Smart Tips and Essential Tools for Business Travel Planning

Business travel planning often has a reputation for being stressful and time consuming. Between juggling different bookings and handling last-minute changes, a simple trip can turn into a scheduling nightmare. But it doesn’t have to be that way — with a few key tips and expert support, business travel planning can become much smoother.

Let’s explore how to streamline travel planning, including the top tools professionals use to keep complex itineraries running smoothly. Whether you manage travel in-house or hire an Athena executive assistant, this guide will help you make smarter choices for your company’s travel needs.

11 Essential Steps for Business Trip Planning 

Here’s an expert step-by-step guide that makes business trip planning more productive and less of a headache.

1. Decide Whether to Book Yourself or Hire a Corporate Travel Planner

Depending on your responsibilities and the trip’s complexity, organizing outings yourself may not always be the best option. Instead, consider working with a travel planner (or better yet, an Athena Assistant) to unlock the following benefits:

• Save time: Coordinating trips can become a full-time task, especially if you travel often. Searching for hotels and restaurant recommendations can eat into your day, preventing you from completing high-level tasks. Assistants take this work off your to-do list so you can get more done before you leave.
• Access exclusive deals and activities: The best planners have established relationships with local vendors wherever you go. They can secure VIP upgrades, hidden discounts, and top recommendations you wouldn’t find through simple Google searches.
• Secure constant support: If you travel enough, something will inevitably go wrong. Airlines might cancel flights, cars may break down, and hotels could overbook. Rather than scrambling for solutions on the go, make a single phone call to a travel planner, who can solve all your problems.
  

2. Outline Your Trip’s Goals

After deciding how you’ll book, define the purpose of the trip and the outcomes you want to achieve, such as closing a deal or building client relationships. Then, identify what employees need to travel to which destinations to complete these tasks. Knowing this helps you select the best dates and make arrangements that match your team’s priorities.

If you need additional support, ask a corporate travel planner for travel and budget suggestions.

3. Set Your Travel Budget

Set a realistic budget for transportation, hotels, and meals, plus an extra cushion for unexpected expenses like last-minute bookings. Share your budget with the team ahead of your trip so everyone knows what’s covered and can spend responsibly on the road.

A corporate travel planner can review previous trips to spot hidden costs and negotiate lower rates with vendors. Some will even flag opportunities to save money without compromising quality or comfort.

4. Book Flights and Accommodations Early

Booking flights and accommodations early often means better rates, more flight times, and additional hotel availability options. Corporate travel planners can use advanced booking tools like TravelPerk and Goodwings to spot the best deals. Planners also manage confirmations and update the team so everyone knows what to expect (and when to be at the airport).

5. Plan Your Schedule and Create an Itinerary

A detailed travel itinerary helps the team stay organized and focused. When structuring a schedule, leave a buffer between meetings and travel legs to accommodate scheduling changes or interruptions. 

A corporate travel planner can create a custom itinerary that accounts for unexpected changes, so there’s no stress or scrambling. They’ll outline flight information, hotel addresses, and local contacts in one simple guide to keep the trip on track.

6. Pack Efficiently and Remember Your Travel Documents

Packing efficiently means saving space while bringing essentials like a reliable laptop, a portable charger, and professional attire.

A travel planner can provide personalized packing lists for domestic and international trips that reflect the destination, trip length, and company dress code. They’ll also verify that IDs and visas are valid, preventing unwanted surprises.

7. Obtain Travel Insurance and Be Prepared For Emergencies

Business travel insurance provides peace of mind in case of medical emergencies, trip cancellations, and lost luggage. After choosing an insurance plan, ensure travelers know how to use the policy if needed and have emergency contacts in place for quick support.

If you don’t want the hassle of researching travel insurance, a planner can select a policy tailored to your destinations and traveler profiles. That way, coverage is comprehensive and budget-friendly. 

8. Manage Expenses Properly With a Clear System

Accurate expense management keeps business travel costs under control. Set clear guidelines for tracking and submitting expenses, and use management tools to make reporting easy and precise. 

You can also let a corporate travel planner track finances for you. They’ll establish company-specific rules for monitoring and submitting travel expenses that align with your accounting practices.

9. Stay Connected During Your Trip

Make sure travelers have secure ways to communicate with clients and colleagues while away from the home office. Planners can easily arrange international roaming plans, mobile hotspots, or local SIM cards based on the destination and length of stay. This keeps the team in the loop even if they’re abroad.

