Tips for Easing the Burden of Business Travel

Travel can be stressful enough, but travelling for business can be much worse. Keeping schedules, meetings and deadlines all in line can contribute to a business trip so tiring, that you need a vacation when you return! While business travel is an essential aspect of many people's lives, there are some steps you can take to make it easier. The average domestic business tip can get quite expensive, so it is important to economize too. Book your trips online. The web has made the entire process of booking and tracking business trips easy and convenient. You can generally add in hotel rooms and a rental car if necessary; as well as compare options and keep track of expenses. Also, the web has access 24/7, making the booking of last minute trips simple - no more waiting until 9am the next morning to call your travel consultant. Make other technology work for you, too - a reliable pager, electronic organizer, and cell phone can all be invaluable. Program frequently dialed phone numbers - or numbers that you might need - into your cell phone, such as airlines and hotels, as well as your office. That way, if there is a flight delay or you have a last minute cancellation, you can easily and quickly contact whoever you need to. Many experienced flyers claim that it is quicker to call the airline to be rescheduled, rather than stand in a slow moving line at the ticket counter. Try to use the same airline. You will rack up frequent flyer miles a lot faster - these can be used not only for free flights and upgrades to first class, but also for hotel rooms, rental cars and various other services. Also, perhaps just as importantly, sooner or later, the airline staff will know you at your local ticket counter - perhaps ensuring you get better service in case of flight delays. If you fly frequently on the same airline, invest in membership of their club or lounge which offers a pleasant and less crowded environment than the airport terminal. Many of them offer all the facilities you will need - internet access, fax machines, data ports and copiers. Some have showers, complimentary snacks and meeting rooms; most of them have ticketing facilities, can issue boarding passes and generally help out in the event of a delayed or canceled flight. If at all possible, try to book nonstop flights and flights leaving early in the morning as there is less chance of delays. All airlines are required to give you, if asked, the DOT figures that indicate what percentage of the time a particular flight is on time. In general, Southwest is considered the most reliable US airline in terms of on-time performance and mislaid luggage, followed by Continental and JetBlue. Always try to pack lightly - with just a carry on if you can manage - and have anything important in your carry on rather than your checked bag. Being well organized and using your time profitably are both key factors in making business travel a little easier. Use your time on the plane or any downtime to read through notes or other relevant material. Print out directions, and anything else you might need ahead of time, rather than at the last minute. Try to schedule some down time during your business trip; also a day at home before you are scheduled back at work is a good idea, to relax and to help safeguard against any delay. Just like airlines, try to use the same hotel chain, if possible. Most hotel chains have a rewards or frequent guest program, often coupled with an airline mileage program. Many hotels now have a room dedicated to the needs of business travelers, with internet access and copier facilities; you will want to make sure that access to these facilities is included in the room price. Many business travelers consider a fitness center to be a necessary amenity; as well as staff who provide a personal touch. Choose your hotel with price in mind. Of course, you want to stay somewhere that is comfortable if you are away from home, but you - or your company - will appreciate any cost saving. If you are staying somewhere for just one night, consider a mid-scale hotel that has more than adequate facilities, with a good breakfast included - but doesn't cost as much as a luxury or five star property. Always ask for any discounts, even if none is offered to you. Finally, if you travel regularly for business a good plan is the best approach to easing the burden of constant travel. That is, a plan for packing your luggage and work materials, a plan for getting to the airport on time, a plan for passing the time waiting for your flight, and so on. A good plan can help ease the stress of travelling, and perhaps make available some time for yourself to sit back and relax.

Using your Free Time During Business Travel

If youre a seasoned traveller, you probably know all too well how irritating it can be to have enough free time that you can enjoy a few hours to yourself, but not enough to actually really do anything. No time to spend the day exploring an exotic new city, but too much time to just sit and work or read a book. So what do you do? Well, the key might be in dividing up your free time so you can use it efficiently and, if its what youre after, maybe even see some of that exotic new city after all. What many people tend to forget when theyre travelling is that not everything needs to be done at once. Sure, you dont have a whole day to get out there and explore Hong Kong, Dubai or even London, but you may have a few hours or an evening, during which you can taxi into the city and visit a museum, art gallery, restaurant, monument, tourist attraction, or even just simply go for a walk through its streets. Each of these activities can be completed in a couple of hours with no need to rush through it so long as you keep it simple and just take on one thing at a time. While this may mean that you dont get to see much of the city youre staying in, you will get to enjoy at least some of it, and thats certainly more than a lot of business travellers manage when they attempt to take on too much at once and find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer choice before them. Perhaps a normal thing for you to do while travelling is to get out of your accommodation in the morning, then spend the entire day out and about checking out your surroundings and visiting attractions and eateries at your leisure. While on a business trip, this is simply not possible, and thats why its important for you to plan your excursions well enough that you can make the most of any free time you manage to get your hands on. Of course, for important trips youll still need to pull your weight on the working side of things, so some days itll be best to stay in your Heathrow hotels if your business meeting is near an airport in London, for instance, and do some work. That said, however, theres still bound to be at least some time for you to get out and do some sightseeing so just plan your time well and you wont be disappointed.

