Travel itineraries assist travel final

Editor's Notes

1. Hi everyone, my name is Nicky Christmas, thank you for spending time with me today. I am the founder of Practically Perfect PA a blog for PAs, EAs, Office Managers and Administrators. Can I just get a show of hands how many of you have heard of Practically Perfect PA? … Thanks Today I will be speaking about how assistants can put together the ultimate travel itinerary or in other words how we can get our managers from A to B without any fuss! I will talk you through my travel itinerary template and also give you a few tips on business travel in general. But first I want to dispel a few myths that assistants might have when it comes to business travel. When you think about business travel do you picture glamorous locations, sipping cocktails with clients while the sun sets? NEXT SLIDE
2. Or do you think of a buzzing city, with great client entertainment – amazing restaurants, fantastic food and breathtaking views? I think there is a misconception that business travel is a glamorous undertaking. We think travel looks like this, it is exciting and a great opportunity especially when it is free! BUT in reality .... NEXT SLIDE
3. Business travel really looks like this ... yes the inside of a very dull office! When our managers travel for business they don’t get to relax, they don’t get to see the sights and they don’t get to work on their tan. It really isn’t like that. Usually they are traveling between airports, hotels and offices and they don’t really see anything of the city. Along with all the usual stresses associated with travel your boss also has to attend meetings and act professionally while: dealing with jetlag thinking about the continuous business activities back in the UK and - you know - also being away from their family Just think - on top of that, - they also have all of the bits of paper and information needed to travel without anything going wrong. This is where you – the lovely assistant - comes in! A fantastic travel itinerary constructed by you will help your boss massively. It will enable them to be organised when you can’t be there to do that for them. Before I talk about the travel itinerary itself I want to take a step back and talk about business travel and why it is so important for assistants to get this task right. NEXT SLIDE
4. Business travel is tricky for everyone involved. Our boss actually has to make the trip but we have to organise them remotely and sometimes in completely different timezones. There are so many aspects of a trip that can go wrong - from delays, to cancellations to misplaced booking confirmations and we are not there to support them through any of these problems. We have to plan every aspect of the trip with the hope that our manager can deal with any unexpected problems which - let’s face it – isn’t their strongest suit! There is a reason that most assistants are asked during an interview if they have organised business travel in previous roles – it is a challenging task. Let’s have a look at some different areas that assistants should clarify with their boss before they even start putting a travel itinerary together. NEXT SLIDE
5. Firstly Before you start planning the trip make sure that you both have the same expectations. I have a small clip to show you that proves how vital it is for assistants to set expectations with their Executive prior to any business trip! NEXT SLIDE – CLIP!
6. Now to most people they would laugh and say this is so funny, who would put up with a boss like that! But to some assistants this film is like a documentary! I once received a phone call late at night from an Executive travelling in the States. He asked me to phone his hotel to get a spare toothbrush delivered to his room. He was actually in his room at the time! I was so shocked at his complete incompetence that I actually did phone the reception for him. So before you start booking a trip for your manager check a few things first. For example – Are they mental…? No not really…. Ask if they are expecting you to change the hours you work to coincide with the time difference? Make sure these questions are answered before they leave for their trip so that you are both on the same page. The last thing you want is to get unexpected phone calls in the middle of the night or while you are in a busy restaurant from a manager who is expecting you to answer! The point is that communication between you and your manager really is the key to a smooth business trip. NEXT SLIDE
7. I don’t know about you but I have had so many colleagues over the years comment on how easy my job is when my boss is out of the office. They think I sit there with my feet up on the desk, drinking pina coladas and taking the occasional nap. They have absolutely no idea that it is actually harder! At least while my boss is in the office I know where he is – and that he isn’t getting himself into any trouble! It is harder because we now have the task of running the office while our manager is on the road. We have to deal with their emails, their phone calls, their correspondence. We are constantly being asked where they are, what they are doing, who they are seeing and when they will be back. For assistants, we certainly don’t get the chance to relax while they are on business! It goes beyond that though – we also have to make sure everything runs smoothly so that our manager can concentrate on their business overseas. It is so important that we continue to keep distractions at bay and if possible delay any decisions that they have to make until they are back in the office. How do we do this? Well firstly we should have the confidence to deal with any questions that we know the answer to – or any tasks that we can do ourselves. If someone wants to speak to your manager try to delay them until your manager is back in the office or schedule a meeting for them a few days after your manager has returned. Anything that really is urgent should be communicated but try to control how your manager receives the information and there is a very simply way to do this. NEXT SLIDE