10. Keep Traveler Information Handy For Future Trips

Having up-to-date traveler profiles saves time and makes each trip more personalized. Maintain a secure file with employees’ frequent flyer numbers, hotel loyalty memberships, seating preferences, and meal requirements. 

With this information, a corporate travel advisor can book excursions quickly and customize arrangements to each traveler’s habits and needs.

11. Collect Feedback After The Trip

Gathering feedback after travel is a smart way to make each trip better than the last. After employees return, ask for their thoughts on what went well and what could be improved. 

Corporate travel planners can design post-trip surveys or informal check-ins to capture honest insights on hotels, airlines, and other travel logistics. Planners review these responses to refine vendor selections and tweak travel policies so future trips run smoother.

Responsibilities Of Corporate Travel Planners

If you decide to add a corporate travel planner to your team, here’s what you can expect from them:

• Coordinate travel logistics and solve issues: Corporate travel planners book flights, hotel reservations, and ground transportation. They also support travelers in emergencies. If anything goes wrong, like lost bags or delayed flights, planners quickly come up with solutions.
• Manage credit card programs and charges: Travel planners oversee business credit card use and monitor transactions closely to prevent misuse.
• Handle trip expenses and reimbursements: Travel planners track receipts and process company expense reports. This means employees without corporate cards get reimbursed quickly and accurately.
• Maintain vendor and agency relationships: Corporate travel planners secure exclusive deals and collaborate with trusted vendors to get the best value.
• Prepare travel documents to guarantee compliance: Travel planners check that employees have the necessary visas, passport information, and travel approvals. They also ensure that every trip follows legal and company-specific guidelines.
• Develop travel policies and programs: Professional planners develop travel policies and programs that protect the company’s interests while accommodating employee needs. For instance, guidelines can explain insurance coverage and permitted expenses.
• Enhance domestic and international travel plans: Corporate travel planners find ways to make efficient trip itineraries by researching local amenities and analyzing past trips.

What Qualities Do Good Corporate Travel Planners Have?

Good corporate travel planners are organized, resourceful, and supportive. Here are some of the qualities that set the best assistants apart:

• Pay close attention to detail: Skilled travel planners don’t miss any details, from coordinating flight connections to navigating visa regulations.
• Communicate effectively: Corporate travel planners maintain open and timely communication with travelers, vendors, and management to keep everyone on the same page and address issues early.
• Think strategically: The best travel planners look beyond the current business trip to anticipate future needs and risks. Based on everything they learn, planners can tweak future travel budgets and refine the company’s travel policies.
• Respect privacy: Protecting sensitive personal and company information is a top priority for corporate travel planners. They safeguard confidential employee details and corporate data, only sharing information on a need-to-know basis.
• Adapt easily: When travel plans suddenly change — like a flight getting canceled or a venue falling through — travel planners remain calm and resourceful. They find quick solutions to keep travelers on track and stress free.

Top Tools Every Corporate Travel Planner Needs

Whether you’re managing travel plans yourself or looking to outsource, here are some of the top tools and travel apps that simplify booking and expense management:

• Goodwings lets planners book sustainable accommodations while supporting social causes. This way, travel plans align with corporate social responsibility goals.
• TravelPerk is a comprehensive platform for booking flights, hotels, and transportation. It offers built-in flexibility and easy expense management.
• Tripkicks is a user-friendly app that consolidates all travel details into one place, providing real-time updates and personalized itinerary management.
• Payhawk simplifies corporate expense management. It combines company cards with automated reporting and integrates with existing accounting systems.
• FLIO is a global airport app with helpful information on terminals, lounges, and transportation options to make navigating international airports easier.
• Citymapper provides public transit routes, bus schedules, and live transit updates, helping travelers get around unfamiliar cities more efficiently.
• Google Travel organizes upcoming trips, suggests itineraries, and tracks reservations, making it a handy planning companion for busy business travelers.

Get Started With An Athena Assistant

Effective business travel planning demands attention to countless details. Luckily, partnering with an Athena Assistant gives you a strategic edge in effortlessly managing them all.

Athena Assistants are the hidden superpower behind COOs, CEOs, and other world-class leaders. These assistants tailor travel plans to your demanding schedule by coordinating flights, booking accommodations, and arranging local transportation with precision.

But Athena Assistants do more than just handle travel arrangements — they support you on all fronts. Whether you need someone to research your industry, prepare reports, or even plan meals, Athena Assistants are there to help. Working with us means having a dedicated partner who supports you behind the scenes so you can focus on what moves your business forward.

Ready to make business travel planning seamless and stress free? Get started with an Athena Assistant today.