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A beginner’s guide to business travel

Heading on a business trip, before you leave, check your company's travel policy, look up loyalty programs, stay up to date with disruptions, install useful apps, during your trip, keep your receipts, work on your wellbeing, after your trip, get ready for reimbursement, looking after a team of corporate travelers, before travelers depart, empower employees to book their itineraries, travelperk integrated travel policies, go the extra mile for executive travelers, cut your carbon, while travelers are on the road, ensure traveler safety, after travelers return, check in with your travelers, review travel receipts.

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Business Travel: The Beginner’s Guide

June 12, 2019

by Rob Browne

In a world where it has become as easy as a quick few taps on smartphone to book a trip across the world, business travel is more widespread and accessible than ever before.

Are you a recent graduate or new employee looking for an introduction to business travel? This article provides an overview of the field as a whole as well as a guide to traveling for work and managing your business travel expenses .

What is business travel? A step-by-step business trip guide

Research from Statista shows that business travel contributes almost $1.3 trillion to the global economy in a single year, making it one of the world’s largest economic industries. Further research highlights only upward trends in the amount that is spent on business travel as well.

This research reflects an increasingly intertwined global economy. With the speed at which businesses on opposite sides of the world can interact over the internet and travel to meet with each other, employees are operating in a space where location is fluid and business interests can converge across state, national, and continental lines.

Thus, business travel is a vital part of many companies’ lifebloods. In this article, we’ll explore the four temporal components of a business trip and use them as a lens through which to discuss business travel.

Booking business travel

Oftentimes, the dates and general logistics of your business trip are determined by the wants and needs of the client(s) you visit on the trip. If possible, it’s always best to book as far in advance as you can to plan on being out of office. Of course this won’t always be the case, as business trips occasionally arise on short notice if a client needs a quick turnaround time on a particular task that requires a visit.

Booking a business trip is not the same as browsing the internet for the best deals on a family vacation . The online booking platform (OBT) that you use for securing your transportation and hotel depends on your company’s internal travel policy.

Some companies require their employees to book through a specific brand of travel management software  or using a travel management company . A key motivator for companies to use travel management software is that it makes it easier to ensure that employees comply with corporate travel policies. These policies include which airfare class employees are allowed to book, which hotel star class they can stay in, and the class of rental car they can use.

For others, booking your business trip may be a similar experience to booking a trip outside of work, as some companies tolerate open market bookings.

The rigidity with which you’ll be dealing with in terms of booking compliance is dependent upon your company’s travel policy and budget. In most cases, you’ll be looking at a range of mid-tier flight and hotel options that best fit your needs in terms of schedule and distance from the site where you’ll conduct most of your business.

Preparing for the trip

Business trips are often short and have a singular purpose. Get to your destination, meet with the people you need to meet with, and go home. Because of the high energy level required for such a focused itinerary, you’ll want to make sure that you are well-rested going into the trip.

After arriving at your destination, there may not be time to catch a nap  before heading to your first meeting, so you’ll want to ensure that you are able to operate at peak performance as soon as you arrive.

Travel with your important items in your carry-on bag just in case anything happens to your checked luggage. Almost everything you bring on a business trip should be essential to your work, and with a short turnaround between arrival and meetings, you can’t risk not having item X, Y, Z..

On the trip

While on your trip, optimize for everything you can. Outside of any business-related commitments, you’ll want to make sure you have as much time as you need for your work. If there is a particular company policy regarding a daily per diem, or allowance, for meals or transportation, you’ll also need to keep that in mind.

If your trip is to a destination with a lot to see outside business hours or a place where you have friends or family, you can also check with your company’s travel policy regarding bleisure travel. Bleisure, a combination of “business” and “leisure,” means adding a few days onto the beginning or end of your trip to enjoy the opportunity to spend some time not only inside an office.

After the trip

The most important part of finishing a business trip is gathering your expenses and filing an expense report. Between flights, hotels, other transportation, and food, you likely spend a decent amount of money and would like your expenses to be approved and reimbursed as quickly as possible.

Having your expenses approved and reimbursed is typically an easy process, especially if your company uses a form of expense management software .

It’s a trip!

Traveling for work may seem daunting, but thinking about your trip in terms of these four segments will help you succeed at all points of your trip. If your job allows you the opportunity  to spend time outside of your office, enjoy it—and maybe spend time in some exciting destinations along the way.

Rob is a former content associate at G2. Originally from New Jersey, he previously worked at an NYC-based business travel startup. (he/him/his)

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Top tips on how to plan a business trip

Follow these 6 steps for an effective business trip:

• Make your travel arrangements well in advance
• Select your accommodation based on both price and convenience
• Create an itinerary

Research your destination

• Remember your electronics, accessories and travel documents
• Prepare for your meeting

In today’s digital world, we can communicate across different time zones at a moment’s notice. However, when it comes to brokering a big deal or fostering a solid and long-lasting business relationship, nothing beats face-to-face interaction.  

Corporate travel is still so important, and it’s equally important for anyone making a business trip to prepare thoroughly. When you arrive at your destination relaxed and well-prepared, you’re better equipped to make a good impression and focus on the purpose of your meeting. Preparation lets your mind focus on the here and now, making sure you stay on the ball in that all-important meeting. If you’d like to fine-tune how you get ready for your next excursion, follow these essential tips to become an effective business trip planner.

Make travel arrangements

Whether it’s your name on the travel documents or you’re a travel manager, planning business travel thoroughly is important. Your first step should always be to familiarize yourself with your company’s corporate travel policy . You’re making travel arrangements for a business trip, not planning a personal or a short break, so being compliant with your company policy is essential.

Next, it’s time to book your travel. This may involve traveling by air, rail, car hire or even boat. Think about the journey door-to-door, balancing travel times against cost and convenience. Visualize the various steps of the trip from A to B. Consider details like how long it will take to move between airport and railway station, the time it takes to fill out paperwork at the vehicle hire company, and whether luggage storage might be useful. Use multiple sources and different comparison sites, researching which companies are offering the best deals. Again, be aware of any budget restraints in your company’s travel policy.

Don’t forget the small details. Does the airplane have Wi-Fi so you can work on the move? Would leaving a day earlier allow you to arrive at your first meeting better rested and prepared? At this stage, the more carefully you prepare, the more confident and relaxed you’ll be when you depart.

Select your accommodation

Preparing business travel is, of course, only half the job. Choosing the best accommodation for your requirements is also essential. If you’ve only got one meeting place to reach, make sure you book a hotel that’s nearby – rather than be swayed by a more luxurious option that might be a stressful 45 minute trip away. Use maps on your smartphone to measure distances from the station or airport to your hotel – and remember the roads and transport networks will be busier at certain times of day.

Check your company’s hotel policies to see if there are any preferred hotels - you might be able to get a good deal too. When considering the cost, make sure you compare rates for similar types of accommodation and make sure you select something that’s fairly priced – some companies even stipulate a cost per day that would limit the choice of hotels.

It’s also a good idea to pay close attention to the amenities at the hotel. Some tourist-focused hotels may serve breakfast too late for your early starts, and as a business traveler you’re likely to want free Wi-Fi, 24-hour room service, plenty of power points for charging your devices. CWT Hotel Intel gives travelers access to trusted peer hotel reviews and can be a handy tool for business trip planners.

Create a detailed itinerary

Your itinerary is your blueprint for a successful business trip. Use it to stay in control of every detail – from transport times and the names of those you’re meeting, to your travel reservations and hotel address. Be sure to allow yourself extra time on your itinerary for relaxing, meetings that have been delayed or overrun, and busy traffic. Consider using a specially designed tool like the myCWT app , which syncs your itinerary with work calendars, and allows travelers to share this with colleagues. This is handy from a communication and efficiency perspective, and as a safety measure if you’re travelling to an unfamiliar destination.

It may be that you’re traveling to a destination you are familiar with and feel comfortable in. Or, you may be entering unchartered territory. If that’s the case, research is essential to avoid unnecessary risk. For example, some cities are well known for pick pockets, so you’ll need to be extra careful when storing important and expensive items like phones in your pockets. Depending on where you’re going, reading up on the current political situation at your destination could also be prudent.

Perhaps you’re traveling to a city or country with a different culture and customs to your own. Avoid looking foolish or, worse, causing offence, by researching the differences in behavior and manners before you arrive. For example, if you’re taking potential clients for a meal, do you know the etiquette on tipping, or when to give people your business cards? Or, if you’re visiting a country where English isn’t the common language, you could even learn a few basic phrases, such as greetings and “thank you”, which could make all the difference when making a good first impression.

Prepare your travel documents

Hours of careful preparation and research will all be wasted if you forget vital travel documents. Traveling between countries requires a current, valid passport, travel tickets and sometimes a visa. It’s key to research whether or not you need a visa as soon as possible, even if you are just transiting through a country, without stepping foot outside the airport. Some embassies can take a number of days or even weeks to issue visas. Even if you’re not traveling to a different country, you may need photo ID to clarify that your name corresponds to the one on the ticket - your passport or driving license are the best options so keep them safe at all times.

Remember your electronic accessories

Stay as productive as possible on your trip by taking a laptop or tablet – it’ll make your travel time really count. Remember to pack the relevant chargers and adapters, too. You can usually pick these up at the airport when you’re passing through, but being prepared is key and will save you time and money in the long run.

Get ready for your meeting

So you’ve followed all the right steps for planning a business trip, but what about your business objectives and the meeting itself? Making a note of what you hope to achieve on the trip can help improve your focus - even if you simply want to reach out to new contacts or gain a general overview of potential new client. Arm yourself with as much information as possible about the people you’ll meet, as well as the places they’ll be. What’s the dress code? If you’re visiting an industrial site, for example, will you need sturdy shoes? If you’re going to be giving a presentation, what format will it take and will your host have the equipment you need? Simply emailing ahead to check if they have suitable screens and cables can ensure you avoid embarrassing delays or confusion that would get your meeting off to an awkward start. That first impression counts so give yourself the best chance of making a good one.

By setting aside the time to prepare, conducting some detailed research and following these business travel tips, you can optimize your chances of a productive and enjoyable trip.

