Tips On Business Travel You Can Use Today!

If you travel a lot for business and are looking for a less stressful and more easy going hotel stay here are some valuable tips to use when planning your next trip.

1 - Join the corporate loyalty travel rewards programs

Most business travellers will find that booking flights and hotel stays will help them accumulate numerous reward points and dollars which can be redeemed later. These points can really add up fast, so begin the sign up process and don't leave those dollars on the table!

2 - Annual travel or health insurance plans

If you do not currently have travel or health insurance with your company, you may wish to consider getting an annual plan that will give you a certain amount (x) of days n(30 - 45 - 90 days, etc) over the course of a year instead of having to purchase coverage every time.

3 - Get easily down-loadable mufti-language guides

It's always useful to download basic language guides on your smart phone if you find yourself travelling the world for business and corporate events. Getting basic guides in Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese, German, Italian, or Chinese can not only help you when working with foreign business associates, but can also assist when dealing with hotel employees, cab and bus drivers, and even ordering food or finding a bathroom.

Quick Tips For Business Travel Abroad

Traveling abroad for business purposes can be exhausting. This is especially true when you are traveling to countries that will require you to begin functioning in your professional capacity as soon as you arrive. It is important therefore, to do some planning and preparation prior to leaving, so that you will be alert and ready to begin working with minimal lag time. If you are just starting a career that requires foreign travel, there are some simple steps that will help you to manage your time and be more effective.

Ship brochures, marketing materials, and other documents to your hotel in advance. When you are packing items to be shipped ahead of time, include office supplies that may be difficult to find once you arrive. Include tape, poster pins, extra pens, and name labels if you will be doing a presentation. Contact the hotel and make arrangements to have your boxes held at the front desk until you check-in. Timing for shipping is critical if you are shipping overseas, so it will be important to send items using a shipper that provides these services to businessmen on a regular basis.

When you are packing your carry-on bag, include a brightly colored, plastic envelope to hold your passport and other important documents. You can also save time by having enough currency exchanged into the denomination of the country you are going to for payment of taxis, car services, and tips.

Airline Vacation - Business Travel Tips!

I have really great ideas to make your vacation or business trip less stressful and more enjoyable. A prepared traveler is a smart traveler.

Check with the airlines or internet for luggage and carry on information before you pack and depart. Make sure you know the carry on rules before hand.

When traveling there are several things you can do to make your trip virtually stress free. Make a check list of items you plan to take. Any items you plan to purchase, try to do at least a week before. For last minute shopping make a separate list of items. You should pack a day before your departure using your check list.

Limit your carry on bags to one or two per person. The length, width and height should be measured to be sure it will fit into the overhead carry on compartment or under the seat.

Remember that liquids in carry on luggage should be of no more than 3.4 oz. or three 1 oz. clear containers in one clear plastic bag.

If you purchase any food items at the airport do it after the security checkpoint if possible then you can carry those items on board. This may vary depending on the airport or airline carrier.

Business Travel Expenses - What Every Businessperson Needs to Know

Travel can be very expensive. When you travel for business, many of your expenses can be written off at tax time. This will save you a lot of money if you know how to do it correctly. But you don't want to overdo it and risk being audited. It's a careful process and some areas have thin lines. You'll want to know exactly what you're doing.

The most important thing to know is what is deductible and what isn't. A lot of things can be written off as business travel expenses, but you don't want to get ridiculous with it or you could find yourself in trouble. Ask yourself if your trip is primarily for business, or pleasure. Even if it is primarily a business trip, things you do for pleasure on the side may not be deductible.

When a purchase IS business related, you can write it off. Nearly anything counts. Hotel rooms, airfare, travel documents, meals, cab fare, dry cleaning, and business related long distance calls. But you'll need to save all the documentation. This mostly pertains to receipts. While you may not need to send the receipts with your tax claim, you will need to have them in case you get audited so that you can back up your claims if they are called into question.

The Business Traveller - Tips for Motels

For the weary business traveller a Motel can be a 'home away from home.' After spending hours on the road and in meetings, a motel provides a place where they can relax and unwind. That is why it is important a Motel provides the service and the small luxuries to make a business guests' stay comfortable and hopefully memorable.

When booking Motel accommodation a discerning business traveller will look for:

    internet connection
    work space
    clean, comfortable and quiet rooms
    a TV
    breakfast facilities
    central location
    parking
    corporate rates.

Wireless internet connection is vital for today's business. Most Motels are able to provide this service, some will even provide a set amount of Data for free. Internet access not only enables the business traveller to work, but also gives them the freedom of staying connected to their friends and family in the evenings, when they may need it most.

Internet access is also essential for Motels that have conference and/or meeting rooms. Technology such as video conferencing, interactive training, and online product demonstrations, all require business guests to access high-speed internet. Printing facilities should also be provided by reception, as with fax, and where possible a projector.

The Business Traveller's Tale - Which Limbic Hot Buttons Got Pressed Today?

The recent advances in neuroscience and the insightful and informed writing of people like David Rock in "Your Brain at Work" have brought a new focus to business life. David's work includes the collating and summarising of original research into the function and implications of the limbic system. His SCARF model is a simple but profoundly important illustration of what happens when our limbic system kicks in and rationality takes a back seat.

