Top 10 Lifesaving Executive Travel Tips from the Pros
Who’s Afraid of Executive Travel?
Executive Travel doesn’t have to be anywhere near as overwhelming as it sounds. Whether it’s your first business trip or your hundredth, the truth is business people have been traveling for decades now. Here’s a few really useful tips that can help you travel safer, faster, and more comfortably.
Quick Tips to Remember
- Put a dryer sheet in with your clothes, they will smell fresh and keep dry during transit
- Have an extra plastic bag in your carry-on, this will not only help with passing through TSA checkpoints but can come in handy if anything springs a leak in your travel bag.
- If your suit somehow gets wrinkled, put it in the hotel’s dryer for 3-5 minutes.
- Check in online ahead of time and print out your boarding pass before you arrive at the airport.
- If it’s really running down to the wire and you’re running behind, you have a 30-minute cut-off for boarding. If you miss this cut-off period, politely ask the agent for authorization to get a ‘gate pass.’ What this can do is buy you some time to get to the gate. If you make it to within 15 minutes of take-off you have a good chance of getting onboard.
- Choose an executive travel agency with a proven track record for the best rates and superior travel support.
- If you choose to use a ground transportation provider, know the protocol for airport meet and greet. Will your chauffeur meet you at baggage? Will he meet you in the terminal? Or will he meet you curbside? These small details can save you a big headache after a long flight.
- Sign up with an airline rewards program early on and stick with it, you can earn some hefty rewards, in addition to building clout and pull with the airline company.
- Also, take some time to look into the city where you’ll be travelling. If and when you have some time off, you can make the most of it by planning ahead.
Travel Healthy
Travelling healthy is just as important as travelling right. Executive air travel can take a toll on the human body. Commercial airliners have notoriously poor air quality and circulation; some veteran executive travelers swear by zinc and vitamin C. These supplements can be taken before flight or while on the plane. Red Clover tea is considered a go-to immune system booster and peppermint tea has been known settle a queasy stomach. Of course, don’t forget to stay hydrated, this can stave off some of the most common ailments associated with air travel.
Changing Time Zones
If you’re changing time zones, you can adjust to the new time zone on the plane. You can try to knock out as soon as possible or stay up until you arrive. The choice depending, of course, on the time zone difference. The goal is to be able to engage immediately once you land. The best way to fall asleep immediately is to head for the back row. The back row on most planes these days is most likely to be empty, which means you can stretch out and sleep.
Pack As Light as Possible
For the executive traveler on the move, this one is kind of a no brainer, but needs repeating. Pack as light as possible. Only pack a carry-on, and your computer bag, messenger bag or briefcase. If you’re not stuck waiting for luggage, you’ll be sipping a Mai Tai at the hotel bar before the other passengers have even gotten their ground transportation. Put leisure clothes on the bottom, then place suits separated by dry cleaning bags in the middle, on top of that place your shoes, and then toiletries on top. If you have large presentation materials or company samples send them to the hotel or conference center ahead of time, they will be waiting for you once you get there and you won’t have to worry about them getting lost.
Excessive Executive travel can take a cumulative toll. but with some proper planning and some useful tools, the effects can be manageable. Do you have some useful tips to share that you have picked up along the way?