Travel like a Pro!

Nowadays, you may find yourself travelling out of state and even out of the country for work with borders opening and work resuming as it did pre-pandemic days. Whether it’s your first time ever or maybe it’s been a while since your last travel-for-work stint, we’ve decided to do you a favour and get some of the best business travel tips to help you make the most of it… from expert travellers themselves!

“Confirm everything – the dates you’ll be travelling, your ticket, and your hotel if you are staying for a few days. A lot of times, work travel is arranged by an agent or admin so you may not have all the details. It pays to ask for them before the trip so you can note it down in your calendar and be well prepared. Confirming your ticket by yourself – or even doing a self check-in prior to travelling – is also a good idea. You don’t want to arrive at the airport to find out that your ticket has merely been reserved and not purchased!” – Soo, Marketing

“Travelling for an important business presentation? Make sure you save all your important files offline and online! Have it backed up in your laptop, then make sure you also have it saved on cloud so you can have access to it whether you have internet or not – because you never know! Also, since you’re already backing up important files, do the same for your itinerary, schedule, reservations, and tickets – download them for offline access. It’s really helpful to be able to pull up all these info on your phone quickly without having to look for Wi-Fi or data. Or just take screenshots! This way, you don’t even have to look through your phone because they will always be on your camera roll.” – Annie L, Sales

“Always, always arrive at the airport early. Don’t cut it close – last thing you want is to miss your flight to a super important meeting!” – Hafiz, Banker

“Pack light. You’re going for work, not holiday. Leave the bulky suitcase behind and bring a carry-on bag instead if you’re there for a short trip. This saves time from having to wait for your luggage or worse, losing it. You don’t want your boss to be hanging around the airport while you sort out the luggage issue!” – Cheryl, Consultant

“Whether it is your first time or your 100th time, it pays to always make sure your travel documents are in order. If you need a visa, apply ahead of time. Check if your passport is still valid! Remember, you need at least six months validity on the expiration date before you’re allowed to travel. You don’t want to have to go back to the office, tail tucked between, because your passport is expired and you’ve left the junior to handle the VIP presentation!” – Teh M, Sales

“Sign up for a loyalty programme, especially if you are a frequent flyer. This way you get to earn points for all that work travel, have access to the lounge, and redeem the points for your own holidays!” – Siti Z, Banker

“Plan your work abroad days properly. Schedule the meetings but make sure to give yourself some travel time from hotel to meeting, taking into account how you’re not familiar with the surroundings and traffic. Try not to pack everything in on a single day – you’ll be exhausted even before your day is done and all your other meetings won’t be as fruitful! If you need two days, by all means take two days. At least this way your trip is more productive than just a whirlwind of activities.” – Pan, Marketing

Photo by louis magnotti on Unsplash.