SCARF is an acronym for five sources of potential pain or perceived gain - the limbic "hot buttons". We don't all have them in equal strength but one or more of them can be pressed by situations where things go well or our personal version of disaster looms and we "go limbic".

Status - When the airline tells you you've been upgraded it's only a better seat and more choices on the menu. But it's what that upgrade means to you that's important. Your status button just got positively pressed and you feel good. Flip the situation to where you are told you can't come in the lounge because you booked a cheap ticket and you'll definitely feel the negative side.

Business Travel - Avoiding Airline Terminals and Scheduling By Flying Your Own Private Plane

The other day, I was talking to a friend and he explained to me some of the stress and hassles of airline travel, as he'd recently gone on a number of business trips. Weather delays, maintenance repairs, and then there's the waiting in line with the TSA strip searches via electronic devices. They were tired of standing in line, waiting in terminals, and trying to get their tight itinerary back on track every time an airliner was late. Since I know little bit about aviation, they asked me if they should learn how to fly and buy their own aircraft.

You see, owning your own airplane and flying it yourself, if you have no experience, might only be good if you are going short distances, and the weather is good. A new pilot, or VFR aviator cannot fly when the weather is bad because that takes an IFR rating, the ability to fly using instruments even if you can't see outside, something which takes hundreds of hours, lots of practice, and a good chunk of change to learn how to do correctly. Also, owning in aircraft isn't cheap, and just as the airliners have occasional breakdowns, or maintenance problems causing aircraft delays, the same thing can happen to your own privately owned aircraft.

Then there is the insurance, tied-owns fees, and all the rules and regulations of the FAA. One thing that airline travelers may not realize is that most of the airline delays are actually cause due to rules and regulations and the Federal Aviation Administration, as those airlines must comply with all those rules. Those same rules are rather harsh on a private aircraft owner, although they are a different set of rules, they can surely become a hassle very quickly.

How to Make Business Travel Arrangements

It does not matter if you are a frequent business traveler or just an occasional one, but when you are going on a business travel, the best thing is to do it the right way. Most of the companies have policies in place which is to control the cost for employee trips and when you plan your business travel, the best thing to do would be to follow each and every guideline and to ensure that your travel plans are approved and reimbursed and that you do not incur any expenses for the trip.

1) Firstly, you have to perform a thorough discussion with your supervisor regarding the destination, the number of nights you are away and the method of travel which you have chosen. Also, include under this discussion personal vehicle, rental car and air travel. Make sure that you inquire about your company's travel procedures from your boss.

2) Make sure that you make prior contact with the person you are meeting on your business travel and also ask for the name of a neighboring hotel. In case you get hold of hotel maps and bookings, it will be of great help for reserving your travel plans. In case, if your company actually uses only a particular hotel chain, then you can skip this step.

The Conversation Around Healthy Business Travel Has to Change Here's Why

There is a distinction to be made between the Jet Lagged and the Jet Stressed. It is the same difference between the chronic and the acute. One is acute and the other is chronic. Jet stress is in fact chronically acute. The value of this distinction alone is what separates those who fly well and those who don't. A second valuable observation to our cause is that any time Man has conquered or thrived in an environment he has done so by taking his own environment with him. To beat jet lag in all it's forms you and I must do the same, frequent fliers more so than others. The current conversation on the subject of flying well repeat the buzz words like body clock and melatonin too often without a change in results or progress. The conversation is long in the tooth with the same tired advice - get plenty of sleep, drink plenty of water and keep your mind active. Old wives tales and a pastiche of personal remedies exist alongside rigid scientific data. The masses of frequent fliers and business travellers are confounded and struggle to make sense of disjointed and often confusing information. Productivity, personal health, relationships and global business's bottom line suffers.

The Most Intensive Frequent Fliers Hold The Key

I once read some good business advice which preached the value of catering to the extremes of a target audience. The notion was that if they were catered for all other demographics within that target market would be well taken care of. Frequent business fliers are representative of this extreme. An article in Wired magazine* charted the travel paths of business fliers over a year demonstrating the intensity of travel schedules of frequent fliers. The goals of business travellers to maximise productivity on the road, make the right impressions, close the deal and stay healthy bring home the urgency of the conversation at hand.

Business Travel Security

Ever since September 11th, the travel industry has changed around the world and whether your travel is intended for private or business purposes travel security is a major concern for everyone. The stark reality of it all is that travelers no longer have that feeling of being secure as they used to. While a big concern for travel security is the airline aspect of it, there are other issues of business travel that can affect businessmen and women.

Business travel is necessary for a variety of reasons and it is with this in mind that travel security has become such an important issue with companies that send their representatives to different parts of the world. Whether it is to get their foot into the door of a developing country or to increase business ties with established businesses that they already deal with, business travel will likely be here to stay.

Although a traveling salesman may not look like a "mark" to the average person, to the trained eye many salesmen do actually stand out. First of all they usually travel alone and without any concern for travel security, otherwise the likelihood of them dressing flashy and working in full view with their laptop for all to see would probably diminish. A more toned down approach may be a bit more advisable for these frequent fliers.