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10 essential tips for the first time business traveler

Heading off on your first business trip and not sure how to prepare?

From packing like a pro to working and adapting to the local time — we've got the top business travel tips to help you master it all! These travel tips will help you save time and avoid the most common issues. Just sit back, relax and keep reading to get ready for the first of many business trips.

1. Pack like a pro

Start with proper carry-on luggage and take the time to pack light. Packing cubes and internal pockets can make all the difference for business travel. Bypass the lineups and head straight to your destination – you're on a roll! Read our packing personalities tips to find out which packing personality  you are.

Here are a few key tips for carry-on luggage:

• Good quality materials
• Lightweight
• Easy to maneuver (4 spin wheels are the best!)
• Security lock

2. Papers, please

As a first-time business traveler, you might be nervous about forgetting important documents. Let's do a quick review. For international travel, you need a current passport with at least six months until expiry.

And there's more. Do you need a visa or other authorizations? Do you have the correct type of visa for business travel? Starting in 2025, US passport holders traveling to Europe will need to apply for visa authorization through the European Travel Information and Authorization System ( ETIAS ).

There are many potential paperwork disasters on business trips, but lucky for you, your dedicated agent knows it all.

Check out the Traveler Resource Hub for more helpful information on travel visas.

3. Is your business travel covered?

Before you take to the skies, check business travel insurance off your to-do list. Whether it's a short trip or a long one, on a first business trip, we want to make sure you're covered.

Money may not buy happiness, but it can get you an annual policy – saving you time, money and many headaches later. One last thing: don't forget to scope out the risk landscape of your destination to make sure it's in policy. Questions? Your dedicated Travel Consultant is in the wings.

Ask about business travel insurance coverage for trip interruption and emergency medical treatment. Corporate Traveler offers a range of insurance products both for single-trip and multi-trip annual plans. Contact your Travel Manager for more information . 

4. Level up your airport experience

Airline lounges can reduce the stress of flying and lift you out of the chaos and noise of the main concourse. Step into peace and quiet, showers, healthy snacks and drinks for free (hello, morning mimosa!).

Business Class fares generally include lounge access, but some are available for a fee. Credit card rewards programs can also give you access to airport lounges. There is no better place to be if you're riding out flight delays or prepping for important business meetings.

If you're on a business trip during a busy time of year, this guide to airport survival for the holidays shares the top airport tips.

5. Going the distance

The carry-on bag is stowed and you're settling in. If you're on a business trip to a different time zone, try to eat and sleep during the flight based on the local time zone you're heading to. Body clocks are hard to reset, and it's better if you can start the transition mid-air.

While sleeping in Economy Class can be a challenge, earplugs and noise-canceling headphones may help. If your business meeting is crucial, upgrading to a Business Class fare could be the thing you need if your travel policy allows.  

For long-haul trips, make sure your member numbers are locked and loaded so you can maximize loyalty programs . Once you land, eat a meal, stay hydrated and move around a bit to beat jet lag.

6. Take advantage of tech

Apps exist for almost everything, and they can make your first business trip more relaxed, too. Keeping all of your travel itinerary together, finding a place for dinner, or translation apps are all at your fingertips.

We've selected the 9 best travel apps to help you plan ahead and stay organized while traveling. Get travel tips from other travelers and locals too!

7. Always ask about amenities

Global travel is a huge industry, and many operators are adopting sustainability programs. Small changes can make a big difference, especially on business trips.

It's now common for certain services and supplies to be on request at business travel hotels as part of efforts to reduce waste. Daily housekeeping, razors, lotions, and other amenities are still available, but they might not be stocked in the hotel room by default. Pack light and ask what's available when you check in.

What's the strangest perk we've seen? A full set of gym clothes and shoes to borrow while staying at a hotel.

8. Counting costs

A greasy burger or room service? Should you use a limousine, take a taxi, or use public transportation? Check with the boss before you travel on what counts as travel expenses rather than return to a chilly reception and a bill you have to pay.

Hold onto all your receipts and make a note on them if they're low on details, like a taxi ride.

9. Work smart and stay refreshed

It's easy to go from meetings to drinks to dinner to bed and repeat. It's important you keep a check on your mental and physical health while you travel. Jet lag can sneak up on you. The first day, you feel fine, and then, to your surprise, you wake up at 4 am every day. 

With the rising trend of digital nomads, business travelers have come up with new ways to find balance while on the road. A physical change of scenery can help.

Instead of working in the evening in your hotel room, why not answer emails in the lobby or patio of the hotel? Set a clear divide between work and travel, then your mind will be clearer, and you'll look and feel fresher.

10. Flawless first impressions

When you travel on business trips, you're representing your company and yourself. And your country. But a few travel tips can help you make a good impression. Know the local laws, be courteous and tip when needed.

Pro travel tip: watch what you eat and drink on a business trip. It may be fun to experiment on the deep fried delights from a street food vendor but why take the risk? Stick to bottled water in some destinations and avoid ice if you can.

Want to learn more? Subscribe to the CT newsletter   to get ready for your next business trip. 

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Planning a business trip 101: Tips for regular business travelers

There’s a lot to consider when planning a business trip. This guide is designed to make sure you’re prepared to get going. Travel for business is easier when you’re prepared.

By Jessica Freedman

February 9, 2024

Planning a business trip is not always fun and games ; there’s a lot to think about. Whether you’re a small business owner, a regular business traveler or a travel manager, it’s sometimes hard to know where to start. You have to deal with searching for the best travel deals, planning the ideal itinerary, and if you’re the one traveling, make a packing list.

Dealing with all that goes into planning business trips for yourself, your boss and your company is no easy task, which is why we’ve created this Business Trip 101 to help you get going. Travel easier and be sure how to plan a business trip after reading this guide. 

Get going, travel easier

The more efficient your planning is, the more productive you can be on your business trips as a regular business traveler because you will have a clear agenda and know where your priorities lie. When it comes to corporate travel there is a lot to keep in mind such as flight and hotel bookings, scheduling, ground transportation, checked baggage vs. hand luggage and everyone’s agendas. The more organized you are, the better yours and your team’s results will be.

How to plan a business trip

Planning a business trip can take a lot of work, and part of that is making sure you can balance the business traveler’s mental health (or if you’re the one planning, you have your own wellbeing in mind) as well as the physical needs with the objectives of the company. This is why it’s so important to start with a goal. This way you can see if your agenda is feasible and whether it helps work towards achieving a goal while also following a rhythm that is feasible for the person doing the traveling. If you can, try to have a master planning list that allows you to optimize the time that goes into planning, and then you can more easily replicate for future trips.

1. Start with a goal

If you are looking for how to plan a business trip and stay efficient, we suggest you start with a goal for your business trip . Figure out what you want to accomplish and why you must take a trip to do so. With a goal in place it will be easier to figure out your objectives and then track KPIs related to the trip. KPIs could be the number of new clients onboarded, number of new prospects, number of sales contacts, or goals like designing the Marketing Plan for the following year or simply teambuilding, depending of course on the goal of your business trip.

If you are a regular business traveler traveling for a sales meeting, why not set up several meetings with different potential clients and current clients in the same area to avoid having to travel so frequently? This way you can focus on quality business trips over quantity, which makes them more productive and you will experience less travel fatigue, especially for regular business travelers. 

2. Plan travel once and repeat

Sometimes the biggest part of getting anything done is devising a plan. So start your business trip planning by coming up with a travel plan that is easily replicable for future trips. Start by making a list of everything that you need to do to plan and turn it into a checklist. Business travel like any project needs a roadmap to get anything accomplished.

Need a helping hand to get started? Download our checklist!

3. create a master business trip itinerary.

Creating standard itinerary for a business trip oftentimes will fall in the hands of an administrative or HR professional, but if one isn’t provided for you, there are some important details you must consider jotting down such as transportation times and details, travel reservation and confirmation numbers, addresses, emergency contact information, check in and check out times for the hotel, day-to-day schedule details (such as what time do meetings start, where and how long do they go), as well as contact information for the people you will be meeting with. 

It may seem overwhelming at first but once you have a master business trip itinerary outline it will be easily replicable for your next trip. If you work with a travel management company like GetGoing , you can store all your itineraries and travel documents in one place making managing your business trips as easy as the snap of a finger. 

4. Store all business trip-related documents in one place

As we’ve mentioned, when you work with a travel management company, all of your business and trip-related documents will be stored in one place on the web app, including important contact information for travelers, hotel information, emergency contacts, and a support phone number to call in case of issues. 

If you are booking all your regular business trips on your own without the support of a TMC, then be sure to have a spreadsheet and shared drive dedicated to your travel plans and itineraries. It will be easier to keep track of everything and ensure nothing gets missed.

Packing and trip lists: lists are your friend

When it comes time to pack for your business trip there is nothing more important than having a list ready with everything you need to start your business travel plans, especially if you’re a regular business traveler. That means having a running list of those elements that you can’t travel without like your passport or ID, your computer, a mouse, a pen and notebook, or your business cards.

Consult our ultimate packing list for more ideas about the travel essentials.

Make a list of all the travel extras

Extras can be things like checking a bag, traveling business class on a flight, purchasing an in-flight meal, having a driver pick you up, and more. The kinds of extras permitted might depend on your company’s travel policy. For example, taking a taxi instead of the bus to the airport may or not be allowed based on the budget per trip your company has in mind, so make sure to check with your travel manager, HR or office manager about what is and is not allowed. 

Search for business travel deals

Finding business travel deals is perhaps the most important and time-consuming task when it comes to making your business travel arrangements. If your company doesn’t already work with a TMC, you may consider urging them to sign up for a corporate travel management solutions company who can help you find the best (and most convenient) travel deals . 

Some other cheap travel hacks for regular business travelers are:

• Be flexible with dates
• Travel in the middle of the week instead of Monday or Friday.
• Consider traveling via a historically cheap destination to get to your final destination
• Go with budget flight options like RyanAir, EasyJet or Vueling

Business travel by flight

Business travel by flight is one of the hardest parts of booking a business trip. How can you find the most convenient and shortest route without having to pay an arm and a leg? There is also a fine balance between the amount of time you dedicate to searching for cheap flights and the amount you pay because after all time is money, so you don’t want to whittle away your time to spend a little less. 