8. If you do keep in contact with your manger during their trip you should be able to notify them of any urgent matters using a controlled approach so that they are not totally distracted from the reason they are on their business trip. I would definitely recommend assistants keep in contact with their manager every day of the trip. If there is a large time difference write an email that reaches them at say 6pm their time summerising everything that has happened in the office that day. Now a days you can even keep in contact with them while they are on the flight. If there are any problems email your boss to let them know - they may have Wi-Fi access on the flight. You can update any arrangements before they land for example let the car hire company or chauffeur know they will be delayed. I think it is always good just to check in with them and let them know you are still supporting them remotely. NEXT SLIDE
9. Here is a good tip – If your manager is travelling to a local office ask another assistant that you know to keep an eye on your manager while they are visiting. I’m not suggesting you ask them to take over assistant duties but do ask that they introduce themselves and just be the friendly face in the office. Obviously offer to do the same for their Exec when they visit your office. Let your manager know that your colleague will be there to help if they can’t get in contact with you directly. NEXT SLIDE
10. Okay before we move on I’m aware that I’ve just thrown a whole load of information at you so - what I would like to do is highlight what I think are the three most important things about organizing business travel: Number 1. Communicate with your Executive prior to the trip so that you both have the same expectations 2. Keep distractions at bay – this means try your hardest to keep the office running smoothly while they are away 3. Make them feel like you are supporting them even though you are in different time zones. Now I’d like to spend 5 minutes talking about your preparation prior to putting together the ultimate travel itinerary. To organize a fantastic business trip assistants really do need to know their managers very well. NEXT SLIDE
11. You should have a meeting with your manager prior to their business trip and during that meeting you really should ask them a lot of questions. If you have booked many many business trips for your manager it still is probably worth running these types of questions past them every now and again – because quite often trips differ and what they need changes too. (Point 1) I always find out what the purpose of the trip is – because this will determine your whole itinerary. Are they meeting clients? Are they going to be working from a local office? If you only ask one question – this is the one to ask! (Point 2) Secondly – what are their flight and hotel preferences. In regards to the flight I actually came up with 15 questions you could ask your manager, which you can find on my website. – obviously 15 is a few too many to cover in this session so here are my top 5: 1. Do they always carry luggage on to the flight or do they prefer to check it in? If they always check their luggage, you will have to factor extra time at check in and this will impact their journey. 2. Do they have a preferred airline? This could be for a whole host of reasons, preferred food, preferred in flight entertainment, preferred air hostess – it is worth knowing so you can check the cost of that airline first 3. Do they care about the cost of the flight? Slightly controversial I know, but if they answer honestly, a lot of executives put their comfort over the cost of the flight. Perhaps a better way of wording this question is – how much lee way do you have with the company travel policy 4. Do they want to work on the flight? Do they need WiFi? WiFi on flights is a becoming much more common so that means there really will be no downtime for assistants! Just check if WiFI is available when booking the flight. 5. And lastly, Are they a member of any frequent flyer schemes? If not, they should be! But I’ll come on to this later. Don’t forget about the hotel either. Ask them what they prefer in a hotel, if they have a favourite hotel chain this can tell you a lot their general hotel preferences. (Point 3) I always like to get an idea about the pace at which my boss likes to travel, for example - do they want to get there and back asap. Will they take a red eye flight to make that happen? In terms of the pace of the trip itself - think about the time your manager is actually travelling. Do they arrive late or early? Will there be taxis easily available for them to get to the hotel or office? Think about the hotel - do they need to know if your Executive is arriving late or do they need to organise an early check in?   I really can’t stress how important it is to speak to your manager and really clearly understand how they want to travel. I’ve found from experience business trips can go wrong with the smallest thing so don’t let it be something like their seat allocation! Once you have all of this information from your executive you can really start to picture how the business trip is going to work. Obviously you are not going to be on the trip with them so if you can get as much information to help you visual every step. Now let’s move on to the actual travel itinerary – the document that is going to pull all of this information together. I want to concentrate on the key components that make up an itinerary. I do think itineraries should change from trip to trip but here are the key components that will be in every one...
