Do you ever leave for a business trip with great excitement… eager to get away, visit a different place, and explore what it has to offer, only to find yourself frustrated by the end of your trip that you didn’t have nearly as much time as you wanted to enjoy yourself ? If you’re familiar with this scenario, you’re not the only one. This is a common complaint among business travelers, but it doesn’t have to be. With a few alterations to your normal business trip routine, you can find a lot more time to have fun on your next business trip, and here’s how.
Get an extension
The first thing you can do is to ask your boss for more time in whatever city you’re traveling to. You may be telling a white lie by trying to convince him you need to travel a day earlier to ensure you’re well rested to conduct business, but there’s no shame in this, especially if you’ve been a loyal employee for many years. Another option is changing your flight by a couple days if your trip starts or ends within a day of the weekend, so if your trip starts on a Monday you can fly there Saturday morning, or stay the weekend if you’re set to fly home on a Friday. You may have to pay the airline a fee to switch flights, but it’ll be worth it if you can have more time in an exciting city.
Find the right place
Selecting a hotel is also important on a business trip. Your instinct may be to go for the swankiest and most expensive hotel your company is willing to pay for, but think again. The name of the game is location, location, location. Find a hotel that’s close to wherever it is you’re conducting business, as this will cut down on travel time and prevent you from wasting time being stuck in big-city traffic. You may take a step down in terms of the comfort of your hotel, but if it’s a trip worth remembering you won’t use your hotel room for much besides sleeping anyway, as a two or three-star hotel won’t be so bad if it gives you more time to enjoy yourself in a new city.
A little help from your friends
Another thing you can do is find someone you know who lives in that city and use them as a guide. Even if you don’t have a family member or close friend who lives in that city, search through all of your social media connections; there’s bound to be someone you’ve connected with online that is from that city. Tell that person you want to meet up when you get into town, at which point you can ask them the best way to get around the city quickly, as well as the tourist attractions that are actually worth seeing, not to mention the best restaurants to eat at during your stay. A little insider information can give you a better idea of the places you’ll want to go and things you’ll want to do during your trip, making sure you spend your free time only doing things you’ll really enjoy.
Before you leave
Finally, don’t be afraid or ashamed of spending a little extra time in the airport on your way out of town. If the weather isn’t cooperating or you don’t know where to go, just get to the airport a couple hours earlier than expected instead of just sitting around in your hotel room. Airports provide plenty of shopping opportunities in case you need to pick up souvenirs for people before you leave town. Many airports also have a slew of bars and restaurants that offer local cuisine and have a local flair, and some can be just as good as a few of the restaurants in the downtown part of the city, making it a nice alternative to exploring the city. It may seem weird to think about it, but airports can actually help enhance your experience in a new city and make your next business trip a lot of fun.
This information is provided by Lighthouse Translations, a world-class translation and interpretation services firm with more than 15-years of experience in more than 25 languages. Contact us or get a FREE quote today if you’d like more information or have a need for translation services.