After a year of not being able to travel, it may feel strange traveling again. This is why it’s important to make sure that you’re ready, both physically and mentally. Having everything planned out ahead of time will also make your travels significantly less stressful.
Over the past year, traveling abroad and within a single country has declined, risen, and declined again for both business and vacation travelers. With travel likely to be on the rise again in the future, it is important to be prepared for traveling— especially corporate travel with more people returning to work in person.
#1: Travel documents
If you’re going back to corporate travel, it is extremely important that you remember to carry all of your travel documents with you. Before the pandemic, your basic travel documents included a passport, and maybe airline reservations and car rental information. Now, there may be more information required for you to travel abroad, including vaccine information.
#2: Electronics and accessories
Once you’ve been cleared to travel, you can focus on what you’ll actually need to bring with you for your business trip. In a very digital world, a smartphone is not only necessary for communication and entertainment, but also for business. Smartphones can help keep us organized by allowing us to put certain dates and times into our calendars and can also send us reminders.
Laptops and tablets are also necessary when going on a business trip. Our smartphones can do just about everything a laptop can do, but some find it easier to just go ahead and bring a laptop along too. Laptops and tablets help with productivity by keeping notes and storing important business information. Just don’t forget to bring along any chargers and necessary adapters, and make sure that the hotel you’re staying in offers wi-fi.
#3: Business essentials
Clothing
For business trips, you’ll want to pack both business attire and casual clothing, depending on the amount of time you’re going to be away. Also, remember to pack extra accessories depending on the weather, such as an umbrella, rain jacket, or heavy coat. Keep in mind too, that some toiletries aren’t always provided at some hotels, so it’s a good idea to bring things like a toothbrush/toothpaste, shampoo/conditioner, a facial cleanser, etc. Packing cubes and other travel essentials are a good way to keep your suitcase organized so you won’t have to rummage through your suitcase for important items.
Office supplies
Depending on what type of business you’re in and the kind of trip you’re taking, it may be necessary to bring some office supplies along with you on your business trip. This can include things like notepaper, pens, sticky notes, and paper clips— but don’t go overboard.
Business cards
As a professional, it is always a good idea to bring your business cards along with you on a business trip. Business cards are great for networking, just in case you meet other business professionals you’d like to keep in touch with.
#4: Reliable transportation
Transportation is also something to think about when traveling. Maybe you’re lucky and your meeting/meetings are in your hotel, so figuring out how to get to your meeting won’t be an issue. However, if you’ve flown into another state or even another country, you may be responsible for making your own transportation accommodations. In this case, you’ll have to arrange for rideshare services or rely on the public transportation system to get to where you need to go.
If you’re traveling with a large corporate group, it’s a good idea to consider a charter bus for transportation. In this way, the entire group can take advantage of all of the benefits a charter bus provides, including the luxury of not having to navigate through a foreign town. Many large cities in the U.S. are known for hosting conferences and other business-related events are equipped to provide a charter bus as transportation for any business needs.
After a year of not being able to travel, it may feel strange traveling again. This is why it’s important to make sure that you’re ready, both physically and mentally. Having everything planned out ahead of time will also make your travels significantly less stressful.