12. Here are the 4 most important parts of a travel itinerary... we have date and location of travel: I would include the length of the flight and the time differences confirmation details For everything that has been booked as part of the trip. Flights, car hire, hotels. Basically any information that will help if for any reason the company can not find the booking address and phone numbers for every place visited: I had one manager that was notorious for his bad sense of direction and would get lost all the time. It was so important that I included all the addresses of everywhere he was going and if he got lost he had the phone numbers to call for help. Basically in the end I made him promise to always get a cab! contact info the people they are meeting If anything goes wrong or your director is running late they know they the have information on the itinerary and do not need to look at their phone or through old emails Along with these four key components I also include a section that I like to call... NEXT SLIDE
13. Firstly - do prepare for the worst. I know, I know this is a fairly negative approach to take but if you have thought of all of the possible outcomes prior to the trip you will be much better prepared to deal with anything that occurs. I had one manager in New York while I was on holiday a few years ago, he had major major problems getting back to London including trying to get from Newark to JFK to catch any flight leaving for the UK as they were mostly delayed or cancelled at Newark. He tried to get in touch with me but I was lying on a beach somewhere. But I had drilled it in to him that the itinerary was there to help when I couldn't - he found all of the information he needed in case of emergency and was able to cope without me on that occasion. So I had included the following: - the out of hours telephone number for the travel agent these travel agents cost a fortune so use them, the travel agent was able to book his flight while he was still making his way to JFK - the telephone number and address for the local embassy my directors have never phoned a local embassy but they have never had a really emergency. If their passport gets stolen or they are in an accident the embassy really can help so well worth noting down - the airline emergency and customer service numbers If your director can’t get in touch with you or the agent they can at least call the airline directly and it stops them flaffing about with the airline website which is usually rubbish. air miles / exec club membership details These are worth their weight in gold if your manager is stuck in an airport. they can wait in the lounge, they will have priority seats and they will probably get home quicker than everyone else. If your boss travels frequently and doesn’t have a membership card I strongly suggest you get them one. NEXT SLIDE
14. So now I’m afraid I want you all to talk to each other! If you read my blog you will know that I am quite big on PA networking and I can’t have a group of assistants sitting in here without you at least saying hello to each other! What I would like you to do is spend the next 5 minutes discussing the travel itineraries you use in your roles. I definitely don’t have all the answers and I’m sure there are loads of other assistants in the room that have great examples to share So with the person next to you can you please discuss the following: - Do you use travel itineraries? - Do you use the 4 key components that I mentioned earlier? - If not, what do you leave out? And Is there anything your would add? Also if you have any great business travel related horror stories please feel free to discuss those too! I’m not going to ask you to feedback I just want you to chat and mingle for 5 minutes and I will call you back by waving my hands and shouting so you can all see me! So everyone – headphones off! NEXT SLIDE – ITNERARY COMPONENTS
15. Great, I’m sure some of you have come up with things that I also add to travel packs and I will share some examples with you now: NEXT SLIDE
16. Now you might think this is over kill but... I once was able to get my director all the way around Korea, all the way around china, and all the way around Japan and then she got lost going from Heathrow to an evening reception. I just assumed she had a sat nav in her car - she didn’t and I got told off! So now I always include maps and directions! Also if they have a number of meetings in the city I do tend to include details on how to get from one meeting to the next so they know how long it takes and the best way to get there (by cab or public transport NEXT SLIDE
17. Local tourism is all the rage at the moment. It is all about feeling like a local in a foreign land. In other words knowing the best places to go to and those hidden gems not many visitors know about. If you add a small list of good restaurants in the city your manager is staying in, this information will give them a great chance to show off their local knowledge with clients (even if they don’t have any local knowledge) Also it suggests that your director knows how to treat his clients well If your manager is eating on their own it means they won’t have to wander around looking for somewhere nice to eat. You’ve given then a list of options. Some of you might be wondering how you get that local knowledge - ask your network, ask your colleagues in that country, there are loads of websites and some brilliant blogs that can help – I have added a few hotel and restaurant reviews on Practically Perfect PA so it is worth checking those out too! NEXT SLIDE
18. A local weather guide for each of the countries the director is visiting is so helpful. One of my directors travelled from Sydney to Tokyo on the same trip. Sydney was experiencing a heat wave and Tokyo forecasted heavy rain and gusty winds. If I hadn’t of checked that before hand she would of been wearing the most inappropriate of outfits. This is my most critical point, creating the ultimate travel itinerary will mean that your director is prepared before the trip, they are stress free and organised during the trip so that they can concentrate on business and they are happy on their return to the office. In this case, my director was very conscious of what she wore so it was important that she packed the right clothes and a weather guide really helped her with that. NEXT SLIDE