It’s also hard to know, whether hand luggage is enough for you when traveling by air, whether it’s worth-it to book business or first class (and if your company even allows it). One of the most important things is to familiarize yourself with your company’s travel policy so you don’t find surprises when it comes time to having your travel approved. 

Checked or hand luggage only: Is hand luggage enough for you when traveling by air?

So should you go with checked or hand luggage only? Is hand luggage enough for you when traveling by air? Our rule of thumb when is to ask yourself the following questions, which can help you decide whether hand luggage is enough or if you should consider fronting the extra bucks to check a bag:

• Is your meeting formal or informal? If it’s formal you may want to consider checking a bag so you can keep your suit or blouse from wrinkling.
• How many days are you traveling for? 1-4 days of informal business travel can easily be packed into hand luggage only. Beyond 5 days, it’s definitely worth checking a bag or if you have to deal with cold weather or different climates on the different stops in your trip.
• Will you be adding time on for bleisure or blended travel? If you decide to add in extra days either before or after your trip you may consider throwing in a bathing suit to hit the beach or the spa or some extra clothes that don’t necessarily scream “I’m on a business trip.”
• What kind of traveler are you? If you’re the kind of traveler that wants to throw in your rain boots and parka in case it rains when you’re traveling to Spain that has an average of 50 days of rain a year, then you might consider checking a bag. If you’re a “worst case scenario” type of traveler then just a carry-on will most likely never suffice. 

Hotels for business travelers

Choosing the right hotels for regular business travelers is no easy decision. Breakfast or no breakfast? What kind of amenities are non-negotiable? Is it better to be close to the office or downtown? Should you choose a hotel just because they include airport pick-up? There are so many questions to ponder that we’re going to dedicate an exclusive post just to choosing hotels for business travelers. Stay tuned.

Use the right tools for booking hotels for your business trip

Kayak, Skyscanner, Google flights or Hopper are all great tools for your every day trip, but when it comes to business travel, you want a company like GetGoing travel management for businesses that will help optimize and streamline your booking process. The easier trip planning is, the less time you will have to spend planning and the more productive you can be in your daily job. 

And that’s how you plan a business trip

Review and refine the process for planning a business trip . To do so, create a short survey that you can share with your team so you can evaluate how the trip went and assess whether the goals of the meeting were accomplished. This is an important step, especially when deciding whether to travel or not to travel for future trips.  The more often you reach your goals and the more your goals are reliant on a trip to meet them, the more it makes sense to travel. 

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40+ Expert Business Travel Tips for a Smooth Business Trip

This article was originally published on our site Nomad Paradise. As part of a rebrand, we are publishing all our travel packing and tips content in one place for you to enjoy - The Travel Method. For world cuisine and recipes, you can keep visiting Nomad Paradise.

Business travel is a necessity. Whether you’re an intern or a CEO, the world of work is global. But where those traveling for leisure can afford the luxury of slipping into bed after a long flight, business travelers simply cannot. Important meetings will not be rescheduled because you made it in at 2 a.m. Conferences still expect you to speak, no matter how tired you are.

But in today’s age, business travel does not have to derail you. As travel has evolved, so have our methods of dealing with it. With the input of seventeen professionals who frequently travel for work, we’ve compiled a must-read list of over forty essential tips to help make your next work trip run smoothly.

Booking Tips

1. Dress for upgrades.  

Katherine Rothman, CEO of  KMR Communications , says it’s much easier to get upgrades when you board a plane or arrive at a hotel if you’re dressed smartly and look the part.

2. Always make sure you have an assigned seat. 

Katherine also says it is much harder for an airline to ‘bump’ you with an assigned seat, which could potentially be disastrous for your business trip.

3. Scan your accommodation’s Twitter posts. 

Nick Gray, founder of  Museum Hack , says it’s wise to scan your hotel’s Twitter posts before arriving. Many hotels run social media promotions that allow you to feel like a VIP without spending like one.

For example, sometimes, Kimpton Hotels post a social password on their Twitter account. When you say the social password at check-in, you’ll get a surprise, which could include a free bottle of wine, parking, a coffee mug, drinks at the bar, a room upgrade, dining vouchers, a hot chocolate kit, or an in-room movie.

4. Book your flight in incognito mode on your browser. 

Founder of  Talk Travel , Saurabh Jindal, always books flights through a new incognito window. Incognito mode does not store cookies (served by the website) on your system. Thus, it cannot track you.

Therefore, the website you are booking through cannot raise the price, which could be triggered when a user searches for the same thing more than once.

5. Check fares with Skiplagged.  

David Pike, founder of the  New York Trolley Company and advisor for startups at Founder Institute, always checks the Skiplagged app before booking. It shows you hidden fares to cities by missing the second leg of a flight.

For example, if you want to fly from New York to Nashville, Skipplagged might find a cheaper flight from New York to Chicago with a layover in Nashville. You wouldn’t board the second flight, hence saving money. You won’t, however, be able to check a bag.

Packing Tips

6. Pack as light as possible. 

Everything In Its Place  founder Eileen Roth packs skirts and dresses, as they are thinner than slacks. Blouses are also a good choice, as they are thinner than sweaters. Less weight means you can pack more.

If it’s cooler in conference rooms, add a sweater and suit jacket in a basic black to top off the outfit and change that every other day.

7. Wear the only pairs of shoes you bring. 

Frequent traveler Carmella says if you do, your shoes should be waterproof, airport-sensible, and business-appropriate everywhere from Canada down to Texas. Short black leather boots with the lowest heel are a sensible choice.

8. Even with TSA precheck, liquids are a gamble.  

Between reusable water bottles, mouth rinse bites, and solid shampoo bars, there is no need to carry liquids. Pare down the toiletries and replace them with dry products.

9. Leave your designer luggage at home.  

If you are traveling abroad, as much as you might treasure your designer luggage, leave it at home, says Katherine Rothman. Why advertise to thieves that you have money or make yourself more noticeable? This is not a time you want to stand out.

10. Keep a pre-packed travel bag at home. 

Emily Mandagie, photographer and one half of travel blog  The Mandagies , has a dedicated business travel bag on hand, pre-packed with travel essentials before any trip. Although you’ll need to pack certain things on-demand, like clothes and shoes, some items like toiletries, cosmetics, and other travel products will generally stay the same. This way, you can unpack quickly after a trip and repack, knowing you have exactly what you need for the next trip cycle.

These pre-packed items include a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, lotion, and even a small container of shampoo and conditioner. When it comes to tech, Emily will also stow away a phone charger, extra batteries, and headphones.

Time-Saving Tips

11. Book non-stop flights.

Katherine Rothman recommends that you try booking non-stop flights whenever possible, even if it costs more.

If you are on a business trip where you may be meeting with prospective clients or partners, saving yourself the stress of potentially missing your layover if the flight is delayed pays off in the long run.

12. Sign up for TSA pre-check .

If you’re a United cardmember, you can have global reentry and TSA precheck reimbursed, Carmella says. Skip lines and rack up miles!

13. Utilize ‘priority luggage.’ 

This means your luggage will be the first to come off the plane. When you check your bags outside, you can usually tip $5.00 and say, “will you ticket me for priority baggage” and 99% of the time it works – people just don’t know it can be done. Katherine Rothman has used this time-saving technique many times.

14. Save all appointments (including addresses, names, and phone numbers) on your agenda. 

Local Insiders  founder, Silke Wolf, says this will save you time and make your trip so much more worry-free. The same applies to the information you need to prepare for your appointments.

To travel light and paper-free, save all documents to a specific folder on your Google Drive. (Don’t forget to make it available offline). This way, you’ll stay organized, and you can access all the information you need on the go.

Pre-Flight Tips

15. Before leaving, download important maps offline. 

Make sure directions, itineraries, and maps are downloaded to your phone offline, along with some music and podcasts for potentially bad service areas and the plane ride.

16. Take photos of receipts with an app. 

Alternatively, save the photos of receipts to Google Drive. Being prepared pays off when you least expect, as you never know when you’ll need to show proof of purchase.

17. Keep a Xerox copy of your passport.  

Katherine recommends keeping a copy of your passport in a separate place from your actual passport. If you lose your passport, this makes things much easier.

18. Never board a plane without two bottles of water and snacks.

Katherine also recommends buying two bottles of water and snacks before boarding the plane. You never know when your plane can be held on the ground for hours or diverted to another airport, and the airline crew may run out of food and drinks or not be allowed to serve.

19. Get organized with a list. 

Monica Kang, founder of  Innovators Box,  says that when you travel for work, you have to think about your dress code, what you bring, and, in her case, also a lot of materials she uses for workshops. It’s not fun when you bring the wrong outfit or not enough materials.

Monica recommends piling a list of things you want to bring in a room at home over a few days. That way, when you pack things last minute, you already have the core things you need to take with you readily available and won’t have a chance of forgetting them.

20. Don’t plan too much.

Silke points out that planning too many activities is one of the biggest mistakes business travelers make. Always consider travel times. And add some extra time in between meetings to accommodate factors beyond your control (traffic jams, late arrivals, etc.).

This will make your business travels so much more relaxed as you won’t have to rush around to be on time. This will give you peace of mind.

Essential Gear

21. Buy a lightweight suitcase.

Carmella says to find a lightweight, durable suitcase. Keep it extra small to fit in an overhead compartment on the express planes. If you have to check luggage, you can’t change flights to get home faster or to avoid bad weather.

Many flight attendants seem to use TravelPro, but there are also other quality brands on the market.

22. Use a 4-wheel carry-on case.

Management consultant Layton Cox says he lives and dies with three travel bags. The first is a simple four-wheel hard-case carry-on. In a perfect world, don’t get black. Everyone has black.

It also doesn’t have to be a huge brand name. Ninety percent of your clients will never see your luggage. He also suggests you find a bag with cloth or leather around the zippers, as the plastic and rubber tend to break after a while.

23. Use a briefcase with a slide.

Layton says the second bag every business traveler needs is a simple briefcase that fits over the handles of your carry-on. If you get a normal briefcase that does not fit over the handles of your carry-on, it becomes nearly impossible to operate your cell phone as you walk through the airport since both your hands are busy.

