New to Business Travel
 

Just recently accepted a job that will require a fair amount of airline travel. 1-2 times a week.


What do wish you knew when first started flying for business?

Loyalty programs, packing, suitcase all advise & tips welcome

Well said, good advice.

Sign up for all of the loyalty programs you're likely to use, but the check Elite status requirements and focus enough travel on one airline/hotel (if your travel and company policy permit) to get Elite status. You may want to do it backwards: figure out what airline/hotel you're likely to use most given your location, destination and company policies, then aim for Elite status with them.

It's not worth as much as it used to be, but it can pay off with late checkouts, fewer airline fees, the occasional upgrade, more help when things go wrong, etc. Consider getting a branded credit card to add to whatever miles/poins you're accumulating. I did this even though my company required that I use the card they issued for business travel expenses. I've always charged nearly all personal expenses to credit cards and paid the balance in full every month.

If you use one airline a lot consider buying a lounge membership. It's saved my sanity MANY times and it's another place where there are people who can do magic when things go wrong. No employer ever paid for it but I didn't care.

Finally, hang out here as much as you can. I learned SO much about changes in programs, special offers, etc. and really made the best use of the programs between my business and personal travel. I'm retired now but still travel a lot, so I'm still here.

I did heavy travel for about 20 years.

Besides the advice with loyalty programs and credit cards, here is what I learned or wished I had learned early.

Keep up with your expenses. File expense reports quickly and regularly. Save receipts. Develop a system that works for you to keep up with it.

Be friendly to the staff at your home airport, especially if its a smaller or midsized airport. You will start to recognize them and they will recognize you. Sometimes that helps when you need something out of the ordinary. Like the shuttle bus driver dropping you off at your car instead of the stop when its raining, etc. It really worked for me. Plus, who doesn't like smiling faces when you finally get home?

Try to not let it affect your health. It is a lot easier now to find healthy food and work out equipment while traveling, but it still takes effort. Its easy to fall into bad habits. And, to be honest, those bad habits extend to relationships as well. If you are in a relationship, constant travel takes a toll, and you have to work harder because of it.

Develop a 'travel persona'. Unlike my work persona, my travel persona was a lot more flexible and laid back. A lot of people who travel rarely get really stressed out at airports, and all that stress around you can get to you. So, I had to block it out. And know that delays happen. And some days, you are not going to get home. So, just keep that cell phone handy and your hotel and rental car apps handy and book that hotel fast and try again tomorrow. It sucks if you have family waiting at home, or you have plans, but it is what it is.

You don't always have to be busy in those hours you spend at the airport. Put the phone and laptop down sometimes. Find a quiet spot to read a book, or people watch. I used to get my haircut (when I had hair) at the same barber in the Detroit Airport. And then my weekly shoe shine. Not sure if they have barbers in airports anymore, but there is nothing wrong with using your waiting time for a little self care.

Hopefully, you get to go to some fun places and meet some interesting people as well. Make the most of it and enjoy the madness! Good luck.

To the OP. How far are your trips? Different places each time? Domestic or international? Are they overnights or one-day turn arounds? Executive meetings or industrial site visits? I've done the full gamut over my career and what is good advice for one type of travel is not always good for another.

Generically my advice is:

Get every loyalty program and preferred traveller status you can for your destinations. Global Entry, TSA-Pre, Nexus, etc. They are worth the effort. Nexus has saved me a couple of times.

Buy good luggage and learn how to pack. There are many sites that can help you learn.

Develop what another poster called the "travel persona." I call it my "zone" that reduces my stress in airports and on flights. Don't sweat the small stuff.

Limit the amount of work you do in public spaces. There will be people trying to look at your computer screen.

Never have meetings in your hotel room. That is your private space not work space. Keep it that way.

Money spent on convenience or making your life on the road easier is money well spent even if you can't expense it. The extra cost of valet parking at the airport versus slogging your bags to where you think your left your car is worth it.