19. Now I know most of our directors do not get downtime but when they do it is usually spent in their hotel A list of the hotel amenities are again important for your manager to have prior to the trip so they can plan ahead. Do they need to pack a hair dryer, does the hotel have free wi-fi, can they pack their gym stuff? Now me if I have down time in a hotel I like to sit about in a dress gown and watch rubbish TV but some people including one of my old managers was a real gym fanatic and expected every hotel he was staying to have a really good gym - so I always checked what hotel amenities there were even if I haven’t booked the hotel myself. Once your boss is settled into the hotel send them a reminder email detailing the hotel amenities, include opening hours of the amenities and also the times for breakfast are really helpful. NEXT SLIDE
20. Some people get jet lag really bad and some people don’t but you can construct the itinerary in a way that can really help your manager cope with any jet lag they may experience. Firstly try to add a little recovery time once they arrive into their destination, even if they are only able to get to the hotel and freshen up before heading to the office or to their meetings. Think about the time they will be at their best – if they are in the States they may be more awake in the morning than in the early evening so schedule their most important meetings at that time. Once they are back home move all of their meetings to the day after they return. If they do insist on coming into the office ensure they have a very light schedule that day. NEXT SLIDE
21. As I said early do check the time your manager is arriving into their destination – if they arrive in the middle of rush hour they will probably be caught in traffic. So just make them aware on the itinerary there may be some delays. Also if they are arriving during the day it may take longer for them to get through customs, particularly in busy airports so do factor this in too. A great tool to help you with this is the airline’s app. They are all free so if your manager travels on one airline frequently it is well worth downloading their app. Most will have details on flight times, on-board entertainment, electronic ticketing and lots of other useful information. Lets have a look at a few more apps that might be useful for you NEXT SLIDE
22. There is so much information on travel via the internet and apps and I would really recommend you embrace it. Online city guide apps are great they are packed full of useful information on the city and can be used without wi-fi. Here are a few more of my favorites. Wifi Finder is free and a really useful app for Executives that think WiFi should be added to Maslow's hierarchy of needs. This app locates Wifi hotspots in your area and it works all over the world and gives you directions too! Seat Guru is also free. This is great if your manager is fussy with their airline seat! You can type the airline, the flight number and the date and the app will tell you which is the best seat on the plane. GateGuru is one of my absolute favorite apps. It Is like Trip Advisor but for an airport. It is great if you have time to kill at the airport and want to know where to eat, where the shops are and other services like cash points. If your manager needs to pick up a souvenir for their kids this app will tell them (or you!) where exactly they need to go in the airport. GateGuru can estimate how long you have to wait at a TSA checkpoints and it also provide flight status updates. Packing Pro is £1.99. This app is great for assistants that love writing lists! And to date I haven’t meant one that doesn’t. Pick a template based on the type of trip and then help your manager list everything they need for their business trip. This app will decrease the chance of your manager calling you to source a spare toothbrush in New York while you are in London! XE Currency is free or £1.49 for the pro version. It can convert every world currency while you are on the go. I use the website all the time, not just for planning travel but also for expenses and so it is helpful having the app on my phone. Smart Layover is Free and suggests loads of activities that your manager can do while waiting for a connecting flight, such as day-use hotels and landmarks that are close to the airport. The list is endless and again I have a load more on website if you want to have a look. It is well worth embracing apps as they can be so helpful for your manager and for you too!
23. Last buy not least Remember to print off the itinerary and additional documents. I always put the papers in an A5 plastic wallet so they can keep everything together, they can put their passports and room keys etc in there too and it all fits easily into a bag or briefcase. I send a copy to any colleagues that need to know their whereabouts (saves them asking me) and also any of their family that need the information as well. In addition to emailing everything to them as one PDF I suggest you upload the documents to an online management website, either your company system or Dropbox just in case anything gets misplaced they can print it all again from where ever they are. Don’t make additional work for yourself. If your manager is working from another local office and having their meetings there I just ask them to use outlook as I normally would if they were in the UK and I don’t include any meeting details in their itinerary. Have duplicates of everything and keep the paper work together in a file on your desk for easy access. Arrange a catch up meeting once your manager returns to the office so that you can update them on everything while they have been away. NEXT SLIDE
24. So in conclusion my final take away for you is that I do think it is worth spending a bit more time on creating the ultimate travel itinerary because: 1. your manager will be well prepared before the trip and they will know what to expect 2. during the trip they will be stress free and able to concentrate on business rather than getting around 3. and finally they will be happy on their return to the office and hopefully they will have bought you something from duty free to say thanks for all your hard work! And ultimately that makes us very happy assistants! I just want to let you know I have a travel itinerary template up on Practically Perfect PA – I will along with the slides for this presentation post everything on their for you to download. Thanks for your time today. Enjoy the rest of the show.