Make sure it has a laptop pocket. Your client will see this briefcase, so get black or brown leather. Nothing else.

24. Buy an anti-theft backpack.

If you’re worried about expensive and essential items being stolen, such as your trusted laptop, an anti-theft backpack is definitely worth looking into.

25. Travel with an electronics holder.

Layton’s third and final bag he always travels with is a simple electronics holder. It can be a packing cube filled with electronics and cords or a simple wallet-esque item that can hold a cellphone charger, headphones, and various other cords.

By having just one item with all of your electronics in it, you don’t have to worry if you packed your charger or that HDMI converter, as it’s always in the bag.

26. Use a rolling computer bag.

Eileen suggests that if you carry a laptop, you should use a rolling computer bag to carry papers, files, conference info/workbook, a pad of paper, and even snacks.

You probably will have extra room to add your makeup, hairbrush, and maybe a third pair of shoes or an extra purse.

27. Pack a travel adapter.

Victoria Thompson, Social Media Manager at Haystack Digital, says to always plan ahead and have a spare adaptor depending on which country you are visiting.

This will save you time and money in the long run, as adaptors at the airport always cost a fortune.

28. Bring a travel pillow.

Victoria also says packing items that are going to help you sleep is a must. Invest in a travel pillow that will help you sleep either in the hotel or on the airplane.

29. Use packing envelopes.

Nifty garment folders can help keep blouses, shirts, skirts, and slacks more wrinkle-free than trying to roll things or pack them in packing bags. Instead, use packing bags only for underwear and sleepwear.

30. Travel with a micro-router.

Team Building CEO, Michael Alexis, says the most useful item he travels with is a micro-router. You can connect a router to a wifi connection, for example, at a hotel or on a flight or cruise, and then connect all of your other devices to the router.

This setup has two major benefits. First, in cases where you pay for a connection, you only need one connection to service several devices. Secondly, you save time. Once set up, your devices connect to the router automatically, so you are entering login information only once.

Programs & Loyalty Schemes

31. Get a Rewards Credit Card.

Nicole Sutherland, travel photographer and writer at  Eat Live Travel Drink,  recommends the American Express Platinum. This gives her access to a bevy of perks that include airport lounges around the world, including their own private Centurion ones, Priority Pass, and Delta lounges.

32. Companion Pass Hack on Southwest Airlines. 

Nicole also recommends applying for both the Southwest Airlines personal and business cards if you run a small business. Each card gives you bonus miles when you spend a certain amount of money.

And, if you earn a certain number of miles in a year, you earn the companion pass, allowing a companion to fly free with you every time.

33. Get TSA Pre-Check, Clear, and Global Entry. 

Dave Pike says TSA Pre-Check, Clear, and Global Entry can save you hours every time you fly. The $85-$110 investment is well worth it and is deductible if your employer requires it.

34. Score free upgrades using airline loyalty programs. 

Torben Lonne, diving enthusiast and founder of  Dive In,  says one of his favorite travel hacks is getting a free upgrade to business class. Your chances are lower than scoring a last-minute seat change in the same class, but it’s still possible.

If you have air miles or loyalty points with your preferred airline, this increases your chances of getting upgraded to business class in the event of an overbooking. The passenger with the highest loyalty points gets automatically upgraded when this happens.

If there are more overbookings on the same flight, they will choose the passenger with the second most loyalty points and move down the list accordingly.

35. Get a co-working space membership.  

Upflex  CEO and co-founder, Christophe Garnier, says the last thing you want to think about is being confined to a coffee shop or hotel room for work.

When it comes to business travel hacks, the ability to easily find and book a good co-working space is paramount. It will help you save time and money while making local connections and making you more productive.

This is why co-working booking platforms are becoming business travelers’ new best friend – they aggregate available workspaces from around the world and let professionals book them on an as-needed basis.

In-Flight and Transport Tips

36. Make your final seat selection at the last moment.  

Torben recommends waiting until the last moment before making your final seat selection. You can do this through your smartphone via the web or the airline’s app and guarantee a window seat with a little patience.

Every flight has cancellations and last-minute seat changes, so all you need to do is wait until 30 minutes before boarding to book your final seat.

This is perfect when you’re stuck with a bad seat from when you booked the flight initially as a zero-cost ‘upgrade.’

37. Book your parking beforehand.

Head of Digital Marketing at YourParkingSpace , Gregory Golinski, says one of the worst challenges faced by business travelers is finding a parking space. You don’t want to be late for a meeting with a client because you’ve been circling around for an hour looking for a parking space.

He suggests pre-booking a parking space via online parking marketplaces such as Spothero in the US, YourParkingSpace in the UK, or Parkhound in Australia.

These platforms can help you book a private driveway or garage in advance so that you don’t have to look for a parking space for hours and can be on time. This can help you save time, money, and your sanity while on a business trip.

Safety Tips

38. If you are a woman traveling alone, ask for a room closer to the elevator in your hotel.

A safety tip for solo female travelers from Katherine is that you book a hotel room closer to the elevator. This way, you are not walking through long hallway mazes at night.

39. Make sure you get enough sleep and downtime.

Monica is extra mindful of where she spends her time, how much she sleeps, and what she eats. If she’s booking her time to meet other people and socialize, she will be too tired to deliver her work.

She also recommends downloading a few shows to binge-watch to decompress and rest. At the end of the day, if you show up feeling tired to do your work, why would they want to invite you back?

40. Be careful with the hotel wifi.

Ben Sadeghipour of Hackerone says it’s so easy to make fake wifi networks to track everything you’re doing online. At a hotel, you might see “Hotel Wifi” and “Hotel Free Wifi” and not know which one to pick.

Pick wrong, and a criminal will be able to track when you’re on their network or out of your hotel room. Also, never trust something that requires software to be installed. This is a sure sign of malicious activity.

41. Don’t post your boarding pass on social media.

Even if you cross out the numbers, you’re still at risk. There’s information hidden in QR codes that can be used to steal your personal data.

42. Be wary of public charging stations.

Public charging stations are a godsend when you are constantly on the go or your flight is canceled. However, anyone can steal information from your phone via USB. Always make sure you bring your own charger to plug into outlets or use a USB data blocker.

Essential Business Travel Tips Summary

No matter how important or time-sensitive your business trip may be, don’t let the stresses and strains of travel get in the way of your success. Use these expert tips from successful business travelers to plan a trip that runs smoothly, allowing you to deliver your world-class presentation or land that lucrative client.

We’d love to continue adding to this list. If you have a little-known expert tip, feel free to reach out to us and share your words of wisdom.

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• My Favorite Packing Tips and Hacks

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Author: Dale

Dale Johnson is a content creator from the UK. He has traveled full-time for over three years and to over 30 countries and writes on a number of travel-themed topics, including travel packing tips and the latest gear.

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What Is Business Travel? Importance and Types

Business travel has always been an integral part of the corporate world. It provides opportunities to meet clients face-to-face, attend conferences and networking events, and explore new markets. 

However, as much as business travel can be exciting, it also comes with its fair share of challenges. From flight delays and cancellations to tracking approvals and keeping spending in check, numerous obstacles can make business travel stressful and overwhelming. 

In this blog, we will explore the challenges and solutions of business travel and provide insights on how businesses can optimize their policies and practices to make them more efficient, cost-effective, and enjoyable for everyone involved. 

What is Business Travel?

Millions of professionals worldwide engage in business travel each year. Business travel is when you hit the road or take to the skies for work-related purposes. So, if you've ever traveled across state lines for a meeting or hopped on a plane for a conference, you've been on a business trip. 

According to  the Bureau of Transportation Statistics , Americans take over 400 million long-distance business trips yearly, accounting for roughly 16% of all long-distance travel.

What is the Importance of Business Travel?

It's clear that business travel is a significant part of many companies' operations, but what motivates them to send their employees on these journeys? There are several reasons why companies invest in business travel. Here are some of them: 

1. Closing Deals

Business deals often involve significant negotiation, and in-person meetings can be critical to reaching an agreement. When people meet in person, they can build trust and establish personal connections that are difficult to achieve through virtual communication. As such, closing deals in person is a common reason for business travel. 

2. Exploring New Markets

Companies looking to expand into new markets often send representatives to explore the conditions on the ground and conduct research. Visiting a new market can provide valuable insights into consumer behavior, local regulations, and cultural norms that can help companies tailor their products and services to a new audience. 

3. Building Relationships

One of the primary advantages of business travel is its opportunity to build stronger relationships with clients, partners, and colleagues. While email, phone, and video conferencing are convenient, nothing beats face-to-face interactions regarding establishing trust and rapport.

You can pick up on nonverbal cues during in-person meetings and establish a more personal connection. It can lead to a deeper understanding of the other person's needs and goals, which can ultimately help you provide better service or products. Additionally, in-person meetings can help address any concerns or issues more quickly and efficiently, preventing them from becoming more significant problems down the line. 

4. Networking

Attending industry events, trade shows, and conferences can provide networking opportunities, learning about new trends, and meeting potential clients and partners.

Networking can be invaluable for building relationships, finding new clients or partners, and staying up-to-date with industry best practices. For example, attending a trade show can provide opportunities to showcase your products or services, meet potential clients, and learn about the latest market trends. 

5. Competitive Advantage

Companies prioritizing business travel and investing in face-to-face meetings with clients and partners can gain a competitive advantage over those relying solely on digital communication. By meeting with clients and partners in person, companies can establish more personal connections and build trust, leading to more business opportunities and revenue. 

Here's a  business travel checklist  to make business travel for your employees less stressful. 

