The comeback of corporate travel makes it essential for employees to travel for business purposes. Some employees will feel business trips are exciting, while others find it stressful. But every employee can accomplish predefined business travel goals only by avoiding physical and mental stress during business trips.
Seasoned travelers reduce the stress of business travel by booking the right business travel flights and hotels. Companies and startups these days allow employees to book their choice of flights, accommodations, car rentals, and other business travel solutions. Also, they implement travel management software that supports both self-travel and managed travel booking.
But employees still experience stress by choosing the wrong business travel booking options. While making business travel arrangements, you must remember to compare various travel options according to your preferences and organizational travel policies.
At the same time, it is also important to consider a slew of things while making a business travel booking to boost personal wellness during business trips.
10 Things You Should Consider While Making Business Travel Booking
1. Organizational Travel Policy
Most businesses these days support post-trip expense reimbursements. They reimburse the expenses incurred by work travelers based on expense reports submitted by them. Also, their travel policies clearly define reimbursable and non-reimbursable travel expenses.
You must understand your company’s travel policies to know what class of flight, star of hotel, and category of car rental you can book. The understanding will help you book in-policy travel solutions and avoid overspending.
2. Travel Booking Tool
The travel management software implemented by your company will help you book flights, rails, cabs, and accommodations effortlessly. In addition to providing access to an extensive travel inventory, the software will ensure that you do not violate organizational travel policy.
Some travel management solutions further recommend personalized business travel solutions based on your travel history and preferences. That is why; you must leverage the software to book the right business travel solutions in minutes.
3. Early Travel Booking
Organizational travel policies emphasize advanced travel booking to curtail costs. But you can get more options and choices by making business travel bookings early. For instance, you can get better seating, meals, and other benefits by booking flights early. Likewise, you can stay in your choice of accommodation in peak seasons by booking hotels early.
4. Airtime
While making a business travel booking, you have the option to choose from direct and connecting flights. But you should remember that travelers often experience stress due to an increase in total flight time. Hence, you can remain stress-free by booking a direct flight instead of connecting flights. Also, direct flights will help you avoid major business travel risks like delayed or canceled flights.
5. Stress-Free Accommodations
Frequent business travelers remain stress-free by following simple best practices like practicing meditation, staying connected with family/friends, and getting enough sleep. Also, they prefer staying in a stress-free or wellness hotel.
They consider the location of the hotel to improve their mood after meetings by taking short walks. Also, they opt for hotels that provide Wi-Fi connectivity to stay connected. Hence, you should book a stress-free hotel based on the facilities and amenities provided by it.
6. Corporate Travel Consultants
Large companies make it easier for employees to plan and organize business trips by deploying dedicated corporate travel consultants. The travel consultant helps employees plan business trips by providing elaborate information about the travel destination.
Also, he assists them in comparing business travel products according to their preferences and organizational travel policy. You must consult the corporate travel consultant to reduce the time and effort required to make business travel arrangements.
7. Reward for Saving
Many organizations these days control business travel costs by incentivizing employees to make cost-conscious travel booking choices. You can get rewarded for saving by opting for lower-cost business travel solutions during business travel booking.
Your company will allow you to keep a part of the saving caused by your cost-conscious decisions. However, you need to ensure that the cost-conscious decisions do not make you experience stress or affect your safety during business trips.
8. Loyalty Programs
Many airlines, hotel chains, and car rental companies these days promote traveler loyalty by rewarding them in different ways. For instance, airlines provide reward points to frequent fliers that can be exchanged for in-flight amenities, purchases, or services.
Likewise, the hotels reward loyal customers by supporting late checkout, free room service, or hotel room upgrades. While booking business travel solutions, you should not forget to leverage loyalty programs and schemes.
9. Self-Funded Upgrades
Some companies boost the business travel experiences of employees by supporting self-funded upgrades. If your organizational travel policy permits you can upgrade to a higher class flight or higher stat hotel while making a business travel booking. But you have to pay the difference in costs out of your pockets. You should consider this option if you want to make international business trips more exciting and fun.
10. Payment Methods
Airlines, hotels, and car rental companies these days support physical cards along with mobile wallets and digital cards. But you have to spend your money while using these options. Hence, you should consider using the corporate credit card provided by your company while booking business travel. The corporate credit card will enable you to make business travel arrangements using the employer’s funds.
Conclusion
Employers these days provide employees with many business travel booking options. In addition to enabling access to extensive travel inventory, they allow employees to book their choice of business travel solutions. Also, employees have the option to alter travel solutions by getting approval. But employees experience stress during business trips by committing business travel booking mistakes.
You can avoid these mistakes using the travel management software implemented by your employer. In addition to providing access to an extensive travel inventory, the software allows you to book your choice of travel solutions. At the same time, the software prevents you from violating organizational travel policies by recommending in-policy travel products and services.
