ health and productivity. Frequent business travelers or road warriors stay stress-free by sleeping on both flights and hotels. They sleep on the flight by including sleep masks, noise reduction headphones, and travel pillows in the business travel checklist.

Likewise, they opt for hotels that help guests sleep better by providing special mattresses, comfortable pillows, and sleep masks. Also, they enjoy restful sleep by controlling nighttime room temperature using devices with built-in sensors.

7. Learn How to Stay Safe Abroad

Every person experiences stress and anxiety while visiting a foreign and unfamiliar city. But they can remain stress-free by mastering the art of staying safe in a foreign country. For instance, a business traveler can remain safe and relaxed by avoiding dark and non-tourist areas at night. Likewise, they should not compromise safety by getting too drunk.

While planning a business trip, corporate travelers should spend some time understanding the travel destination. Also, they must stay connected with their family, friends, and coworkers to share their current location regularly. However, most organizations these days keep business travelers safe by tracking them in real-time.

Conclusion

Companies and startups these days help employees balance personal wellness with business travel by implementing travel management software. The software comes with features and tools to improve business travel experiences, ensure business travel safety, and manage business travel risks.

A business traveler can use the software to protect physical and emotional wellness by booking her choice of flight, accommodation, car rental, and other business travel products. Also, they have the option to improve her personal well-being by opting for self-funded upgrades to a higher-class hotel or flight.

At the same time, the software keeps users stress-free by conveying the latest travel rules and restrictions. The employees can further use the software to get real-time assistance and support in case of emergencies. Hence, employees can leverage the travel management software implemented by their organization to boost personal wellness despite frequent business trips.  

How to Choose Business Travel Software for Your Business?

 As COVID-19 moves from a pandemic to an endemic, a surge is being noted in the number of business travel bookings. Also, employees are feeling confident to engage in both domestic and international business travel. Your company or startup can increase investment in corporate travel to generate incremental revenue in the post-pandemic age.

But COVID-19 has made it essential for your business to revamp existing business travel policies. You have to make several changes to business travel policies to boost business travel experiences and mitigate business travel risks. At the same time, you need to focus on controlling business travel expenses to generate higher ROI.

The business travel software will help your organization to manage post-pandemic corporate travel efficiently. In addition to improving the travel experience and traveler safety, the software will help you track, control, and process travel expenses incurred by work travelers.

You have the option to choose from many on-premise and cloud-based software solutions while automating business travel and expense management. But you can choose the best business travel software for your company or startup only focusing on some key features or functionalities.

10 Features You Must Consider to Choose the Right Business Travel Software

1. User Interface and User Experience

The user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) of the business travel software directly impacts its popularity with end users. You should choose the software that features an interactive UI and sends real-time alerts and notifications to employees. At the same time, you need to ensure that the software delivers superior UX by being accessible on multiple devices, supporting multiple payment options, and keeping financial transactions and sensitive data secure. 

2. Access to Large Travel Inventory

While making business arrangements, employees feel confident and motivated when they have the option to choose from multiple airlines, hotels, or car rentals. You can provide more choices and employees to corporate travelers only when the software allows them to access an extensive travel inventory. Also, it must make it easier for employees to compare business travel products and services using relevant parameters.

3. Negotiated and Discounted Rates

You can reduce business travel costs significantly when employees can book flights, accommodation, and car rentals at lower rates. Most business travel management companies these days provide business travel products and services to clients at negotiated rates by partnering with vendors and suppliers. You can leverage discounted and negotiated rates by opting for software launched by one of the leading business travel management companies.

4. Managed Travel Booking

Most business travel automation solutions these days support self-travel booking. They make it easier for business travelers to flights, hotels, and car rentals in minutes using a website or mobile app. But you must remember that first-time corporate travelers need assistance to choose and book the right business travel products.

You can make it easier for both first-time and frequent business travelers to make business travel arrangements by choosing business travel software that supports managed travel booking.

5. Personalized Recommendations

Most professionals these days travel regularly for various business purposes. They want to make business travel arrangements quickly and effortlessly. You can make it easier for frequent corporate travelers to book flights, hotels, and car rentals by choosing business travel software that enables personalization for business travelers. The software will recommend the appropriate business travel products to employees based on their travel history and preferences.

6. Travel Policy Implementation

You must keep in place checks and balances to ensure that business trip approvals and business travel expense reimbursements are done according to preset policies. You can support rule-based trip approvals by choosing business travel software that allows you to implement dynamic travel policies.

Similarly, the software must support rule-based approval to process business travel expense claims automatically and accurately.

7. Travel Expense Management Automation

No organization can increase business travel ROI without managing business travel expenses. In addition to making it easier for employees to create expense reports, you need to focus on accelerating travel expense reimbursements. At the same time, you need to ensure that business travel expenses are processed without policy violations and expense frauds. You can streamline business travel expense reimbursements by investing in a unified travel and expense management software.

8. Travel Fraud Prevention

Companies lose a significant percentage of revenues due to travel expense fraud committed by employees. You can detect travel expense fraud and travel policy violations by opting for AI-driven business travel software.

The software will use intelligence technologies to detect expense frauds and policy violations automatically by scrutinizing expense reports submitted by employees. Also, it will inform your finance or HR team about the fraud or policy violations committed by a business traveler.

9. Travel Analytics

The business travel software will create opportunities for your company to collect a variety of data regularly. But you can make informed decisions by leveraging the big data only when the software features travel analytics.

The data analytics tool will help you get actionable insights by analyzing a large amount of data collected from diverse sources. You can use the actionable insights to boost work travel experiences and mitigate business travel risks without escalating corporate travel costs.

10. Duty of Care Solution

In the post-pandemic age, every business must ensure the safety and security of work travelers by meeting the duty of care obligations. In addition to conveying the latest travel rules and updated travel policies, businesses must enable traveling employees to get relevant assistance and support without any hassles and delays. Your choice of business travel software must provide real-time support to every business travel through his preferred communication channel.

Conclusion

You can improve business travel experiences, mitigate business travel risks, and control business travel costs by investing in the right business travel software. It is always important to shortlist business travel automation solutions that are easy to access, use, and customize. But the software differs from each other primarily in the category of features.

But you should use features or functionalities as the key parameter while comparing or shortlisting business travel software applications. At the same time, you should opt for software that meets your long-term business travel management needs by leveraging disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence and big data analytics.