Different Types of Business Travel

Business travel can take many forms, depending on the purpose of the trip and the activities involved. Here are some of the most common types of business travel: 

• Event and Conference Travel:  Companies often send employees to corporate events and conferences where attendees can learn and network with peers, potential clients, and service providers. 
• Training and Education: Companies may send employees to conferences and workshops to learn about trends and best practices in their functional areas. These events can provide valuable opportunities for professional development and networking, helping employees stay up-to-date on the latest industry developments and build relationships with others in their field. 
• Internal Meetings and Visiting Offices:  National and multinational companies may need to send employees and leadership to other offices to discuss specific projects and business strategies or to build a more integrated organizational culture. 
• Company Retreats:  Some companies hold retreats annually or multiple times yearly to help teams grow stronger and build company culture through shared activities.
• Client Meetings:  Maintaining solid relationships with existing clients is crucial for many businesses. Account managers and others may regularly visit their most prominent clients to check in on them, take them out for a meal or drink, and generally show gratitude for their business. These visits can strengthen relationships and potentially lead to additional business. 
• Trade Fairs:  Many organizations attend trade shows and expos to display their products and services and connect with potential clients. Attending these events can effectively generate leads and build relationships with potential customers, especially in industries where face-to-face interactions are critical. 
• Transfers and Offshore Work:  Long-term transfers involve relocating employees to a different city or country for a certain period, usually to work on a specific project or set up a new function or business process. 
• Transient Travel:   Business transient  travelers typically refer to individuals who frequently travel for short periods, often for a business meeting or work-related. These travelers usually stay in hotels or temporary accommodations and frequently move between locations for work or other activities. 
• Bleisure Travel:  This hybrid travel style combines business and leisure travel, allowing employees to extend their business trips to leave time for sightseeing and relaxation. Bleisure travel can benefit employers and employees, encouraging employees to volunteer for business trips more often and providing a relaxing break. 

Top Challenges To Manage Business Travel 

As many businesses need help managing company travel, several issues affect day-to-day operations. These include: 

1. Managing Large Numbers of Requests

When managing large numbers of travel requests, keeping track of all the information and ensuring that requests are processed efficiently can be challenging. It can result in delays and frustration for employees waiting for travel approvals or information. 

For example, imagine a small company with just one finance person responsible for managing all travel requests. They receive requests from various team members in different formats—email, Slack messages, and in-person visits. It can lead to confusion and delays in processing the requests and distract the finance person from other essential tasks. 

2. Tracking Approvals

It's a massive headache if your company's travel approvals are manually emailed. Tracking travel approvals can be time-consuming and prone to errors. It can result in missed approvals, delayed travel, and frustration for employees waiting for approval. 

Imagine a team member submits a travel request, and the finance person then sends an email to the manager for approval. If the manager is busy or forgets to respond, the request may be delayed or even missed altogether, causing frustration for the employee who is scheduled to travel. 

3. Keeping Spending in Check

Managing travel costs can be difficult, especially when employees book trips independently or through different channels. It can result in overspending and frustration for finance teams who aim to keep costs under control. 

For example, imagine a company where employees book travel through different channels. Some employees book expensive hotels and flights, while others find cheaper options on discount travel websites. It can lead to inconsistency in travel costs and make it difficult for the finance team to manage and budget travel expenses. 

4. Being Flexible

Flexible travel policies can result in consistency, especially when balancing cost control with employee satisfaction. It can result in frustration for both employees and finance teams. 

For example, a business with restrictive travel policies can limit employees to specific airlines, hotels, and routes. It may help control costs, restrict employee options, and make travel less enjoyable. On the other hand, if policies are flexible, employees may book expensive options outside the budget. 

5. Reducing Errors

Reducing errors in travel management can be challenging, but it is essential to ensure accurate tracking of expenses and approvals. This can help prevent delays and frustration for employees and finance teams. 

How Companies Can Manage Business Travel  

Companies must make the process straightforward to ensure that team members comply with travel policies. If the process is simple, team members will find ways to circumvent the rules, and compliance will improve. The following are some common pitfalls to avoid: 

• Too many rules:  Too many, incredibly confusing or contradictory, can be overwhelming and frustrating for team members. It can lead to non-compliance or errors. 
• A high number of touches:  Too many touchpoints, like requiring additional emails to managers for approval, can slow down the process and make it difficult. 
• Lots of manual steps:  Requiring team members to file printed documents and receipts can be time-consuming and create opportunities for errors. 
• Unclear processes:  If team members are unsure of the steps or rules they must follow, they may become frustrated and disengage from the process. 

To ensure compliance and simplify the process, use  a corporate travel management system  that walks employees through each step. By automating the process and making it easy and intuitive, team members are more likely to follow the rules and comply with company policies. 

What is a Business Travel Solution? 

A travel management system is a software platform that helps companies manage their employees' travel-related activities and expenses. These systems can be purpose-built tools from third parties or developed in-house by large companies. However, building a travel management system from scratch doesn't make sense with the availability of business travel management tools out of the box for a relatively low cost. 

These systems aim to oversee, regulate, and coordinate a company's employees' travel activities and expenses. Previously, a company's office administrators or a dedicated travel manager would handle these tasks. However, with a travel management system, these manual tasks can be streamlined or automated, freeing up staff for more valuable work than monitoring others' travel plans. 

A  business travel solution  typically offers features such as online booking, expense tracking, policy compliance, travel budgeting, and reporting. They make booking, managing, and tracking business travel much simpler and more efficient for companies and their employees.  

As a business, it's essential to recognize the value of investing in business travel. There are numerous reasons why companies send their employees on these trips, including closing deals, exploring new markets, holding internal meetings, prospecting, educating, and visiting existing clients. These opportunities provide valuable experiences and insights to enhance your company's operations and bottom line. 

However, managing business travel can present challenges, such as managing large requests, tracking approvals, and dealing with changes in travel plans. To address these challenges, it's crucial to have a straightforward and streamlined travel policy outlining the process for requesting, approving, and booking travel and any expense and reimbursement policies. 

Another essential aspect of managing business travel is providing support and resources to employees while on the road. It includes ensuring they have the necessary technology and tools to stay connected and productive, providing guidance on safety and security, and offering access to travel support services in emergencies.

By recognizing the importance of business travel and implementing strategies to manage it effectively, your company can reap the benefits of enhanced collaboration, improved relationships with clients and partners, and increased opportunities for growth and success. 

So let your employees stay connected, build relationships and enjoy their next business trip!

John Hunter

John is the Senior Manager of Event Cloud Content Marketing at Cvent. He has 11 years of experience writing about the meetings and events industry. John also has extensive copywriting experience across diverse industries, including broadcast television, retail advertising, associations, higher education, and corporate PR.

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• Corporate Finance

Corporate Business Travel: Everything You Need to Know

Katie Miller is a consumer financial services expert. She worked for almost two decades as an executive, leading multi-billion dollar mortgage, credit card, and savings portfolios with operations worldwide and a unique focus on the consumer. Her mortgage expertise was honed post-2008 crisis as she implemented the significant changes resulting from Dodd-Frank required regulations.

Corporate business travel involves the movement of individuals representing their organizations for work-related reasons. Whether it’s attending client meetings, industry conferences, or sealing business deals, this practice covers a range of activities essential for professional growth.

In the interconnected global business environment, where face-to-face connections matter, corporate business travel plays a central role in sustaining and expanding enterprises across borders. Businesses face challenges in optimizing this crucial element of their operations. Strategic considerations must be taken into account to use this element of business to its greatest potential.

Key Takeaways

• Corporate business travel can unlock new opportunities for business growth, offering the possibility of reaching new markets, connecting with a wider pool of prospects, or developing brand presence and reputation.
• Traveling for business has many benefits for individuals as well, providing them the chance to meet fellow employees, grow their career by participating in different opportunities, and network within the industry, not to mention experience new destinations.
• Business traveler safety and security are top priorities during corporate travel.
• To ensure that travel goes smoothly and stays within budget, companies should implement corporate travel policies and best practices for employees traveling on behalf of the company.

Importance of Corporate Business Travel

There are many business-related reasons to travel. It can encourage team building, promote learning, offer different perspectives, provide connection to a wider network, open up new markets, and drive sales. And whether or not the trip is for a specific purpose (such as a conference or a retreat), the benefits for employees and companies alike can extend beyond the stated intent of the trip, building confidence, cultural competency, relationships, and company reputation.

Many employees consider the opportunity to travel for work a desirable job perk, as it can offer the chance to venture somewhere that they may not ordinarily go, or to have a trip paid for by their company. And although expenses are associated with travel from a corporate perspective, they may be well worth the return on investment in terms of potential leads or sales—plus, many travel expenses are tax- deductible .

Types of Corporate Business Travel

Corporate travel can take many forms, including the chance for employees and executives to attend events, such as meetings, conferences, industry networking sessions, and fairs. Or a trip may take advantage of educational opportunities such as training sessions, seminars, and workshops. Retreats and guided trips can make for valuable team-building time in new contexts that unlock different perspectives and strengthen working relationships.

Businesses may send their employees to a different location to network, sell, teach, learn from, or generally connect with external contacts or internal employees in regional offices, or to act on behalf of the company in some way.

Additionally, from a client perspective, business travel may occur as a form of due diligence , ensuring that your vendors or suppliers are legitimate, legal, and compliant organizations—for example, traveling for regular audits to confirm that what you think is happening at your supplier organizations is actually happening.

Creating a Corporate Travel Policy

From a company perspective, travel can be a challenge to administer and manage . Costs can easily balloon out of control; travel logistics can be time-intensive to arrange; employees traveling on behalf of the company must be granted a great deal of trust; and like any form of travel, business travel can open up risks to safety, security, and health.

No matter the size of the business or the frequency or complexity of travel, a corporate travel policy can be a helpful tool for any company to set expectations for its employees, communicate guidelines and processes, keep expenses within budget, and streamline booking and logistics.

In creating a corporate travel policy, companies might consider the following for both domestic and international travel, as applicable:

• Purpose(s) of travel
• Which employees are eligible to travel
• Booking and expense approval processes
• Risks and liabilities of travel and how to manage them
• Expectations for employee behavior, including acceptable and secure uses of technology, personal vs. leisure time, communication, and entertainment while traveling
• Eligible expenses for employees while traveling, including per diem rates if applicable
• Determine if employees will be reimbursed for their expenses or given a corporate credit card to use
• Financial tracking, record-keeping, and reimbursement processes
• Acceptable booking practices and costs, including preferred agents or vendors
• Travel insurance

Of course, policies must also be communicated and enforced to ensure compliance and fairness. Including a travel policy as part of a corporate handbook or reviewing it in an onboarding or training module can be a good way to ensure that all employees receive and understand the information. Making it easily accessible for future reference on a shared drive or company portal will encourage employees to refer to it often.

