When you are travelling for work the last thing you want is to be dragging around heavy luggage, especially if you have a busy itinerary and a business trip incorporating multiple different destinations.
You already know that a corporate travel management company like Travelworx can help you plan your business trip, so it won’t surprise you to learn that our many years of experience in international corporate travel has also taught us a thing or two about how to pack for business travel.
Whether you’re a seasoned business traveller or heading out on your very first business trip you may well benefit from reading our packing tips for business travel.
· Plan carefully to travel light
Carefree business travel is all about the planning. Check your schedule before you leave and work out exactly what you will need. As long as your business trip isn’t too long and you don’t require any bulky extras like cold-weather gear or formal wear for a posh business event, then it should be perfectly possible to travel with a carry-on and keep it to hand luggage only. This will save you lots of time as you won’t be waiting around for your baggage to appear on the carousel. It also means there is much less change of your luggage being damaged or even lost.
· Check airline baggage restrictions
There is such a variety in airline restrictions on cabin baggage these days, that you really do need to check. Make sure that your business travel luggage fits within the size requirement, and if there is a weight limit then make sure you have carefully weighed your bag. It can be very expensive to get this wrong and have to pay extra to check it in at the airport. If you are switching airline or from an international to a domestic flight before you reach your destination then make sure you have checked requirements for each leg of your flight, as they may vary.
· Invest in packing cubes
Packing cubes are zip-up bags which fit inside your suitcase, creating lots of separate compartments. This helps you to organise your clothes and other belongings much better when you pack, and also makes it easier for you to access what you need on arrival. They also allow you to separate dirty clothes during your business trip, making it easier to unpack when you arrive home.
· Pack heavy items first
Make sure that heavy items go at the bottom of your suitcase so that they don’t go on top of clothes and cause excessive creasing – the last thing you need when you are trying to look your best on a business trip. Shoes are probably the heaviest and bulkiest item that you will need to take so try not to pack too many. Most people can probably get away with one pair of shoes – the one which they are wearing – for a short business trip, which means that you have much more room for other things.
· Keep travel documents separate
When you’re on a business trip you need to know where your ID and other important documents are at all times. It really helps your stress levels if you can keep them separate and ready to produce. A travel wallet, across the body bag or bum bag will do the job nicely, depending on your own preference.
· Decant toiletries into small containers
If you frequently travel for work then it feels like a little luxury or home comfort to have your favourite shampoo or shower gel in your business hotel. To avoid falling foul of the liquids security regulations when travelling with hand luggage only, buy a set of travel bottles and containers and decant your favourite products into them. This is also much kinder to the environment then spending a lot of money buying travel sizes of your favourite products for every trip.
· Protect your laptop
Your laptop is probably your most valuable piece of equipment when travelling for work, not just in terms of the financial cost if you needed to replace it, but also because it is almost certainly the repository of all the information which you need for your business meetings whilst on international corporate travel. Laptops can be fragile, so invest in a protective case or sleeve to make sure that it doesn’t get damaged during your business trip.
· Check you have chargers and adaptors for all devices
It’s very hard to manage without your laptop or smart phone – especially when away on a business trip. To keep all of your devices fully charged, you will need to make sure that you have chargers and adaptors for all of them. Pack carefully to make sure you don’t leave them behind – run through a check-list in your head every time you leave a business hotel room to be sure that you haven’t forgotten anything. It’s easy to leave a charger plugged in, so check all the sockets before you leave. Buying a universal adaptor helps ensure that your chargers work wherever in the world you find yourself when travelling for work.