If you find yourself travelling for work on frequent business trips then it really is well worth investing in some good business travel luggage. It needs to be practical and hard-wearing but also stylish enough to impress your business colleagues.
Going for the cheapest option will almost certainly be a false economy for regular business travellers. Instead it is much better to purchase the best business travel luggage you can afford.
As a corporate travel management company, almost the only thing which Travelworx doesn’t take care of is your packing. That doesn’t mean that we haven’t learnt a thing or two about business travel luggage over the years.
These are some of the attributes you should be seeking when you’re looking for the best business travel luggage for your next trip.
Robust and hard-wearing
Some business travellers prefer a hard case to provide extra protection for their belongings; others prefer a soft case to offer more flexibility, expanding to squeeze in that extra shirt or pair of shoes. It’s really just a matter of personal choice, which is the best business luggage option for you. Whichever you choose, you should make sure it is waterproof and hard-wearing, preferably with a long guarantee. This is especially important if you will be checking it in – baggage-handlers aren’t always renowned for their care and you can’t be sure how long it will be sitting on the tarmac in the rain. There’s nothing worse on a business trip than opening your case to find soggy clothes and cracked cosmetics which have leaked over your belongings.
Size is everything
The basic rule when travelling for work is to travel light. Where possible you should choose a carry-on as it makes things so much quicker when you reach the other end. If you’re travelling with hand luggage only then you won’t need to hang around waiting for your luggage to show up on the carousel and there’s much less chance of your luggage being damaged, or even worse, going missing.
These days, however, there is no such thing as standard sizing for hand luggage. Check the regulations of the airline, which you are flying with for your business trip. Some have size regulations only, some also impose weight restrictions. When working out what is the best business travel luggage for your trip, it’s important to bear this in mind.
If you have expandable luggage, make sure you don’t fill it so full that it won’t fit in the overhead bin.
Chic or flamboyant?
The best business travel luggage is often designed to blend into the background. Stylish shades of black and grey are great for impressing the boss with your understated chic, however, when you’re trying to spot your business luggage amongst the endless parade of black and grey suitcases on the carousel, you may wish you had gone for something a little more distinctive. You can always compromise by going for a brightly coloured luggage tag or even trying a bright ribbon around the handle of your suitcase to make it easily identifiable.
Ergonomic design
This is really just a fancy way of saying that one of the key attributes of what is the best business travel luggage is that it should be easy to manoeuvre and not result in terrible back ache. Some like to have a bag which can be carried on the back rucksack style, others prefer a wheelie suitcase with telescoping handle. There are so many different designs of business luggage to choose from that you will be spoilt for choice! Make sure that you pick something which is right for you. If you’re tall, make sure the handle is long enough that you don’t need to stoop. And make sure that you can pick it up and run if you suffer from a last-minute change of gate or a quick turnaround between business flights.
Good design makes packing easier
What is the best business travel luggage for you will often depend on the type of packer you are and what you need to take with you when you travel. Zippered compartments are great for easy access. They are also a great place to stow your handbag or laptop if you’re travelling low cost and have a strict one piece of hand luggage allowance. If you’re away for longer periods, then you will obviously need a bigger suitcase but may still want to carry the essentials as hand luggage when on a business trip. In this case, a matching set, where one slots on top of the other for ease of carrying may be a great solution.
If it’s broken, fix it
There is nothing worse than heading out on a business trip and realising that your business travel luggage has a broken wheel, or a telescoping handle which gets jammed, or that it makes an ear-piercing screech as you walk around the terminal building. If you notice a problem with your business luggage, get it fixed – or buy a new suitcase. Soldiering on with inferior business luggage is simply a false economy.
If you concentrate on choosing the best business travel luggage for your next business trip, Travelworx can help you with every other aspect of international corporate travel to make sure that your business trip is a success.