Business travel managers estimate, on average, that spending on domestic and international corporate travel is at 77% and 74%, respectively, of where it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Setting a Corporate Travel Policy

Corporate Business Travel Best Practices

There are many best practices that both employees and companies can keep in mind around corporate business travel to ensure that it is a successful experience. These encompass everything from administration and financing to employee behavior and well-being.

Booking Corporate Travel

Booking travel can be labor-intensive and time-consuming. To improve the booking process, save on costs, and streamline expense reporting, it can be helpful to designate preferred travel agencies, online platforms, vendors, and lodgings for employees and executives to book with. If the size of the company allows, it can also be helpful to hire an employee or team specifically to oversee and administer corporate travel, or designate this duty as part of an employee’s broader job description.

Managing Travel Expenses and Budgeting

There are many financial considerations when it comes to corporate business travel, and expenses and budgets must be carefully managed to keep costs under control. Many travel expenses are tax-deductible and can be written off, representing potentially significant savings for a company. Setting a budget and clear guidelines for employees about what can be an expense and what cannot is a must, as is creating and enforcing policies and procedures around tracking and reporting expenses.

Many corporate credit cards offer travel rewards and cost-saving opportunities for business travel, as do many other vendors and suppliers in the corporate travel industry. Businesses can take advantage of these to reduce inefficiencies and save on costs.

How to Manage Corporate Travel

Ensuring Traveler Safety and Security

As with any trip, business trips are not without safety and security risks, including the potential for political or civil unrest, crime, illness, injury, accidents, emergencies, natural disasters, cybersecurity breaches, or theft.

To protect their employees against unexpected and undesirable circumstances, at a minimum, businesses will want to have a travel insurance plan in place. It’s also helpful for businesses and employees to undertake some form of travel risk assessment to aid them in navigating potential risks, and outline safety and emergency preparedness guidelines within a corporate travel policy.

Employees should also know how to call if something goes sideways, such as hotel booking issues. A travel agent? A supervisor? If there’s a hurricane, you don’t have a car, and your flight is canceled, can you book another last-minute flight to get around the weather to get home? These details should be planned ahead for.

Maximizing Productivity During Business Trips

The overlap of business and leisure, sometimes referred to as “bleisure,” is one of the main draws of corporate business travel. However, there can also be pitfalls associated with this gray area. It can be difficult to stay productive while working remotely, whether due to the many distractions of a new environment (positive and negative), or because the trip entails an increased workload or time spent away from day-to-day job duties.

Employees looking to manage their time efficiently while away should get clarity on the intended purpose and expected outcome of their trip, and their employer’s and teammates’ expectations for their workload and communication frequency. They can also plan ahead to make the most of their travel time and downtime, and anticipate time zone differences to ensure smooth communication and adjustment to jet lag.

It’s important for employees to maintain work-life balance while traveling on behalf of work. Researching food, entertainment, and fitness options and preparing accordingly can pay off in terms of mental and physical wellness, especially for frequent travelers.

Tips for Business Travel Etiquette

Traveling anywhere, whether domestically or internationally, comes with responsibilities and expectations regarding employee behavior. Perception is one of the most important factors to remember when traveling as a representative of your company. You represent your company out in the public, so you need to ensure you’re displaying any key values that your company represents when interacting with vendors, clients, and peers.

This applies to cultural sensitivity as well. Travelers should do research in advance of their trip to ensure that they can be mindful of local customs and professional etiquette and behave with awareness and respect. Even the basics, such as learning appropriate forms of greeting or how to handle money and payment, and committing a few common words or phrases to memory can go a long way toward demonstrating good intentions and building a new relationship across cultures.

Sustainable and Responsible Business Travel

Recognizing that corporate travel can have a negative impact on the environment, many businesses and individuals are reexamining their travel practices and policies to see where they can make improvements. One example is reducing emissions by booking different means of transportation when possible. In general, seeking out vendors or companies that promote sustainable travel practices and responsible tourism, and that support local communities and ecosystems, can be a good first step to reduce environmental impact.

Technology and Tools for Corporate Business Travel

Software and technology tools can be immensely useful across all aspects of corporate business travel. Travel management and booking platforms; apps for tracking expenses, navigation, or converting currency; and translation and communication tools are all things that employees and businesses alike can take advantage of before, during, and after traveling.

When it comes to technology, it’s important to account for cybersecurity risks and only bring what is necessary to reduce the potential impact of damage, loss, or theft.

Managing Business Travel Expenses

What Is an Example of Corporate Business Travel?

There are many work-related reasons to travel, but many businesses will have their employees travel for conferences, events, sales and networking, seminars, meetings, team building, retreats, and to open up new business growth potential.

How Does Corporate Business Travel Work?

Corporate travel is simply travel for business-related purposes, so the nature of the trip will depend on its length and purpose. Companies whose employees travel frequently on behalf of the business should consider creating a corporate travel policy with information and guidelines for their employees.

Who Handles Corporate Business Travel?

Some businesses employ internal teams or individuals to manage corporate travel and business trips. At other times, employees are responsible for making their own arrangements within guidelines laid out by the company. There are also corporate travel agencies that businesses can leverage to streamline and optimize their bookings and costs.

The Bottom Line

Corporate business travel can be an invaluable path to both business growth and individual career development, building strong relationships and teams. No matter what form it takes, it’s prudent for companies to collect, implement, and communicate best practices for business travel to their employees in a company handbook or corporate travel policy. This should incorporate areas such as expense and booking management, safety and security, productivity, sustainability, technology, and employee behavior and etiquette.

Michela Buttignol / Investopedia

Internal Revenue Service. “ Understanding Business Travel Deductions .”

Global Business Travel Association. “ GBTA Business Travel Industry Outlook Poll .”

Harvard Business Review. “ How to Work and Travel at the Same Time .”

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International Business Travel, Management of Global Business Travel

International business travel.

For many businesses across the United States, commerce is a global activity and with an international economy comes the challenge of doing businesses in other countries around the world.

Global travel is not without its risk and the coronavirus pandemic has shown that from a business perspective, organizing travel and ensuring the safety of your staff has raised a whole new set of challenges and issues, many of which not all businesses were prepared for.

As global business travel starts to increase again, both employees and businesses are looking at ways that they can still travel internationally for business, whilst maintaining safety and ensuring that any fast-moving changes and situations are managed effectively and easily without incurring the cost of having to rebook or cancel at short notice.

International Business Travel Risks

When it comes to traveling internationally for business, just like with leisure travel, it isn't without some potential risk. While the majority of business travel is carried out without a hitch it's always a good idea to be prepared for the worst.

Some of the travel risks that travelers need to watch out for include staying safe in unfamiliar locations, keeping travel documents secure and maintaining health, which has become paramount in recent times.

Other risks that affect international business travel are last minute changes to a person's schedule, such as cancellations and problems with bookings. Modern business travelers need to have a set of dynamic policies and tools they can rely on to ensure that they can quickly adapt to any challenges that arise.

The good news is, there are plenty of things a business can do to insulate itself from issues with international travel and to help maintain the health and safety of their employees when traveling on behalf of their organization.

One of the key improvements a business can make to their business travel program to help mitigate the majority of these potential travel problems is to use an effective travel policy .

How International Business Travelers Can Protect Themselves

When traveling abroad it's always a good idea to have a travel insurance policy to cover potential issues. As a business traveler, your personal travel insurance policy might cover you for business trips, but it's worth double-checking the policy with your provider prior to travel to avoid expensive mistakes. The company you work for might also cover you under a business travel insurance scheme, but you should again check with your employer to find out what is, and what isn't covered. For example, it's never advisable to travel without a health care policy in case of illness or accident.

It's also a good idea to familiarize yourself with the location of the nearest U.S. embassies so that if the worst happens and you lose important documents like your passport, you'll know where to go to resolve the issue.

Although employees may take a pragmatic approach to traveling safety, employers have a duty of care to their personnel, which means as a company you might be looking at ways to keep your employees safe when they're out traveling for your business. Ultimately, the best way this can be achieved is by implementing a comprehensive travel risk management program and by creating travel policies to maintain travel compliance and ensure traveler safety.

Coronavirus Pandemic's Impact on Global Corporate Travel

Over the last few years, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused huge problems traveling internationally. Even at a domestic level, the road warriors who travel around visiting customers and businesses across the U.S. have found that state to state, U.S. travel still has its own unique restrictions and challenges to deal with.

For business travelers looking to travel to a foreign country in many locations, travel restrictions have been put in place to stop unnecessary travel. As the coronavirus vaccine has been rolled out, some of these travel restrictions have started to lift and travel plans are starting to be made again.

When it comes to international business travel, it's always a good idea to check the status of the country that you're going to, so you can ensure that you can travel by meeting any restrictions that are in place. The Egencia ® Travel Advisor tool can quickly and easily identify issues in various locations around the world. In addition, you can find travel advisories for trips during COVID-19, including regulations for destinations, and safety and health guidelines.

Benefits of International Business Travel

Even though business travel has reduced over the last few years, and with the targets to reduce carbon emissions, many businesses are looking at ways to reduce expensive (and emission producing) business trips where possible. However, while some business meetings can be held via video conferencing services, it can be difficult or impossible to carry out some business functions virtually. Often, you just have to be there!

There are a number of benefits of face-to-face meetings with colleagues or clients, and these include:

Being able to read body language. It can be difficult to pick up on the non-verbal cues when speaking virtually. Humans have the ability to pick up on subtle micro expressions that people give off, and adapt accordingly. This can help with competitiveness and closing deals that might otherwise be lost if those micro expressions are not picked up on - which is hard to do virtually!

Building relationships. Many customers prefer face-to-face meetings as business often isn't just about what you can offer as an organization but also about relationships and finding people and corporate philosophies that are in synergy together. This is much easier to do in person, where small talk and more natural interactions can occur between people and teams.

Improve focus and concentration. When in a face-to-face meeting you tend to have the full attention of the people that you are speaking to. When on a video call, you might find that people in the meeting aren't paying as much attention. They could be looking at social media, answering emails and not being fully engaged. In a face-to-face meeting the likelihood of this happening is significantly reduced.