Choosing a Corporate Business Travel Agency

A wise man has said, €Not all those who wander are lost.€ Definitely, traveling has an intrinsic spiritual and intellectual value. It connects us to different cultures, broadens our horizon, expands our mind and makes us a more tolerant species. For all travelers, who want to experience the thrills of traveling frequently, one of the most crucial issues is the arrangement plans for traveling. This is especially a constraint for corporate executives and corporate companies who're often caught in their work, leaving no time for making any travel arrangements. The ideal way is to outsource the work to corporate travel agents who do all that it is required for managing an excellent trip for corporate travels. Kesari tours, one of the finest travel companies in India have exclusive offers for corporate business units. One of Kesari's divisions, KesariMICE caters exclusively to corporate clients. With its excellent, economical and customized corporate tour packages, it also ensures that all requirements of corporate business travel are met consistently. Be it the scheduling of conferences, meetings, events, exhibitions, industry presentations, seminars, and corporate travel agents make sure all needs of their clients are met without fail. The culture of hiring experts in the case of arranging conferences and meetings has gained immense popularity in the tourism industry in the recent years. The increased penetration of globalization in every sphere of corporate work has increased the stokeholds for companies. Organizing effective and successful conferences showcases the might of a company, highlights its governance prowess and adds a lot to its image and reputation. This is why corporate travel agents are relying heavily on the experience and expertise of specialized corporate travel agents and similar companies. When it comes to choosing a corporate business travel agency, corporates try to strike the best deal but not at the cost of quality. The experience of a corporate business travel agency in handling national and international conferences and meetings is seen as the main factor to shortlist it for mega events. Companies generally choose travel agencies who've specialized in managing corporate travels. With India emerging as one of the hottest investment destinations and its corporate world taking the world stage, the number of business trips, meetings and conferences have increased to a great extent. As per a study, nearly 50 million trips are taken every year by corporate and business units. These stats say all about the scope and extent of corporate business travel.

How To Find The Best Business Travel Agency

If you have started your search for the best travel agent to get you to your business engagement with first class service, you have probably come across hundreds of corporate travel companies that claim to offer exactly that. If this is the first time you are choosing a travel agent for your business, the amount of competition is particularly confusing if you really are looking for the best service on offer. After reading this article, you should go away with a clear perspective on things and know how to identify the best corporate travel agents. When comparing the agencies available, refer to these guidelines on what qualities to look out for: 1. Good reputation A good reputation is often a key indicator of the level of services you can expect from a corporate travel agent. Therefore a company who's name has a proven ability to deliver its promises to the right clients, often results in high quality customer services. A renowned business travel agent also uses company policies, testimonials and enquiry forms to prove that it conducts business well and tries to deal with and resolve all client complaints. Read online reviews made by past clients to get an even better impression of the travel companies reputation. 2. Competitive prices A top quality service offered at competitive prices is a desirable feature for any business traveller, whether you will use them in the short or long term. Competitive price is therefore essential to the future success of a business travel company, such as discounts on bulk or repeat booking to help retain customers. You should make sure that the travel agency consistently offers standard and executive bookings to you and your staff at reasonable prices. 3. Financially stable When checking on the financial status of a business travel agent, remember that a company with a sound financial backing will not require you and your staff to make payments after every booking. It will be able to get credit from its supplier, which will then be transferred to its clients. This is one very good reason why it's worth your while to check that the travel agency is not writhing in debts. One sign that the agency is experiencing financial difficulties is if they deny your booking. It would be best to look elsewhere if this happens. 4. Timely and regularly updated services One of the most telling indications of whether a business travel agency is capable of delivering on time is by checking how long it takes them to process the booking. A good travel agency will have no problem with making short notice bookings. For a business travel agency to offer timely and up-to-date services, it must have strong professional connections with all the major tour companies, hotels and airlines. It must make online bookings using modern and have the confidence and knowledge to advise you on what and where to book. 5. Experienced and knowledgeable customer support department When you contact a business travel agency, your first point of contact will be their customer support team. As they will form your first impression of the company, they must answer your queries in a satisfactory manner at all times. Therefore, when looking for a reputable business travel agency, choose the one whose customer support department sounds the strongest. In addition, the customer support staff should be highly trained, presentable and easy to reach via phone, email and face-to-face chat. They should also get the billing organised quickly so that you have plenty of time to make payments. By taking the time to use the sound advice in the points above, you are sure to find the best travel agency to organise your business trip.