Enjoy the moment. Learn about where you are going. Be aware of the different lifestyles and cultures you may encounter and always keep in mind that while it sometimes gets tiring it is infinitely better to be on the road than chained to a desk at head office.

Even when you ARE spending the company's money, don't always go cheap. According to one great book I read ("Nice Women Don't Get the Corner Office"), women are more prone to this. That point "clicked" when I'd finally decided, after wrestling with my conscience, to get a taxi from my hotel to Zurich airport for a 7 AM flight to London and I overheard a couple of male coworkers discussing their taxi arrangements for early-afternoon flights. The cheaper alternative was the train, but required dragging my stuff to the nearby station, waiting for the train, etc. My boss was pleasantly shocked that many of my dinners when in Armonk, NY were from the foods bar at Whole Foods, but that was my choice- I vastly preferred a nice selection of healthier foods enjoyed in my room to extended restaurant meals.

Very good advice. When I joined a unit with heavy travel one coworker told me she'd gained 20 lbs. from the traveling. I was determined not to, and I maintained my weight. (One hint: order a couple of appetizers, one heavy on non-fried veggies and one with lean proteins, instead of a main course.) I ended up working out first thing in the AM because otherwise it wouldn't get done (who wants to go to the gym after dinner including some good wine?). I first met my UK-based boss when we were both in Armonk. The next morning on his way to breakfast in our hotel he passed the pool with windows out into the hallway. So, he got the "swimsuit view" as I paddled through the pool. Oh, well. Didn't seem to affect our relationship one way or the other!

Try to ensure that you can travel alone, as opposed to being with a group of colleagues.

If you have no choice, limit exposure to them after hours and while in transit.

Not sure what country you are traveling in to or from. Get a credit card that pays for lounge access at airports you depart or will frequent AND Global Entry/Pre√ as part of the annual fee. Hotel loyalty programs make your stay easier. If your room will be billed to a third party then make sure you have some sort of minimal spend in order to get qualifying nights ( something from the gift shop, bar or restaurant).

But look long and hard if it's PriorityPass. Here's why.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/airp...riorating.html

I used them for years, but the number of clubs accepting it has dwindled and they frequently restrict how many PriorityPass holders they allow in so that they have enough room for their own customers (e.g., those who actually purchased an airline club membership or are traveling in the airline's premium cabins).

Learn how to say no, simply and firmly. To restaurant/banquet meals that you'd really rather not attend, to squeezing in "just one more meeting," to the person hassling you to buy something, to downing another serving of alcohol, etc. (and to the person asking you to switch seats with you on the plane :D). Your mental and physical health will be preserved by this.

The concurrent advice is to not go whole hog when on the company dime. Too many business travelers expense every single thing and dine at top-end restaurants just because the company is footing the bill. They get noticed and not positively. Don't be that guy.

Unless I'm entertaining clients or colleagues I avoid restaurants. I also prefer takeaway meals in my room to solo dining at a restaurant in a strange city. Heaven on the road is a room with a fridge and a kitchenette at a hotel within easy walking distance of a supermarket.

I don't nickle and dime. If I normally buy a Starbucks on the way to work I'm not going to expense it just because I'm out of town but have no hesitation expensing hotel laundry. In-room movies, spas and mini-bar expenses are often red flags and I either don't use them or pay them directly and have the bill revised. Alcohol is only submitted when entertaining clients or colleagues otherwise I buy my own.

I agree with this to a point however for a new employee there are advantages to spending time with co-workers on the road. There is a balance.

It is also worth the return to spend time with colleagues in the place you are working to to pick up info and understand the local environment. Some of my most helpful intel came from having a drink or dinner with foreign colleagues. Remember though they are at home and would probably be with their families instead of amusing you so be thoughtful of their time and appreciative when they share it.

After you are established, home office colleagues that travel with you don't deserve the same consideration. I've seen too many get in trouble by hanging out together on the road. Distance, drinks and loneliness can be a very dangerous combination.