10 Tips for First Time Business Travellers

Your first business trip can be equal parts exciting and daunting – the prospect of travelling in business class paired with the responsibility of representing your business in front of customers, partners and clients can make for mixed emotions. Ease your tension a little and make the most of the benefits of business travel with these must-have resources.

Hertz Gold Plus Rewards

After a long flight, the last thing you’ll want to do is transfer to your hotel on a crowded bus or in a dinky car. The Hertz Gold Plus Rewards scheme gives members access to free upgrades and complimentary rentals, ensuring you’ll be motoring out of the airport in style. Furthermore, the scheme gives members access to quick pick-ups and drop-offs, allowing you to beat the queues and beat the crowds.

Hilton Hhonors

Protect yourself against the accounts department influencing your bosses to put you in a budget hotel with the Hilton Honors programme. Hilton Hhonors makes it more cost effective to stay in many of Hilton’s 500+ hotels around the world. Offering free stays, room upgrades and credit; Hilton Hhonors adds an extra incentive for your bosses to pick a luxurious accommodation for you on your business travels.

Lufthansa PartnerPlusBenefit

Like the Hilton Hhonors, Lufthansa’s PartnerPlusBenefit scheme can help safeguard you against budget airlines and uncomfortable flights. By offering incentives to fly with Lufthansa and 9 partner airlines around the world, PartnerPlusBenefit awards businesses points which can be redeemed for free flights, upgrades and even cashback. Your business trips could earn your bosses free flights for their jollies.

Starbucks Rewards

If you’re travelling long distances, a little pick-me-up may be needed when you get your feet back onto solid ground, especially if you’re expecting to give presentations, meet clients or attend seminars. The Starbucks Rewards Card makes it more affordable to indulge in the world’s favourite coffee and can help justify ordering a Venti White Hot Chocolate with Caramel Syrup and added Whipped Cream at 4am.

Waterstones Loyalty Card

Whether you are looking for something to help pass the time on a long trip or brushing up on your marketing skills, the Waterstones Loyalty Card gives you access to great book rewards at hundreds of Waterstones outlets around the world. Build up points as you broaden your horizons to use for yourself or a comprehensive, affordable Christmas present shopping spree.

Boingo

Stay connected to the internet anywhere in the world with Boingo, meaning you are not at the mercy of an airport or venue having comprehensive WiFi coverage to ensure you have access to emails, important documents stored on the cloud or other online information. With more than 1 million hotspots around the world, Boingo makes it simpler to stay connect wherever you are.

TripAdvisor

Whilst it may be tempting to simply pop to the closest restaurant, café or bar when arriving at your hotel for a bite to eat, it could end disastrously. Use TripAdvisor to find the recommended eateries near to your accommodation by choosing the highest rated. Make sure you check the number of votes – 300 4* ratings are better than one 5* rating.

Do your Homework

If you have an itinerary for your trip complete with the names of the fellow business trippers you’re due to meet, do a little background check before flying out. Use LinkedIn to check their employment history, specialities and skills. If you feel as though you have a gap in your knowledge compared with the people you’re going to meet with, you have a chance to brush up (take advantage of that Waterstones Card and long flight).

Voice Record App

If you are attending seminars or lectures and want to make sure you don’t miss a word, download the Voice Record Pro App for your tablet. Simply use this to record the lectures and seminars so you can revisit them at your leisure (a great way to utilise time on your return trip).

StoCard

If you’ve stocked up on lots of different loyalty and bonus cards for stores, coffee shops and restaurants, your purse may be full to bursting point. The StoCard app for iOS and Android helps you store all of your bonus and loyalty cards remotely. This helps avoid the made purse scramble when buying a last-minute bagel.

Any more apps or websites first time Business travellers need? Share it with us below or tweet us @mscareergirl!