Easier to deal with different time zones. International business can take place across lots of different time zones. When trying to organize a call or video meeting, it can mean that someone somewhere, will have to accommodate an out-of-hours calendar invite that might come at a very inconvenient time. For global organizations this can mean that someone will have to have a call or meeting very early in the morning, or very late at night. This can reduce productivity and effectiveness if people are tired. This can also mean that people are keener to get the meeting over and done with faster, so meetings can be rushed.

A face-to-face meeting means time zones won't matter because everyone will be one the same schedule. Of course, an international flight can introduce the dreaded jet lag, but this can be compensated for by proper scheduling of the flight and adequate rest.

For the individual business traveler, there are also benefits to be had from traveling internationally. For instance, it can make a job more interesting and engaging as you get to explore and see new cultures and locations.

International travel can make a job more varied, as you'll often experience new things, activities and meeting new people. For many employees this is the sort of thing they look for in a role, and it can make for a happier employee. When the employee is restricted to a conference phone call or video meeting, often from their own homes or satellite office, the day-to-day can become boring. International travel is a way to keep employees engaged, happy and most importantly efficient and effective.

With the ability to use laptops and mobile computing devices when traveling and when using air travel, there's a lot less employee downtime, so in many cases an employee can still carry out work when on a long-haul flight.

International Business Travel Management

Some companies leave the booking of international travel to the employees to handle, but this is not always the best use of their time, nor is it the most cost-effective way to travel.

That's why many companies use a travel management company such as Egencia to simplify and streamline business travel. Egencia help businesses manage travel risk and help to ensure traveler wellbeing no matter where they travel to. Egencia's travel management solutions also help support your business and plan for the future.

You can set up travel policies for your employees and you can keep in contact with your team globally to keep them informed and ensure their safety when out on business using our travel risk management tools and services.

Future of International Business Travel

When it comes to international business trips, the future holds interesting challenges for travel managers. The coronavirus pandemic has shown that a dynamic approach to business travel is needed. This can be hard to maintain when managing your own business travel program. This is why many companies turn to Egencia to help support their business travel program.

In addition to the need for more dynamic business travel solutions , many organizations are looking for ways to reduce their carbon impact on the environment and areas such as business travel, and especially international business travel are under the spotlight as this is an area where savings can be made. This is where Egencia's travel policy solutions can help, from ensuring only direct flights are booked, but also by ensuring travel options that are environmentally friendly are used more often.

So, whether you're looking for dynamic business travel solutions, need help setting up travel policies for your employees, or want to reduce your carbon footprint, we can help you fine tune your International travel. Visit Egencia.com to find out how we can make your global travel run smoothly.

Looking for better business travel solutions? Get in touch with us.

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Business trip vs business travel

• Thread starter Blackbarry
• Start date Jul 21, 2016
• Jul 21, 2016

Good evening everybody, that's my today's big doubt, hope someone helps me... I know that the correct expression is business trip , but here and there I have also found business travel : - is the second phrase correct? - if not, why? - if yes, what's the difference between the two expressions? Thanks in advance!  

london calling

Senior member.

Can you tell us where you found 'business travel' and quote the complete sentence?  

Jason_2_toi

The latter, business travel, is a general term, while trip is of course a particular journey.  

I have found "business travel" in several web sites (also Wikipedia) and in the research material on Business English I am collecting; the complete sentence I'm referring to is "I am going on a business travel next month": it is included in an exercise. I suppose that's a wrong answer, isn't it? ... Thank you very much for your help, both of us. Bye!  

• Dec 5, 2017
• Dec 8, 2017

micaaixa said: Hello, everyone! My english teacher told me that the main difference between business trip and business travel is the following: BUSINESS TRAVEL: the kind of activity a company deals with BUSINESS TRIP: the action or activity you do as a person In general, business trip is more common but business travel also exists. Click to expand...

JulianStuart

I agree with Jason. Below is an example: I spend four months of the year out of town on business travel. Next week I will take a business trip to Boston. I will be gone for two weeks.  

• Jul 13, 2019

A business trip is one specific journey for business purposes whereas business travel refers to traveling in general for business purposes.  

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What is business travel insurance?

Why should business travelers get a business travel insurance policy, does travel insurance cover business trips, what is business travel accident insurance, do credit cards offer business travel insurance, business travel insurance, recapped.

Imagine the following scenarios. You’re meeting potential clients in their city in the morning, but your checked back, including your suit, didn’t make it. You’re giving a presentation, but some equipment has been stolen out of the hotel conference room. You got food poisoning from a restaurant where you had a business lunch and now require medical attention.

When going on the road for business, the last thing you want is to worry about these types of situations.

Business travel insurance provides coverage for the trips you take as part of your business or for a company that employs you. Knowing that some things don’t always go as planned during travel, you might find yourself benefitting from a business travel insurance policy.

Just like personal trip insurance , business travel insurance covers the unexpected during a business trip. A business travel insurance policy can help get reimbursements for travel expenses caused by trip delay and interruption , baggage delay, business equipment theft, emergency medical care, emergency medical evacuation and collision damage insurance for a rental car.

Depending on how often you travel, it's possible to get an annual insurance plan that will cover multiple trips or insure select travel on a trip-by-trip basis. An annual travel insurance plan is more cost-effective, but it might have lower limits than a single-trip policy.

The short answer is because you can never predict anything. The long answer is that it’s good for the following:

Reducing out-of-pocket expenses: One thing gone wrong, and you’re on the hook for unforeseen travel expenses. For example, medical evacuation can cost tens of thousands of dollars, so it’s important to keep those potential financial losses at bay when possible.

Increasing existing coverage: If you have a personal medical insurance plan, it’s important to note that most private insurance providers don’t provide medical coverage abroad. A credit card with travel protections can be a good start, but these benefits typically offer lower coverage limits.

Providing peace of mind: Having insurance can take some of the anxiety out of traveling. Even if the business trip is going according to plan, you'll know that you have safety nets in place should anything go awry.

» Learn more: How to find the best travel insurance

It depends. Some corporations offer travel insurance plans for their employees on the road. You should double-check with the human resources manager of your company as to whether business trips are covered.

It gets tricky if you’re an independent contractor or a freelancer since you don’t have a corporation behind you. As a sole proprietor, make sure to consult with your insurance provider, but be aware that a personal travel insurance policy might not cover business travel.

Instead, we recommend looking into business travel insurance that will cover your personal trips as well.

For example, the annual AllTrips Executive insurance plan from Allianz covers all trips for the year — personal and business — for a one-time fee. This becomes especially handy when you decide to mix business with pleasure and extend a work trip by adding on a few vacation days.

This policy covers trip emergency medical coverage for up to $50,000 and emergency medical transportation for up to $250,000. Travel delay is covered up to $1,600 and baggage loss or delay is covered up to $1,000 each.

An important feature offered by the AllTrips Executive plan is business equipment coverage. If it’s lost, stolen or delayed by the airline, equipment rental or replacement will be covered up to $1,000 each.

AIG Travel Guard , IMG Global and Zurich all offer business travel insurance, too.

Business travel accident insurance covers you in the event of the unthinkable — death or dismemberment. If it sounds like life insurance, it’s because it provides similar coverage but for when you’re traveling on a common carrier, such as an aircraft, a train, a bus or a cruise ship.

If you or someone in your family holds a life insurance policy for you, business travel accident insurance is going to pay out on top of it.

Some travel rewards credit cards offer travel coverage , but it isn’t always on par with a dedicated business travel insurance plan.

For example, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card and the United℠ Business Card offer primary auto rental collision damage waiver on cars rented for business purposes. To receive coverage up to the cash value of the car, you must decline the rental company’s own collision damage insurance and pay for the rental with one of these credit cards.

Note that trip cancellation and trip interruption are covered up to $5,000 with the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card , but trip delay maxes out at $500. Although the United℠ Business Card comes with the same trip delay coverage limit, trip cancellation and trip interruption top out at up to $1,500 per ticket. Baggage delay is limited to $100 per day under both cards’ coverage.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express offers the same secondary coverage for trip interruptions and trip cancellations: up to $10,000 per covered trip and $20,000 per eligible card per 12 consecutive month period. For trip delay, the card covers up to $500 per covered trip up to two times per 12 consecutive month period. Terms apply.

Although some insurance coverage offered by your travel rewards credit card is good to have, as you can see above, the coverage limits are typically lower than if you were to buy an annual policy or a single-trip business travel insurance policy.

Credit cards also offer common carrier travel accident insurance and cover costs in case of accidental death and dismemberment. In this case, the first two of the aforementioned cards include coverage for up to $500,000, which is higher than what some annual or single-trip business travel insurance policies usually cover.

» Learn more: The best travel credit cards right now

Business travel accident insurance covers costs accrued in the course of business travel related to medical emergencies, accidental death and dismemberment and emergency evacuations. Specific coverage will vary by insurer.

Given that business travel is typically undertaken with specific business goals in mind and requires companies to take on overhead, travel insurance is likely worth the fraction of trip expenses that it costs to ensure that a company doesn't lose both cash and opportunity at the same time should things not go as planned.

Business travel insurance costs will vary based on the destination, duration of the trip, age of the traveler and the amount of money spent on the trip, among other factors. Some insurers offer annual plans, while others provide coverage on a trip-by-trip basis.

While specific coverage will vary from insurer to insurer, a business travel accident policy typically covers expenses related to medical incidents that occur in the course of the covered business travel.

If you have a personal travel insurance policy, check the terms to see how much applies to business travel. If none, consider purchasing an annual insurance plan for frequent business trips or a single-trip policy for occasional business travel and check with your company to see if the cost of the travel insurance is something you can expense.

Remember that some credit cards offer travel insurance for your business, but note the low payout limits if you choose not to purchase additional coverage.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024 , including those best for:

Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

on Chase's website

1x-10x Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

1x-5x 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

1x-2x Earn 2X points on Southwest® purchases. Earn 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare. Earn 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming. Earn 1X points on all other purchases.

