Travelling for business? 5 ways to do it with less stress
- Stuart Ridley
- 27 November 2007
Our corporate friends are spoilt when it comes to work-related travel. They don’t have to worry about the cost of fares for last minute interstate meetings, they’re well looked after in the airline’s ‘club’ lounges and someone else manages all the hassle of booking transfers, accommodation, internet access and meeting spaces.
But, with a little smarts and planning, you can enjoy many of the same things – and have a lot more control of your business travel experience. After all, when it’s your time and money, you call the shots!
Tip 1: Join the club & save
This tip is so obvious you’ve probably done it already.
If you regularly need to book flights and accommodation, it’s worth joining loyalty programs that offer appealing service as well as discount rates. Note we put service first. If someone else can sort your bookings faster for you, you can put your energy into doing what you do best instead of trawling a bunch of websites comparing rates and fares.
On top of that, once they have your customer profile, they’ll know how to better look after you.
Start with Frequent Flyer and Frequent Guest membership of course, though you should also talk with airlines and hotel groups about their services aimed at small to medium business.
You may be surprised to discover they now offer plenty of the same services and competitive rates our corporate friends have been taking advantage of for years, from presentation/meeting facilities with wireless internet access to fly-drive-stay packages and much more.
Don’t forget that if you’re a member of a car club (e.g. NRMA, RACV etc) you can also get great discounts on hotels, restaurants and car hire centres.
Tip 2: Check in online
Use an airline, hotel or meeting centre’s online check in facility once and you’ll probably not want to go back to the ‘old way’ ever again. Web check-in is a fantastic time saver for the busy business traveller.
Tip 3: There’s nothing wrong with being a tourist…
Give yourself just a little time to enjoy at least one of the local attractions each time you travel for business, even if it’s just a 30-minute stroll through an interesting gallery, a small splurge at a unique boutique or 15-minutes smelling the tulips in a garden.
These short little holiday-style activities can make all the difference.
Tip 4: Take your friends or loved ones
If you need to stay overnight or longer on a business trip and you don’t particularly feel like going out every night with your clients/suppliers/colleagues, why not use some club or credit card points to take a friend or loved on with you?
If you’re in a relationship and you often need to ‘go away’ for week, taking your lover along for one trip every now and then can reduce any resentment they might have. Having someone you care about accompany you on a business stress can be very good for your soul/ego/humanity. And if the money is an issue… think about flying at a less popular time, in economy. Seriously.
Tip 5: Go easy… and slow down
You aleady know that if you go easy on the amount of luggage you take, you'll have a less-stressful time at the airport. Now, while it helps if you’re able to carry-on your luggage (laptop, clothes, spare pair of shoes etc) because you can save time and energy it can also help if you take the same approach to food and alcohol.
You don’t HAVE to eat a big impressive lunch to impress a potential client. These days, it’s often even more acceptable to share a healthy meal together. You’ll also have more time to talk instead of ploughing through a heavy menu. YAnd you'll thank yourself later on the plane trip home because you'll be in better shape.
