How To Make Your Business Trip Feel Like A Vacation
Traveling for work can be demanding, but that doesn’t mean you can’t maximize your time away
Between meetings and client dinners, take a moment for yourself while on a business trip.
There’s no doubt that work travel can be stressful. Preparing for meetings with off-site colleagues or clients, rushing to catch your flight, waiting for a rental car or public transportation. But once you arrive at your hotel, breathe a sigh of relief. The time has come to enjoy some compensation for having to be away from home. Make the most of your work and travel with these eight recommendations for transforming a business trip into pleasant leisure travel.
Regardless of your destination, a work trip means time away from familiar, ho-hum sights—the highway to work, the office cubicle and the stale coffee in the break room. Take this opportunity to explore your natural and cultural surroundings. Notice the different trees or wildlife, food or fashion sense. Not only will living in the moment help you de-stress, but it also will help you feel at ease in your new city.
Hotel stays certainly have their perks. After all, you’re not taking out the trash and someone else is making your bed and tidying up your room every day. Whether you order room service from your hotel or a service like Delivery.com, you can have exactly what you’d like to eat, exactly when you’d like it. And at the end of the day, few things are as relaxing as plush pillows and clean, pressed sheets. Pack a book or magazine you’ve wanted to read and dive into your soft bed to let your mind go free.
Rise early before any scheduled meetings to explore your neighborhood. Grab coffee away from the hotel lobby and take time to read the local paper or prepare for the day. If your mornings are booked, reserve some time after the last evening meeting to take in some live music, treat yourself to locally farmed fare you can’t get back home or order a dessert and post dinner cocktail.
No need to drive to the gym! Take advantage of your proximity to the hotel’s treadmill—or research the area’s parks and greenway trails. Then schedule some time in your day to enjoy the outdoors or a quick sweat. It’ll recharge you for the work to come.
Social networking can come in handy when you’re in a new town. Channel your network and link up with a friend from your past—you’ll probably pick up right where you left off. Plus, you’ll get to hit the town with a true local. Win-win.
Many urban centers are finding ways to incorporate local artists’ work in the lobbies and open spaces of their buildings. Take a moment to stop and read the art’s plaques. On the flip side, museums often offer coffee shops and cafes—creating the perfect space to get some work done outside of your hotel lobby or boardroom.
As you pick up your bags or check out your rental car, ask staff for their favorite things to do around the area. Is this a city known for fried chicken and bluegrass bars? Food trucks and yoga? Figure out what the city does best. Then if you find yourself with a little downtime between meetings or before meals, you’ll be prepared. When in Rome, as they say.
Seek out the closest nail salon or spa and treat yourself to a mani/pedi or a massage (or all three). Once you’re good and relaxed, head back to the hotel and pull out that book.
Discover more travel tips and recommendations here.
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