In any travel situation, the further in advance, you can plan your trip, the better you will do on all of your accommodations. But in the world of business, it often occurs that you have to get to a destination immediately and the ability to move swiftly is critical to the success of the business goal. The good news is that you can do some preparations well in advance for short-notice business trips so you are not caught completely without a plan.
You don’t want to have to flounder around about how to book a flight and where to stay if the business journey looms suddenly and immediately. Short-notice business trips seem to be endemic to certain industries and job descriptions so if you know you will go through this drill often, you can make some arrangements far in advance. Hence, you have a checklist of just what to do when you find out that you must be at your destination virtually immediately.
First of all, in a short-notice travel situation, the economy takes a second priority. Your employer knows that if you have to book full fare on an airline to get to your destination at a specific time, the higher expense is unavoidable. Make sure that your company travel policy has some clauses to put aside travel budget limits in such a scenario.
The part of the trip where you will have the least “wiggle room” will be the flight. Of course, you can use big internet search tools but this is the moment when knowing a good travel consultant proves to be essential. A travel management company like Central Travel is proactively partnering with major airline partners in order to ensure flexible booking options for its customers. This is of utmost importance as it provides a sense of security when navigating the travel climate during these uncertain times. To that end, we are advocating for features such as free date changes, free name changes, and no additional fare collection when making alterations to reservations. Currently, airline policies can be complex and challenging to navigate. For this reason, business travelers require our assistance more than ever before.
A tip for you! Working with a travel agent can create a mutually beneficial working relationship. To set the stage for future trust, you could collaborate on a straightforward trip request. This will provide an opportunity to assess their operation and communication skills as well as review their ability to secure deals or add bonuses. To get started, opt for an uncomplicated task so that progress can be easily monitored.
Be sure you watch the travel details closely so you don’t find yourself enduring long layovers that will jeopardize the tight timetable of the business meetings you need to attend. If necessary, spend the money on nonstop flights to assure that the business goal of the trip is a top priority.
Do your homework about hotel accommodations well in advance. If there are likely destinations that you could be called upon to go to quickly, you can do your research on the closest hotels to the business site so you cut down on commutes once you are there. By having your target hotels bookmarked and the phone numbers on file, you can quickly call and set up your accommodations in a matter of minutes. But if you find that your best choices for hotels are booked up on the days you will be at your site, call them anyway. A good hotel will call around to other hotels in the area and get you a room as close to your destination as possible. They can save you hours of frustration searching for a replacement room.
Rental cars are usually not as much of a problem. It’s a good idea to call ahead and get a reservation but short of a major convention or sporting event in town, there are so many rental car agencies that you should be able to find a car to rent even if you don’t start your search until you are on the ground at your destination city.
You can make other preparations for the possibility of a short-notice business trip like having the toiletries and personal effects you always travel with packed and ready to walk out the door. By having your travel clothes ready to go, you can virtually walk home and walk out in a matter of minutes for a short-notice business trip because you are that well prepared.
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