Corporate Travel Tips
To supplement my Willing to Travel post last Saturday, I would like to share some tips when traveling on official business. This includes trainings, seminars, meetings, conferences, project implementations, technical support, business support, initiative implementations and such.
Liquidation
When travelling on official business, your company will need you to liquidate your expenses, the scope and extent of what are to be liquidated will vary depending on your company’s policy. In my case, our company requires us to keep the boarding pass, terminal fee receipt, accommodation receipt if the actual amount is not paid directly by the company and other expenses not covered in the per-diem but can be officially justified.
So, be sure to keep all receipts and specially the boarding pass and terminal fee receipt.
Clothes
Although the Philippines is a tropical country and bringing and wearing a jacket is very cumbersome and in-appropriate, I would advise you to bring one, a jacket with a hood would be a good option, as temperatures inside and airplane can get very cold, also, the weather can be very un-predictable and it might be windy, cold and raining and being prepared is better than being cold, worse… being wet. If you have a small umbrella it would be great to bring a long.
If you can, bring only one pair of shoe’s and one pair of slippers.
Travel Light
I believe in traveling light, only bring along what you would need, if it is not needed, don’t bring it. There are also a lot of handy toiletries that can be bought really cheap, for example, instead of bringing a big toothpaste, bring a sachet, this goes for shampoos as well. If you will be billeted in a hotel or condo-tel, chances are, they will provide a shampoo, conditioner and towel, that will free up space and weight on your luggage.
But, if you cannot stand using hotel provided toiletries and towels, then by all means bring your own.
If you can also squeeze everything in a hand carry bag, it helps lighten up the stress of carrying a lot of luggage and waiting for it in your destination if you checked it in.
A light luggage also helps when hustling and bustling around, specially when getting a taxi.
Food
Most hotels provide breakfast, so you can save on your per-diem, if you can, have yourself bilited at a Condo-Tel as their rooms have a small kitchen complete with utensils. You can then buy easy to cook foods and save on eating out.
Most restaurants also have their menus outside the establishments so be sure to check prices and cooking styles before eating, don’t be afraid to ask the waiter to have their menu explained. Fast foods are plenty and cheap, when in a hurry and want to play safe, a McDonalds, Subway, BurgerKing, KFC and others will always be available from most places.
Be safe, don’t drink water you do not know the source, buy bottled water to be sure.
Getting Around
Taxi’s ply the city routes mostly 24 hours, be sure to check if the driver will use the meter before riding the cab, most important thing to remember is be sure to say where your destination is, If the driver will insist on a fixed rate, I suggest you wait for the next Taxi. The only exception to this would be Davao City, as per my experience, they have the better drivers than most places.
If their is a rail transport system, then that would be a good choice to get around as these will generally be cheaper, safer and fast.
Be sure to bring change as it will be really handy for quick transactions, some taxis do not give change and will automatically consider it as a tip, you can save a little by giving the exact amount or by having control on how much tip you give.
Airport
You will generally not need a porter and trolleys are available for free on most major airports. Do not bring on your hand carry bags liquids that are more than 100ml and do not bring bottled water or any other drinks. Most airports will have you go through multiple X-Ray machines so put all things in your pocket in your bag to avoid the hassle of taking it out again and again. If you can, wear an easy to remove footwear, a slip-on, sandals or slippers will do as some airports will also require you to take your footwear on security checks. And if you can, wear a top with a pocket, this will come handy as it can be an easy to store location for your boarding pass, ticket and money.
Wifi
Most hotels, malls, food establishments and public places already have wifi, be sure to have proper protection for your laptop, install the an anti-virus software and make sure it is updated, AVG is a good option. It is also advisable to install a firewall, Zone Alarm is a good powerful and free option.
If you can or possible, bring along a netbook as it will be more handy and generally have longer battery life, it is also better to bring along a less than 2 lbs. netbook than a 4 to 5 lbs. full laptop.
That’s it
I’ll try to update this post with more tips when it comes.
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