7 Business Travel Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

July 28, 2011, By Steve McFarlane 0 comments

Business travel is a nice small break from Dad duty, but it gets old fast. Here are some things to consider when packing and preparing for a business trip to get you on your way—and back home—faster:

1. Know Your Destination - Sort out any issues you may have with your destination before you even leave your home or office. You might want to know how close your meeting is to where you're staying, the best way to get around town, where to eat, and where to have some fun if you have time to kill. An easy way to answer all these questions is to install a travel app on your smartphone. A great one to try is TripAdvisor, but there are quite a few other good ones such as Yelp, Where and USA TODAY AutoPilot. Many even offer turn-by-turn satellite directions and are available on most smartphone platforms including Android, Blackberry and the iPhone. If you're traveling overseas, get the Worldmate application on your Blackberry or iPhone so you will always know the correct currency conversion rates. These applications also allow you to store your flight itinerary and include a time zone reference and weather forecasts, among other useful features.
2. Check Your Flight on Your Phone - Check your flight schedule, the location of airport gates, and other details before you leave for the airport. A simple application on your smartphone will smooth the way. Two choices that are especially good at providing this kind of information are TripAdvisor and USA TODAY AutoPilot. These apps also list phone numbers for airlines, hotels and car rental agencies and provide a list of international emergency numbers.
3. Pack Smart—and Light - Before you put an item into your compact suitcase remember that packing begins on your person. Wear a comfortable, wrinkle-free suit when going on the trip. You may also be able to mix and match shirts and pants when you reach your destination, thus reducing the number of items that will be included in your luggage. Layer your luggage in such a way that if you are searched at an airport, it is easy to rearrange your items.

NEXT: Luggage