When business travel was coordinated by a travel agency or through a personal assistant, a Business Travel Itinerary was considered a necessary item to prepare. Business travel itineraries became less common as we started to have more “do-it-yourself” travel options. Additionally, communications and internet technologies made it possible for most businesses to work productively without ever needing to leave the office. Yet even with all of these advancements, business travel is still necessary for sales presentations, networking and attending trade shows. Whether your company still has a department that makes travel arrangements for you, or you’re responsible for planning the entire business travel itinerary yourself, a business travel itinerary can make travel a stress-free and successful experience.
A well prepared business travel itinerary can save you lot of time and aggravation. If you are a personal assistant, or planning travel for co-workers, using a standard travel itinerary will become a fundamental part of your travel preparation. Whether for yourself, or for a group of co-workers, we recommend preparing and using a standard business itinerary template for traveling. It takes time to set-up, but it will save you valuable time when on the road. A business travel itinerary also will make sure you don’t forget anything you need for your journey.
Set Business Travel Plans in Advance
Planning in advance is a sure way to know that all meetings, check-ins, and take offs happen when they should be. Nothing’s worse than being late to a meeting or missing a last minute flight when there’s a major deal on the line. Planning at least a month in advance to get the exact arrangements and time slots is just one benefit of early booking. Advance planning also provides flexibility to find the best rate and leaves room for last minute changes when needed.
Time Saving Options When Traveling for Business
One of the best ways to keep an efficient schedule on-track is to hire a Town Car with a professional driver. Since you will need to get from place to place, often in an unfamiliar city, a professional driver can make sure you reach every appointment on-time during your trip. Picking you up from the airport, taking you to the hotel, driving your group to meetings and then to dinner after a long day is a business travel must when you need to keep a tight schedule.
What is a Business Itinerary Template?
Your template should include at least the following information:
- Date of travel, check-in times, flight times, flight numbers
- The name and address of your departing airport
- Airport terminal number
- Transportation to your departing airport information
- Airport car service, train, car pool, or self-driving
- How long it will take – What time to leave?
- If car-pooling – meeting time and location?
- If driving or car pool, parking arrangements
- The name and address of your arriving airport
- The name, address and telephone number for your hotel
- Your hotel reservation number
- Transportation from the airport to your hotel
- Airport limo, car rental, taxi, shuttle
- How long it will take, how much it will cost, cash for tip, etc.
- Names and contact numbers of the contacts you’ll be visiting
- Names and contact numbers for all travel partners
- Your business agenda during your business trip
- Time and location for all meetings, whom you are meeting with and the meeting topic
- Time and location for all meals & events and whom you are entertaining or being entertained by
- Suggested daily budget and local currency exchange rate
- All other relevant information for your trip, as applicable
- Train times, station, platform, etc
- Taxi pickup times, account details or how much if you have to pay cash
- Town Car information, pickup and drop off times, locations, reservation numbers, etc.
- Important local information, like weather, local etiquette, dress code, tipping advice, etc.
Your completed business travel itinerary should be part of a travel business pack that you take on your business trip. Send a copy of your business travel itinerary to your contacts prior to traveling, as applicable.
What to Include in Your Business Travel Pack
You should prepared your business travel pack before leaving for a business trip. It should include the following items as applicable:
- Essential travel documents
- Passport, driving license, visas, your international vaccination health certificate (if applicable), etc.
- Flight tickets and boarding pass, if checking in on-line, train tickets, car rental voucher, etc
- Business Travel Insurance Policy
- Photocopy of all your travel documents
- Give a copy of the travel itinerary to your family
- Hard copy of your travel itinerary and meeting agendas
- Business cards
- Brochures, flyers and other work documents
- Travel money and company credit card
- Other cards as applicable, i.e. air miles card, business lounges access cards, etc.
Top Travel Follow-up Tips
There are couple of things you should take care of as soon as you are back from your business trip.
- First, keep track of all your cash receipts, credit card slips and any invoices throughout your business trip to claim your Business Travel Expenses as soon as possible.
- Second, write business trip report after every meeting. Create a standard template that includes all your contact’s information, a summary of the meeting and your to-do’s and follow-up tasks, including who will be responsible to complete.
A Successful Business Travel Itinerary Make Travel Easier
Business travel doesn’t have to be a pain. You can still make it to those out of town meetings and events and do it without scurrying about trying to be on time. Drivers Unlimited offers personalized, professional limousine service to both corporate and individual travelers in Connecticut and Westchester County, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day so you can focus on the business objective of your trip instead of the travel details.
