A new buzzword in travel – the ‘bizcation’

This may be a new one for you, so let me explain the latest piece of travel terminology.

By now I am sure you are familiar with the concept of ‘staycations’ and ‘daycations’, right?

Well, another ‘cation’ has now been thrown into the mix with the growing buzz around another travel trend.

More and more people appear to be viewing business trips – or ‘bizcations’ as they have been dubbed in the media – as a chance to explore new and exciting places and see them as a welcome break to the normal 9-5, Monday-Friday routine.

If you travel very frequently on business, you should apply for a second passport. Urgent Passport applications speed up the process, too.

A recent survey highlighted that 80% of British women believe business travel is a positive experience.

So how can you turn a boring business trip to an exciting mini-break?

Take the family with you

Image (c) onthejob.45things

As many successful businessmen and women can testify, being away from the family for a prolonged period of time has its obvious downsides. So why not take them with you?

If you’re going to be apart for a week or longer then look into ways to take your partner and kids. You’re bound to get plenty of spare time and it beats being alone in your hotel room night after night.

Bringing the family along may seem like the perfect way to combine business with pleasure; but you need to be careful of a few things.

First of all inform your company that you’ll be bringing your spouse and/or children on the trip. You may be tempted to think that it won’t matter – but there’s no point in trying to pull the wool over their eyes as this will backfire on you if and when they find out you’re not alone. Also if the company makes any changes to your itinerary this will be a problem for your co-travellers.

Make sure you are extra careful in recording your expenses and differentiating between personal and business costs.

If you are booked on business class your company may allow you to swap the more expensive ticket for a pair of economy-class seats. Or you may find that you are granted a travel allowance and it is up to you how to make use of it. Then you can save enough money to bring your spouse and perhaps your kids too. Again, make sure this is permitted under the terms of use of the travel allowance.

Book an apartment, not a hotel

Being squeezed into a hotel room is unlikely to improve the experience. Rent an entire apartment so that you have the space you are used to and your family has the freedom to explore while you are busy, knowing that they do not have to be out at a certain time.

Using the services of a renowned company to find a furnished apartment in your chosen city will give you the peace of mind you need so you can concentrate on other things.

Extend your stay away

Heading off to somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit? Or somewhere exotic? Perhaps you can extend your trip by routing your flights through cities where you would like to make a stopover for a few days. Or how do you like the idea of tagging a few extra days on to your stay away after you’ve finished your work commitments?

Maybe you’ve got a hobby such as playing golf and you never get chance to go away to play, so you could take your clubs with you the next time you go on a business trip.

When planning, make sure the trip is scheduled towards the end of the week so you can stay for the weekend. The best idea may be to have your partner meet you at the end of the business trip instead of being there the whole time – if you know you’ll be working all hours there’ll be little chance for you to join them.

If you can’t organise this, make sure your partner knows when you will be able to have time together – your business is important but so are they. It’s certainly better to have children join you when the work part of your trip is over – it’s hard for them to understand why they are on holiday but you’re not.

Be adventurous in your new surroundings

Get out and explore your new surroundings. Do as much research before you go on your destination to pick places like you’d like to visit, restaurants you fancy trying out and try and put together a travel itinerary in order to make the most of your precious spare time while you’re away. If you have to travel alone then you can use your free time to check out places to visit with your family the next time you’re in town.

If you’re travelling to meet work associates in their home country, expressing a desire to experience the destination can be a good idea, provided the nature of the trip allows for some down time. “Your hosts will often be proud to show you their sights,” he says.

Make a point of meeting new people

Business trips can be very lonely, especially if you’re on your own, so make sure you’re as outgoing as possible. Arrange to meet up socially with business acquaintances. If they can’t meet you, maybe they can suggest places to go and hang out.

Image (c) lekythion.com

Whatever you do and wherever you go, make sure you have the best value insurance cover by checking the entire market.