50,000 Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

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Understanding business travel deductions

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IRS Tax Tip 2023-15, February 7, 2023

Whether someone travels for work once a year or once a month, figuring out travel expense tax write-offs might seem confusing. The IRS has information to help all business travelers properly claim these valuable deductions.

Here are some tax details all business travelers should know

Business travel deductions are available when employees must travel away from their  tax home  or  main place of work  for business reasons. A taxpayer is traveling away from home if they are away for longer than an ordinary day's work and they need to sleep to meet the demands of their work while away.

Travel expenses  must be ordinary and necessary. They can't be lavish, extravagant or for personal purposes.

Employers can deduct travel expenses paid or incurred during a  temporary work assignment  if the assignment length does not exceed one year.

Travel expenses for  conventions  are deductible if attendance benefits the business. There are special rules for conventions held  outside North America .

Deductible travel expenses include:

• Travel by airplane, train, bus or car between your home and your business destination.
• Fares for taxis or other types of transportation between an airport or train station and a hotel, or from a hotel to a work location.
• Shipping of baggage and sample or display material between regular and temporary work locations.
• Using a personally owned car for business.
• Lodging and  meals .
• Dry cleaning and laundry.
• Business calls and communication.
• Tips paid for services related to any of these expenses.
• Other similar ordinary and necessary expenses related to the business travel.

Self-employed individuals or farmers with travel deductions

• Those who are self-employed can deduct travel expenses on  Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business (Sole Proprietorship) .
• Farmers can use  Schedule F (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Farming .

Travel deductions for the National Guard or military reserves

National Guard or military reserve servicemembers can claim a deduction for unreimbursed travel expenses paid during the  performance of their duty .

Recordkeeping

Well-organized records  make it easier to prepare a tax return. Keep records such as receipts, canceled checks and other documents that support a deduction.

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What is business travel? Definition and examples

If you fly somewhere on behalf of your company, you are one of the millions of people involved in Business Travel each year worldwide. The term business travel refers to traveling for work purposes. We call each journey a business trip . If you drive across town to visit a client, that is not business travel. Business travel is longer.

If I say: “John is on a business trip,” we imagine he will be away for more than one day.

Wikipedia.org has the following definition of the term :

“Business travel is travel undertaken for work or business purposes, as opposed to other types of travel, such as for leisure purposes or regularly commuting between one’s home and workplace.”

Why go on a business trip?

There are literally dozens of reasons for business travel. Even if your employer is not a commercial entity, your trips may still be classed as business ones.

What about military personnel who specialize in purchasing defense equipment, missiles, vehicles, and airplanes who are flying to a military air show? Is this an example of business travel? Yes, it is.

So, rather than saying that business travel relates to journeys that are business related, we should say that they are work related.

Below is a list of types of trips people can make for work purposes:

• Attending a conference, convention, or trade show.
• Considering, examining, inspecting, or assessing new markets.
• Evaluating a project site.
• Going for a job interview far away (especially if your are an executive or specialized professional).
• Installing equipment for a customer.
• Meeting with colleagues (from the same company) at a faraway location.
• Motivating your staff to boost employee loyalty.
• Negotiating with suppliers.
• Networking.
• Promoting a product or service.
• Seeing a demonstration of something you may buy.
• Visiting customers.
• Meeting prospects (contacts who could turn into a customers).
• Apologizing to somebody.

Business travel and COVID-19

The market for business travel globally is huge. The World Health Organization says that approximately thirty percent of international trips are business-related. Until the coronavirus (COVID) pandemic hit at the beginning of 2020, the market had been forecast to expand rapidly over the next decade.

However, COVID-19 changed all that. The year 2020 saw a dramatic decline in all types of travel, including by air, ship, and land. Business traveler numbers are no exception. As businesses embrace modern telecommunication tools to communicate with employees, clients, suppliers, and other stakeholders, a new trend has evolved – the trend of replacing business travel with online meetings and events.

In August 2020, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, Alexander Joe wrote the following in an article we published :

“Business travel has been hit hard during the pandemic. Before you make travel arrangements, make sure that you are permitted to enter your country of destination by checking the latest government guidelines. If possible, it is wise to avoid travel, and if possible, to conduct meetings with colleagues and clients digitally for the time being.”

A permanent trend?

Many conference organizers and airline executives wonder whether this new online trend will prevail after the pandemic is over. Companies have not only found that modern technology is suitable for their needs, but also that communicating online with faraway people is considerably cheaper than face-to-face.

Anything that saves money and helps boost the bottom line is an attractive prospect for CEOs and board members. Bottom line , in this context , means net profit, net earnings, net income, or net EPS (earnings per share).

In a BBC article, Natasha Frost wrote :

“Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, business travel has ground to a halt. We’ve moved critical client meetings to Zoom, allowed our frequent-flier cards to gather dust and learned how to communicate with colleagues around the world without jumping on a plane.”

“But is this the start of a new normal for business travel?”

Pros and cons of business travel

Traveling is great for broadening the mind and learning new things. However, if somebody has a family, there is definitely a price to pay. Missing family events may contribute to relationship difficulties.

It is also difficult if you don’t have any children but have a partner at home that you like to be with as much as possible.

Many people who travel frequently on business say that they feel lonely while away. Healthcare professionals, for example, have commented that several of their patients who regularly go on business trips show signs of declining mental health, and in some cases, depression.

Jet lag or jet lag disorder is common for people who travel across time zones. Jet lag is primarily a temporary sleep disorder which can make you feel unwell and cause daytime fatigue. Sufferers often find it hard to stay alert and may also have gastrointestinal problems.

If you suffer from jet lag, you have a greater risk of being involved in a road accident. Try to get somebody else to drive if you feel drowsy when you get back from your trip.

If your business travel is successful, i.e., good for your employer, your opportunities for promotion may improve. If you visit branches of your company, you will make new face-to-face contacts. In fact, one of them may offer you an interesting position in the future. Without your trips, this opportunity may never arise.

On a personal note, if you like learning about different cultures and how people abroad go about their lives, business travel is great. Not only do you learn a lot, but you also do it on the company’s expense.

If you accumulate lots of airmiles or reward points, you can use them for big discounts when you take your family on vacation. You may get special concessions from airlines, airports (VIP lounges), hotel chains, restaurants, currency exchange agencies, and car rental companies.

With the advancement of smart technology, business travel is becoming more efficient as travelers can check in, navigate airports, and manage itineraries using their smartphones.

Terms related to business travel

There are many words and expressions in the English language that are related to business travel. Let’s look at six compound phrases that contain the words “business travel,” understand their meanings, and see how they are used in a sentence:

Business travel expenses

The costs incurred while traveling for work purposes. Example: “The finance department requires all receipts to accurately reimburse business travel expenses.”

Business travel policy

A set of guidelines a company establishes for employees to follow when traveling on business. Example: “Before booking your flight, please review the business travel policy for approved airlines and accommodation.”

Business travel insurance

Insurance coverage designed to protect travelers from risks associated with traveling for work. Example: “Given the unpredictability of international trips, our company always recommends purchasing business travel insurance.”

Business travel management

The process or practice of managing and organizing corporate travel. Example: “Our agency specializes in business travel management, ensuring clients have a seamless experience.”

Business travel consultant

A professional who advises on and arranges all aspects of travel for businesses and their employees. Example: “To optimize our travel budget, we hired a business travel consultant.”

Business travel planner

A tool or service used to organize the details of travel for work. Example: “The business travel planner app was instrumental in coordinating the complex itinerary for our sales team’s roadshow.”

Video – What is Business Travel?

This video, from our YouTube partner channel – Marketing Business Network – explains what ‘Business Travel’ is using simple and easy-to-understand language and examples.

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「出差」英文是什麼？business trip? business travel?

Hey guys! 我是英文庫的 Cecilia，英文裡有許多容易讓人霚煞煞的相似詞彙，例如以商務旅行來說，business trip 和 business travel 看起來同樣都指出差，但事實上指的卻是不同層面的出差，到底它們之間的差異在哪裡呢？今天就來好好探討出差的英文是什麼吧！ 😎

1. business trip

business trip 是一趟「出差旅行」的意思，為一段實體的商務性旅行。trip 本身為可數名詞，帶有明確的目的地，一般指短途旅行，通常時間較短，距離也比較近，像是當天來回、短程出差、或是兩天一夜的旅程都能算是這一類。

以目的性來說，常見的其他類似用法還有 road trip（公路旅行）、day trip（一日旅行）、round trip（往返旅行）等等，在用法上通常會加上動詞 go on 和 take 來表達。

I’m going on a business trip next weekend. 我下週末要出差旅行。 My manager takes several business trips to Europe every year. 我的主管每年都會到歐洲出差幾次。 I’m planning a business trip to Toronto next month. 我正在計畫下個月到多倫多的商務旅行。

2. business travel

在英文中的確也有 business travel 這個說法，不過，它在含義上指的是總體的商務旅行概念，不是指一段實際的商務旅行，而且 travel 這個字無法以可數的形式表示。

Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, business travel has ground to a halt. 由於受到新冠肺炎疫情的影響，商務旅行停頓了下來。 I spend three months of the year out of town on business travel . 我一年有三個月的時間在外地出差。

如果要進一步表達「商務旅行者」，則直接由 business travel 延伸為 business traveler。

Many countries announced a few conditions on business travelers during the Covid-19 pandemic. 很多國家在新冠肺炎疫情期間針對商務旅行者宣佈幾項條件。 Most frequent business travelers feel that they deserve to make time for fun activities during most of their business trips. 大部分頻繁出差的商務人士認為他們值得在商務旅行的期間，盡可能參與有趣旳活動。

That’s All for Today

總體來說，business trip 和 business travel 最大的差異就是實體和虛擬以及可數和不可數的分別，如果你預計會有一趟出差旅行，要用的是 business trip；如果你想表達的是出差旅行這件事正在蓬勃發展，要用的會是 business travel，希望你都搞清楚啦！

下次遇到英文疑問時，也不要忘了回來英文庫坐坐啦！😉

想看更多和旅遊英文有關的主題，可以參考以下文章： 👉 【旅遊必須英文】出國旅行需要的 8 句實用英文？ 👉 「旅遊」英文怎麼說？trip? journey? travel? tour?